PT AAL to sell shares
PT AAL to sell shares
JAKARTA (JP): PT Astra Agro Lestari (AAL), a plantation
company, announced yesterday that the company and its
underwriters had agreed to a price of Rp 1,550 per share in its
initial public offering.
The offering period is scheduled to open Nov. 25 and close
Nov. 27, subject to receiving an effective date for the
registration of the offering from the Capital Market Supervisory
Board.
The company, which plans to sell 10 percent of its shares --
equivalent to 125.8 million shares -- will raise Rp 195 billion
from the public. The listing on the Jakarta and Surabaya stock
exchanges is expected early next month.
AAL president Benny Subianto said the company was happy that
the price fell within the initially indicated price range against
the background of Southeast Asia's volatile market conditions in
recent weeks.
"We've been advised by our lead manager that good quality
institutional demand alone has already more than fully subscribed
to the entire issue," he said.
He said the lead managing underwriter was PT ABN AMRO Hoare
Govett Indonesia while ABN AMRO Rothschild was its global
coordinator and international financial advisor.
The company said that once listed, AAL would be Asia's largest
oil palm plantation company with over 164,000 hectares under
management.
The company's sales and net profit have also grown fast, at a
compound annual growth rate of 46 percent and 55 percent, from
1994 to 1996.
This was the result of a long-term growth strategy which had
seen at least 20,000 hectares planted each year for the past five
years, the company said, adding that the process would continue
until 2002.
AAL booked sales of Rp 218.9 billion and a net profit of Rp
36.1 billion for the first half of this year.
The company said investors had been particularly attracted by
its strong earning potential, with revenue driven by U.S. dollar-
denominated international commodity prices for palm oil products
and costs largely denominated in rupiah.
AAL is a flagship of the business division of PT Astra
International, a widely diversified business group, with
investment spanning into the automotive industry, financial
services, heavy equipment, agribusiness, infrastructure, and
other industries, including wood processing, electronics and
light industries. (08)