Nusamba moves to take major stake in Astra

Nusamba moves to take major stake in Astra

JAKARTA (JP): PT Nusantara Ampera Bhakti (Nusamba) began
maneuvering yesterday to control a majority stake in PT Astra
International, buying at least 10 percent of the automotive
company's shares through the Surabaya Stock Exchange.

Sources said Nusamba, a business group controlled by three
foundations owned by President Soeharto, bought the shares from
Bank Ekspor Impor Indonesia, Bank Negara Indonesia 1946 and from
other government-related institutions for an average price of Rp
4,100 (US$1.74) a share.

No Nusamba officials were available to confirm the take-over
yesterday, but the Surabaya-based over-the-counter market
reported that over 144 million Astra shares changed hands on the
market's block-trading section yesterday.

The Astra shares were sold by securities companies affiliated
with the two state banks to securities firms linked to the
Danamon and Salim groups, which are major shareholders in Astra.

Muhammad (Bob) Hasan, a Nusamba commissioner, said earlier he
had agreed to buy 10.6 percent of Astra shares held by
government-related institutions.

Securities analysts said Nusamba's move to purchase Astra
shares yesterday was the start of the company's attempt to
control a majority stake in the country's largest automotive
company.

They said that Nusamba, a company with timber, plantations,
financial services and other interests, was likely to buy more
Astra shares in the next few days to ensure it had enough ballots
to control the company.

Analysts predicted that Nusamba would forge an alliance with
the Danamon and Salim groups to control at least 51 percent of
Astra shares.

Minister/State Secretary Moerdiono said Wednesday the
government would prefer that the share holdings of Astra remained
diversified. At present, the largest shareholders own around 10
percent of the company.

But the analysts considered the minister's statement reflected
government dissatisfaction over tobacco tycoon Putera Sampoerna's
attempt to acquire a majority stake in the company.

Putera, the chairman of HM Sampoerna, one of the country's
largest clove-blended cigarette manufacturers, said early this
week he had bought 9.81 percent of Astra shares. The cigarette
producer's wholly-owned Dutch subsidiary bought another 2.85
percent, making Putera and his company the largest shareholder in
Astra.

But Sampoerna announced yesterday the tobacco company had
liquidated its 2.85 percent stake in Astra.

Astra International reported a 25.6 percent increase in its
net profit to Rp 340.85 billion in the first nine months of this
year over the same period last year.

Astra's net profit is expected to reach Rp 450 billion in 1996
if the market for automobiles and motorcycles improves. (hen)