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)