Kimia Farma plans IPO next month

Kimia Farma plans IPO next month

JAKARTA (JP): State-owned pharmaceutical company PT Kimia
Farma announced on Thursday plans for an initial public offering
(IPO) to sell up to 500 million new shares.

Company president Darodjatun said the IPO would be held from
June 13 to June 15 with PT Danareksa Securities as the lead
underwriter.

Aside from the 500 million shares to be sold to the public,
the company will also issue 54 million new shares for its
employees, he said.

"The proceeds from the IPO will be used to finance the
company's expansion," he said, adding that the shares to be
floated account for 9 percent of the company's total shares.

Darodjatun said about 80 percent of the money from the IPO
would be used to boost production capacity by 20 percent and to
add new outlets.

"The remaining 20 percent will used to increase the company's
working capital," he said.

However, he declined to say how much money the company
expected to earn from the IPO.

He said that the company will be listed on the Jakarta and
Surabaya stock exchanges after the IPO is completed.

Kimia Farma is one of 16 state companies the government plans
to privatize this year as part of its effort to raise about Rp
6.5 trillion (US$684 million) to help finance the state budget
deficit.

Darodjatun said Kimia Farma was the second state company to be
floated on the bourse this year, the first being PT Indofarma, a
pharmaceutical firm that held an IPO last month.

Darodjatun said that following the IPO, Kimia Farma would
divest the government's shares through private placement in the
second half of the year

He said three investors from Australia, Asia and Europe had
voiced interest in buying the shares, but he refused to name
them.

According to the company's corporate secretary, Dandosi
Matram, 40 percent of the government's shares in the company
would be offered to strategic investors.

Kimia Farma produces a variety of drugs, including over-the-
counter products and contraceptives.

It also supplies medical and medical-research equipment,
including dental units and surgical equipment, to hospitals and
laboratories.

The company has six plants, located in Jakarta, Bandung, West
Java, Semarang, Central Java, Watudakon, East Java, and Tanjung
Morawa, North Sumatra. (03)