Mulialand makes big cut in plans for new share offering

Mulialand makes big cut in plans for new share offering

JAKARTA (JP): PT Mulialand has significantly cut the number of
new shares it intends to issue this year from an original plan of
147 million down to 25 million.

A Mulialand executive said yesterday that the sudden move was
not made to escape the trading slump on the stock markets.

"We just want to give investors a chance to get profits on the
secondary market," Kusyadi Kuyono, the company's corporate
secretary, said in a statement.

He said that the entire net proceeds of the issue will be used
for the development and construction of Taman Anggrek Mall and
Condominiums in Jakarta.

At least 50 companies plan to sell equity stocks to the public
this year despite a market glut resulting from the entry of over
10 new issues in the last four months.

Sources said many companies have rescheduled their public
offering plans due to the unfavorable conditions on the capital
markets.

Kusyadi said the offer will give the public an opportunity to
appraise the company's performance before gradually increasing
their investment in Mulialand.

He explained that the big cut in the number of the offered
shares will not affect investment programs and that the reduction
is part of the company's long-term strategy.

"To complement the financing requirements of ongoing projects,
the company will consider more appropriate financial
instruments," he said.

Mulialand's original announcement on the offering said that
the shares would account for around 30 percent of its enlarged
shares and that the cash would be used to repay debts and to
finance the development of two properties and land purchases.

The company is billed to become the second largest company on
the Jakarta and Surabaya stock markets after Barito Pacific
Timber.(hen)