Indosat lanches expansion of non-core business projects
JAKARTA (JP): Despite the country's political and economic uncertainties, publicly listed international telecommunications firm PT Indosat launched on Friday its fourth non-core business project in two months.
Indosat president Tjahjono Soerjodibroto said the firm's spending for non-core business activities had not been affected by the turbulence in the country.
"It's business as usual for us," he told The Jakarta Post on the sidelines of the launching of an Indosat TV program. The launching was also attended by Minister of Education and Culture Juwono Sudarsono.
The TV program, called Indosat Galileo, will present a popular scientific quiz to be aired by the private Surya Citra TV station every Sunday starting on May 2.
The name of the program was taken from the Italian astronomer and physicist who invented the telescope in 1609.
Tjahjono said the spending was not a direct profit-oriented investment.
"We want to build an image of Indosat as a firm which cares about education, science and technology," he said.
He said that it was not a measure to counter the increasingly popular music TV program and adventure TV serial launched by PT Satelindo, Indosat's only competitor.
Indosat has launched several cooperation agreements over the past two months.
The company agreed on Wednesday with Bank Bali and PT Jatis Enterprise Integration Consulting to develop an Internet-based shopping service.
Last month, Indosat also agreed with retailer PT Matahari Putra Prima and local cosmetics maker Martha Tilaar to engage in an electronics venture.
Indosat was one of the state companies initially to be included in the government privatization program in the 1998/1999 fiscal year, but was later postponed to the current fiscal year partly due to a regulations snag.
Tjahjono said the bidding process for Indosat would start after the new telecommunications bill is approved by the House of Representatives.
Reports said earlier that three international telecommunications giants, including Australia's Telstra and French Telecom, have shown interest to take up the government stake in Indosat.
Indonesia's general election scheduled for June 7 is expected to be the country's first open and democratic election after more than 32 years under the authoritarian rule of former president Soeharto. Many people fear increasing bloody unrest in the run-up to the election, which could prompt a massive exodus.
Analysts, however, said Indosat would enjoy a big increase in incoming calls if a great amount of people do leave the country. (rei)