L&M expects boost from RI

L&M expects boost from RI

SINGAPORE (Dow Jones): L&M Group Investments Ltd. expects the
acquisition of Van Der Horst Ltd.'s assets in Indonesia to boost
its revenue by S$10 million for the current financial year,
Marcel Tjia, executive director of L&M said Tuesday.

This will increase L&M's revenue for the year ending Dec. 31
to S$30 million-S$35 million.

Earlier Tuesday, L&M said it has completed the purchase of Van
Der Horst's 17.5 percent stake in PT Van Der Horst Indonesia Tbk,
and its stake in Van Der Horst Technologies Pte. Ltd. for S$11
million cash.

L&M will also pay S$5 million for a 90 percent stake in Van
Der Horst and assume S$19 million of its restructured debts.

Shares of marine engineering and infrastructure company Van
Der Horst were suspended since it filed for judicial management
Jan. 25. Michael Ng, Peter Chay and Bobby Chin of accounting firm
KPMG are the judicial managers for the company, which has S$119
million in debts.

The acquisition will be funded by proceeds from two share
placements done earlier in the year and won't add to its current
debts of S$81 million, Tjia said.

Separately, L&M said it will proceed to develop a technology
park called CyberCity in Jakarta, said Edward Soeryadjaya, chief
executive of L&M. The project will contribute less than 5% to
revenue for year 2001.