RI firm to buy 20% of Malaysian line

JAKARTA (JP): Shareholders of the publicly listed shipping company PT Berlian Laju Tanker approved yesterday a proposal that the company acquire a 20 percent stake in a Malaysian shipping company.

Kevin Wong, Berlian's corporate secretary, said his company would buy the shares of Malaysian Merchant Marine for US$1.43 million.

"We chose Malaysian Merchant Marine to further expand the company's foreign networks," Wong said after an extraordinary meeting of shareholders.

He said the acquisition would be financed by equity.

The company will buy 2,757,286 shares for RM1.30 (52 U.S. cents) each, he said.

Merchant Marine, which operates three tankers and three bulk- cargo ships, transports crude and oil products for Malaysia's state oil company, Petronas.

Berlian owns and operates 20 ships: 50 percent of its fleet capacity handles crude and oil products for state-owned Pertamina.

Wong said that Merchant Marine planned to float its shares this year on the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange, where shipping counters have an average price earning ratio of 18.6.

He said Merchant Marine's net income had increased 34.5 percent to US$4.6 million last year from $3 million in 1995. Malaysian Merchant's net profit is expected to increase this year to $6.18 million.

Wong said that PT Berlian Laju Tanker had made a Rp 11.2 billion net profit in the first nine months of last year.

He estimated that its 1996 net profit would be Rp 12.5 billion, up from Rp 9.6 billion in 1995. The company's total assets were estimated to increase to Rp 300 billion last year from Rp 284.9 billion in 1995, he said. (02)