SingTel buys 30% of CyberCity

SingTel buys 30% of CyberCity

JAKARTA (JP): Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel) has
bought a 30 percent share of PT CyberCity Indonesia (CCI), which
is developing a 10-hectare site in Kemayoran for domestic and
international Internet-related businesses.

"The deal was valued at US$15 million," CCI president Edward
S. Soeryadjaya (left) said in a statement here on Wednesday.

The acquisition agreement was signed last week by Edward and
Leong Shin Loong (right), vice president of SingTel and chief
executive officer of SingNet, the statement said.

Present at the ceremony were vice president of the Jakarta
International Trade Fair Yoichi Sato (second left) and Edward's
tycoon father William Soerjadjaja (second right).

Edward added that the fund would soon be used for the
renovation and rewiring of the Jakarta International Trade Fair
building in Kemayoran and for the enhancement of the building's
infrastructure to attract domestic and international tenants.

"The fund will also finance the first stage development of
three hectares of land into Indonesia's first, dedicated
CyberCity," he said.

According to Edwards, tenants in the building will be provided
with state-of-the-art facilities and infrastructure as well as
services such as a media laboratory, application service provider
facilities, incubation facilities and financial and
administrative back-up services.

The statement quoted Leong as saying that the investment, the
first ever made by Singtel in a foreign country, reflected the
company's strong confidence in the future prospects of CyberCity.

CCI is a subsidiary of L&M Group Investments Ltd., which is
controlled by Edwards and listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange.

Edward said CCI would develop business-to-business and
business-to-consumer portals, an incubation unit to develop new
e-businesses, telecommunications and technological initiatives,
multi-media technology, education and the CyberCity as the high-
tech center of the country.

"CyberCity will be designed as a virtual and physical cluster
of Internet-related businesses, acting as a hub and locomotive
bridging Indonesia and the world," Edward added.