Satelindo may get $248m in revenue

Satelindo may get $248m in revenue

JAKARTA (JP): PT Satelit Palapa Indonesia (Satelindo), a
telecommunications operator, expects to gain Rp 584.5 billion
(US$248 million) in revenue this year from its business of
satellites, international telephone calls and digital cellular
telephones.

The company's president, Iwa Sewaka, said after meeting with
Vice President Try Sutrisno yesterday that Satelindo estimates a
net profit of Rp 55 billion ($23.33 million)) in 1996.

"Of the projected profit, Rp 30.35 billion is expected from
cellular telephone services, Rp 20.2 billion from satellite
transponder leasing and Rp 4.45 billion from international
telecommunications services," he said.

During the meeting with Try, Iwa was accompanied by Minister
of Tourism, Post and Telecommunications Joop Ave, Satelindo's
chief commissioner Fuad Bawazier, who is also director general of
taxes, and Satelindo commissioner Bambang Trihatmodjo, who is
also a son of President Soeharto.

Satelindo, set up in January 1993, is one of the private
companies in the country that is licensed by the government to
run satellite telecommunications services. The company is owner
and operator of Palapa C-1 and C-2 satellites.

The company, which in 1994 obtained the license to run the
Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) telephones, targets
to increase the number of its GSM subscribers from 150,000 at
present to 850,000 by 1998.

In addition to Satelindo, Indonesia has PT Telkomsel and PT
Excelcomindo to operate GSM cellular telephones.

Satelindo is owned 22.5 percent by state-owned domestic
telecommunications company PT Telkom, 7.5 percent by state-owned
international telecommunications company PT Indosat, 45 percent
by PT Bimagraha Telekomindo and 25 percent by DeTeMobil of
Germany.

According to Iwa, Satelindo's total assets are estimated at Rp
2.15 trillion this year, comprising Rp 1.44 trillion in equity
and the remainder in liabilities.

He said that his company has invested $397.5 million in the
satellite business, $490 million for cellular telecommunications
networks and $22.45 million for international telephone services.
(icn)