Semen Gresik April sales fall

Semen Gresik April sales fall

JAKARTA:Indonesia's cement maker PT Semen Gresik Thursday said
its total cement sales fell 20 percent to 992,388 metric tons in
April from 1.233 million tons in April last year.

Gresik, Indonesia's largest cement maker, said the fall was
due to a decline in domestic sales and export volumes.

Semen Gresik's domestic cement sales in April fell 7 percent
to 849,788 tons from 914,054 tons last year.

Exports declined 55 percent to 142,600 tons from 318,842 tons.

According to data from the National Cement Association,
countrywide cement output in April fell 5.1 percent to 2.023
million tons from 2.131 million tons in April last year.

Semen Gresik is 51 percent owned by the government and 25.53
percent owned by Mexico's Cemex SA de CV (CX).

Tuesday, Gresik said shareholders will vote in December
whether to spin off its unit Semen Padang, which contributed 36
percent to Gresik's total cement sales in April.--Dow Jones

;Agencies;
ANPAf..r..
CorporateBrief-PLN-price-cuts
PLN agrees price cuts
JP/14/brief

PLN agrees price cuts

JAKARTA: PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN), Indonesia's state
utility company, reached agreement on price cuts or buyouts with
26 independent power producers, Energy and Mineral Resources
Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro said.

"By reaching agreements with 26 producers, we are able to
show the market that we can settle our dispute and that private
producers can operate in this country," Purnomo told reporters
after a cabinet meeting.

The utility has been trying to renegotiate power purchase
agreements amounting to US$133 billion over 30 years with 27
independent producers, mostly backed by overseas investors, after
the Indonesian rupiah's collapse during the Asian financial crisis
in 1998 forced PLN to sell electricity to consumers at a loss. --
Bloomberg

;Agencies;
ANPAf..r..
CorporateBrief-APP-export-credit
APP to meet export credit agencies
JP/14/brief

APP to meet export credit agencies

JAKARTA: Asia Pulp & Paper Co. will meet key creditors tomorrow
to discuss their proposal for protection from a second debt
default, the head of the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency
(IBRA) said.

The meeting was delayed on Wednesday as the export credit
agencies owed the bulk of the outstanding debt of more than US$13
billion hammered out details of their proposal, IBRA chief
Syafruddin Temenggung told reporters on the sidelines of an
investor forum.

The creditors include Japan's Nippon Export & Investment
Insurance and export credit agencies from the U.S. and
Germany.

Asia Pulp has been negotiating a debt recast with lenders
after a default 27 months ago, the success of which is key to
restoring investor confidence in Indonesia. IBRA, which is owed $1
billion, is mediating in the debt talks between the company and
overseas lenders. -- Bloomberg