Pelindo unit sale not undervalued, says govt official

Pelindo unit sale not undervalued, says govt official

JAKARTA (JP): The government denied on Monday allegations that
the sale of PT Jakarta International Container Terminal, a unit
of state-owned port operator PT Pelindo II, to Hong Kong's
Hutchison Whampoa was undervalued.

A senior official at the State Ministry of the Empowerment of
State Enterprises, Sofyan Djalil, said the privatization deal was
the best offer the government received due to the bearish market.

"In terms of price earning ratio, the transaction was much
better than that made by other leading port operators," he told
The Jakarta Post. The deal was much higher than that made by
Rotterdam Port, which has a larger capacity, he said.

He declined to disclose additional details, saying they would
be released as soon as the transfer was completed.

Earlier, a government source told the Post the government had
only received some $200 million from the sale of a 51 percent
stake in JICT to Grosbeak, a unit of Hutchison Whampoa.

JICT is the management company of Indonesia's busiest port in
Tanjung Priok. The company is a unit of state-owned PT Pelindo
II, targeted for government privatization in the 1998/1999 fiscal
year.

Legislators Paskah Suzetta and Uray Faisal Hamid expressed
concern at the weekend that the privatization of Pelindo II as
well as Pelindo III -- which is currently underway -- was not
transparent and that the sale of JICT was undervalued.

Sofyan, however, said it was impossible for the government to
fully disclose the Pelindo II transaction until a final deal was
signed because it involved a foreign publicly listed company, in
which a preliminary announcement would have a significant impact
on the price of its listed shares.

"But I can assure you that the privatization process is being
conducted transparently, competitively and is auditable," he
said.

The government failed to reach its privatization target in the
fiscal year ending in March.

A government source said only $381 million could be raised
during the fiscal year, less than half the target figure of $1
billion.

The proceeds come from the sale of the government's stake in
Pelindo II, cement maker PT Semen Gresik and in publicly listed
instant noodle maker PT Indofood Sukses Makmur.

The government announced last week that the sale of government
shares in state-owned international telecommunications company PT
Indosat would be delayed until the 1999/2000 fiscal year because
new telecommunications regulations were not yet finalized. (rei)