Key stock index gains; Mandiri, Petrosea Advance

Key stock index gains; Mandiri, Petrosea Advance

Naila Firdausi, Bloomberg/Jakarta

Indonesia's key stock index gained for a third day in four, led by PT Bank Mandiri on expectations it may soon settle a debt owed by PT Kiani Kertas.

The Jakarta Composite Index advanced 3.46, or 0.3 percent, to 1164.02 at the 4 p.m. local time close, after earlier falling 0.4 percent. Declining stocks led gainers 48 to 42. The index has risen 16 percent this year, and is set for its fourth straight annual gain.

Bank Mandiri, Indonesia's biggest lender by assets, rose Rp 70, or 4.6 percent, to Rp 1,590, its first gain in seven days. The Sampoerna family may spend US$370 million to buy pulp and paper company Kiani Kertas, which includes paying $170 million of Kiani's debt to Bank Mandiri, PT Danareksa, which initiated the plan, said on Dec. 20 after the market closed.

The government welcomed the Sampoerna family's plan to buy Kiani Kertas, cited State Minister of State Enterprises Sugiharto and Minister of Forestry Malam Sambat Kaban.

"Settlement of the loan owed by Kiani Kertas is positive for Mandiri," Ricardo Silaen, an analyst at PT Kim Eng Securities, wrote in a note to clients on Thursday.

PT Petrosea, an Indonesian unit of Australia's Clough Ltd., gained Rp 350, or 5.7 percent, to Rp 6,450, to close at a record for a second day. The stock rose 8.9 percent on Wednesday after the company said it plans to spend Rp 80 billion (US$8.1 million) to buy as much as 10 percent of its shares.

PT Astra Agro Lestari, the nation's biggest publicly traded agricultural company, fell Rp 150, or 2.8 percent, to Rp 5,300. Palm oil for delivery in March in Malaysia, the world's largest palm-oil producer, fell 0.2 percent to 1,406 ringgit ($372) a metric ton on Wednesday, the contract's first decline in five days.

PT Humpuss Intermoda Transportasi, an Indonesian shipping company, climbed Rp 10, or 1.8 percent, to Rp 570. The company plans to spend $70 million on ships to increase revenue by 38 percent next year.

PT International Nickel Indonesia (Inco), the local unit of Canada's Inco Ltd., declined Rp 150, or 1.2 percent, to Rp 12,800. Nickel for delivery in three months in London declined 0.6 percent to $13,225 a metric ton on Wednesday, falling for a third day.

Inco "will get hurt if the nickel prices keep declining," said Mardesiana, an analyst at PT Kresna Graha Sekurindo in Jakarta, which rates the stock "hold."