Singapore consortium in $500m bid for Astra: Report

Singapore consortium in $500m bid for Astra: Report

SINGAPORE (AFP): Singapore's top state investment arm was reported Thursday to be spearheading a bid of half a billion U.S. dollars for a 43 percent stake in Indonesia's automotive giant, PT Astra International.

The Government of Singapore Investment Corp. (GIC) was reported by the Business Times as leading a local consortium, including listed vehicle distributor Cycle and Carriage Ltd., in the bid for Astra.

A spokesman for the GIC declined comment on the report. The cash-rich GIC does not usually comment on its investments.

The report said the Singapore consortium would put in a bid of us$500 million, with Cycle and Carriage taking up one fifth of the bid.

The Indonesian government is selling its 45 percent stake in Astra, Indonesia's largest car maker, and is expected to announce a shortlist of interested bidders soon.

The share price of Cycle and Carriage rose 16 cents to $S3.92 in mid-afternoon trade Thursday following the report.

"This is a very interesting development," JM Sassoon Securities analyst Lai Yeu Huan told AFX-Asia, an AFP-affiliated financial news wire.

"If they get it (the Astra stake), it could potentially replace lost revenues from the distribution of Mercedes-Benz cars in Singapore and Malaysia when DaimlerChrysler takes over the wholesale business," Lai added.

Astra assembles various cars and trucks for Toyota Motor Corp., PSA Peugeot-Citroen, Bayerische Motoren Werke (BMW), Daihatsu Motor Co. Ltd. and Isuzu Motors Ltd.

Cycle and Carriage is seeking new businesses after DaimlerChrysler Corp. recently announced that it would take over the wholesale side of the Mercedes-Benz AG's operations, beginning next year.

Other bidders reportedly eying the Indonesian government stake in Astra are Lazard Freres of France, Credit Lyonnais Securities, Philippine conglomerate JG Summit Holdings and George Soros' Quantum Fund.