Satelindo to issue debt instruments later this year
Satelindo to issue debt instruments later this year
JAKARTA (JP): Telecommunication firm PT Satelindo is expected
to issue debt instruments later this year to generate additional
funds required to finance its operations, a company executive
says.
"We will issue some capital market instruments in November to
fund our projects," Satelindo's president, Iwa Sewaka, told the
House of Representatives' Commission V, which oversees
communications, in a hearing yesterday.
Iwa, however, did not mention what the instruments were or any
other details related to the plan.
He only said that the instruments will be offered through
several markets, including the New York Stock Exchange.
The offering, he said, will serve as a "warm-up" for
Satelindo's plan to float its shares on international capital
markets in the next three years.
Satelindo is 45 percent owned by a subsidiary of the Bimantara
Group, a conglomerate chaired by one of President Soeharto's
sons, 25 percent by DeteMobil, a subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom,
22.5 percent by PT Telkom and 7.5 percent by PT Indosat. Both
Telkom and Indosat are state-owned concerns.
Iwa also said that Satelindo needs to exercise the issuance
even though the company in March acquired US$586 million from
DeteMobil through a direct-placement transaction.
"Satelindo's investments in 1995 will rapidly increase because
we are planning to realize all of the infrastructure projects
within one year, although we previously planned to finish them
within three years," he said.
The projects are required to support Satelindo's business in
the Global System for Mobile (GSM) cellular telephones, Iwa
added.
In the near future, Satelindo, Indonesia's only existing GSM
operator, is expected to encounter competition from two
companies: PT Telkomsel which is controlled by Telkom and
Indosat, and PT Rajasa Hazanah Perkasa, which is yet to be
formally incorporated for GSM business.
Official sources said Rajasa is made up of a local company
controlled by businessman Hutama Mandala Putra and the U.S. based
Bell Atlantic.
Satellite
At yesterday's hearing, Iwa also clarified Satelindo's
position regarding the selection of the launcher of its Palapa C-
1 satellite, which was incorrectly reported yesterday.
He said that Martin Marietta of the U.S. has been chosen,
without a tender process, to launch the satellite by using the
Atlas IIAs rocket from Cape Canaveral in Florida next January.
The Palapa C-1 was originally set for launch by the French-
based Arianespace between August and November but was postponed
due to failed launches which then delayed launching schedules.
Arianespace will launch the Palapa C-2 satellite from the
Korou base in French Guiana in April next year.
"The delay should not affect the satellite's users," Iwa
said.(hdj)