PT Telkom keen to expand business abroad
PT Telkom keen to expand business abroad
JAKARTA (JP): State-owned domestic telecommunications company
PT Telkom will expand its business overseas in a bid to keep
abreast of new high-tech telecommunications services.
Telkom's president, Asman Akhir Nasution, said after the
company's annual shareholders' meeting yesterday that Telkom had
amended its incorporation statute and could now deal with any
telecommunications services.
The amendment deleted the "domestic telecommunications
services" clause in the third article of the company's statute
and replaced it with a new clause stipulating "telecommunications
services".
Telkom now provides domestic telecommunications services
including the development, installation, management and operation
of telecommunications networks and lines in Indonesia.
The company has two licenses -- a local call service which
expires in 2010 and the domestic long distance calls which
expires in 2005.
Nasution said the change was necessary because the information
technology was growing so rapidly that the terms "domestic
telecommunications services" and "international
telecommunications services" were no longer relevant.
Nasution said new telecommunications services which used
satellite systems like Iridium, Spaceway and ACeS could be used
anywhere in the world without borders restrictions.
But he said Telkom's business would still follow Indonesia's
telecommunications law which is under review.
Telkom's net profit last year reached Rp 1.5 trillion
(US$630.8 million), up 65.76 percent on 1995's Rp 795 billion.
Seventy-three percent of the profit (Rp 1.08 trillion) will be
retained for new investment, 26 percent (Rp 384.9 billion) will
be paid in dividends and 1 percent (Rp 14.8 billion) will be held
as cash reserves.
He said Telkom would keep looking for new business
opportunities.
"We plan to enter the Integrated Service Digital Network
(ISDN), Intelligent Network (IN), multimedia and other
telecommunications businesses," he said.
Nasution said Telkom would launch its new satellite, Telkom-1,
by the end of 1998.
"The satellite itself costs US$84.6 million and its launch
will cost $90.44 million," he said.
Telkom-1 will replace the Palapa-B2R which expires in 1999.
Telkom floated its shares on the New York, London, Jakarta and
Surabaya stock exchanges in November 1995.
The company is 75.84 percent owned by the Indonesian
government.
Telkom's director, Dadad Kustiwa, said Telkom operated 4.2
million lines as last December, 27 percent more than in 1995.
He said 2.3 million of the lines were in Greater Jakarta and
East Java.
Telkom shares rose Rp 25 to Rp 3625. (icn)