JSX expects 40 firms to launch IPOs

JSX expects 40 firms to launch IPOs

Around 40 Indonesian companies are expected to sell shares
through initial public offerings this year, up from 23 last year,
an official with the Jakarta Stock Exchange, or JSX, said
Wednesday.

They are expected to raise between two trillion rupiah
($1=IDR8,818) and IDR4 trillion from the IPOs, JSX President
Director Erry Firmansyah told reporters.

Among the companies are: state-owned PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia
(P.RKI), which has the largest network of branches across the
Indonesian archipelago; state-owned construction company PT
Hutama Karya; cement producer PT Semen Baturaja; and Sejahtera
NBF Multifinance, he added.

Indonesia's largest cellular phone operator PT Telekomunikasi
Selular Indonesia (TLK), or Telkomsel, is also expected to launch
an IPO this year, but the company hasn't announced it publicly
yet.

Erry didn't explain why more local companies are expected to
enter the domestic stock market this year.

Indonesian shares rose 8.4% last year making the local bourse
one of the best performers in the region in 2002. Analysts expect
the local market to stage a double digit growth this year on the
rupiah's stability against the dollar and improved political
order in the country. -- Dow Jones