Pos Indonesia to go public after reforms

JAKARTA (JP): The state-owned postal service, PT Pos Indonesia, plans to float some of its shares after completing a series of reforms by 2003.

Company president Cahyana Ahmadjayadi said in a hearing with the House of Representatives yesterday that the company's reform program would be divided into three phases.

"The first phase from 1995 to 1997 is the consolidation and modernization program, the second phase from 1998 to 2000 is the growth program and the last one from 2000 to 2003 is the total solution program," he told House Commission V for transportation, tourism, telecommunications and public works.

He refused to disclose anymore information on the float.

"My job is to make the company perform better. It's not my job to assess whether the company is ready or not to float its shares," he told reporters during a break at the hearing.

He said Pos Indonesia's profit had grown 4.5 percent and its revenue by 11 percent yearly for the last three years.

PT Schroeders Indonesia securities analyst Willianto Ie told The Jakarta Post that Pos Indonesia's shares would be attractive because the company had a nation-wide network.

Cahyana said Pos Indonesia's profit had grown significantly from Rp 37.13 billion (US$15.7 million) in 1990 to Rp 43.54 billion in 1991 and Rp 50.03 billion in 1992. Its profit had risen further by 3.1 percent to Rp 51.61 billion in 1993 and by 1.8 percent to Rp 52.55 billion in 1994.

He said Pos Indonesia had a profit of Rp 56.7 billion last year and expected to gain a Rp 67.89 billion profit this year.

"We have always gained unqualified opinions from the Development Finance Comptroller (government auditor)," he said.

Diversification

According to data from the Ministry of Tourism, Post and Telecommunications, Pos Indonesia has 29,000 staff, 4,798 offices, 3,272 vehicular service units and 8,654 service points all over the country.

The company handled 537.39 million letters within the country last year, and 59.02 million letters from overseas. In the same year, the company handled 21.17 million domestic money transfer transactions worth more than Rp 2.38 trillion.

Besides its conventional mail service, the company has diversified into an Internet service called Wasantaranet.

Pos Indonesia's chief of technology and information systems, Rosidi Wiradinata, told the Post that Wasantaranet covered 31 cities and served 47,500 users.

"Wasantaranet will cover 286 cities by July 1997. We will also offer international roaming," he said.

He said Pos Indonesia would make money from the Internet service.

He said Pos Indonesia would next year introduce cyber-trading, hybrid mail and other services.

Cyber trading would allow people to buy goods through Internet. Hybrid mail would allow Internet users to send messages to their colleagues without computers. (icn)