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)