PT Daya Mitra selects UK's C&W as new partner

PT Daya Mitra selects UK's C&W as new partner

JAKARTA (JP): PT Daya Mitra Malindo, the private joint-venture firm assigned to develop a telecommunications network in Kalimantan, ended an internal dispute with the selection of Britain's Cable & Wireless as its new shareholders, replacing Telekom Malaysia.

Daya Mitra announced that in a deal inked yesterday, the company is now 29.03 percent owned by PT Intidaya Sistelindomitra, 25 percent by Cable & Wireless, 24.19 percent by PT ALatieF Nusakarya Corporation, 9.68 percent by TM Communications of Hong Kong, 2.42 percent by the tea producer cooperative Kopthindo and 9.68 percent by the Singapore-based American International Group.

Daya Mitra, which last year was awarded a 15-year joint operation contract for domestic telecommunication services, was experiencing internal problems with Malaysia Telekom. The dispute has stalled the hand-over of the management of the existing telephone networks in Kalimantan from the state-owned PT Telkom to Daya Mitra, which was originally scheduled for January.

Under an agreement signed with Telkom last year, Daya Mitra must install 237,000 new lines in Kalimantan by 1999 and operate them together with the existing ones for 15 years.

Though Daya Mitra failed to begin installing its new telephone lines in January, the company will not be penalized by Telkom, which set the end of this month as the deadline to solve the problem.

Cable & Wireless previously failed in two other telecommunications tenders in Indonesia -- for 25 percent ownership of PT Satelindo, which went to German DeTeMobil, and 17.28 percent ownership in PT Telkomsel, which was awarded to PTT Telecom of the Netherlands. (icn)