PGN to sell 55% stake via IPO

PGN to sell 55% stake via IPO

JAKARTA: Indonesia's state-owned natural gas transporting
company PT Perusahaan Gas Negara, or PGN, plans to sell a 55
percent stake in the third quarter of this year through an
initial public offering (IPO), a government official said.

The IPO will comprise old and new shares equivalent to 55
percent of the company's enlarged share capital after the
offering, Mahmuddin Yasin, a deputy to the Minister of State
Enterprises' Affairs, told reporters late Wednesday. The
government currently holds 100 percent of PGN. Mahmuddin didn't
specify the number of shares to be sold.

The planned sale of the government stake in PGN is part of
efforts to raise Rp 8 trillion rupiah (US$888.89 billion) through
the sale of state-owned companies this year to help finance the
state budget deficit. The government plans to sell stakes in 10
companies this year.

PGN also needs to raise cash to help finance its South
Sumatra-West Java gas pipeline project worth $485 million. -- Dow
Jones