Pertamina mulls selling units, bonds after '05

Pertamina mulls selling units, bonds after '05

JAKARTA: Indonesia's national oil and gas company Pertamina
plans to sell some of its units through initial public offerings
as well as issue bonds after 2005 to finance some projects,
company President Director Baihaki Hakim said Thursday.

The company is considering those plans as a result of mounting
difficulties in obtaining loans from banks, Baihaki told
reporters.

He said Pertamina needs US$4.5 billion over the next five
years to develop oil and gas projects.

However, plans for the unit sales and bond issue remain at an
early stage, he added. Pertamina will first have to discuss them
with the government.

The government plans to transform Pertamina into an
independent and profit-oriented company by 2005.

Earlier this year, Pertamina lost its monopoly on the
country's upstream oil and gas sector when the government formed
a body authorized to award oil and gas exploration and
exploitation contracts. Before that, Pertamina had exclusive
rights to those contracts. -- Dow Jones