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)