Six state firms will be listed overseas
Six state firms will be listed overseas
JAKARTA (JP): The government plans to float the shares of six state-owned companies through international stock markets to raise funds as part of its program to accelerate the prepayment of high-interest external loans, a minister said yesterday.
Minister of Finance Mar'ie Muhammad said that the public offering of the six companies will include the divestment of the government's shares.
"The public offering will include the divestment of around 25 percent of the government's shares and the issuance of around 15 percent of new shares of each of the six companies," the minister told a hearing with the House of Representatives.
The minister explained that the government is also preparing the listing of two other state-owned companies on the domestic markets.
Mar'ie declined to disclose the names of the eight companies.
However, some of the companies, including PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia, the provider of domestic telephone services, PT Aneka Tambang, the general mining company, and PT Tambang Timah, the tin mining company, have recently revealed their "going international" plans.
Securities analysts said that at least two state-owned companies, including the state-owned Bank Negara Indonesia and the diversified Rajawali Nusantara, are also preparing their public offering.
Unlike the six firms, the two latter companies will target the local market, they said.
Time
The minister said the time frame of the planned initial public offering of the eight state-owned firms had not been fixed. "It depends on the market situation and the preparation of each company," he added.
Securities analysts said that Telkom, which is now in the process of selecting its underwriter, is likely to become the second firm to be listed on the international market after Indosat, which made a successful debut during its initial listing on the New York Stock Exchange last October.
Indosat, the provider of international telecommunication services, raised US$799 million from the sales of 25 percent of its 1.03 billion shares through the New York Stock Exchange, in addition to around Rp 650 billion ($297 million) from the sales of another 10 percent of its shares on the domestic market.
The 25 percent of the shares sold through the New York Stock Exchange mainly comprised of the government's shares, while those sold at home consisted of new shares.
Mar'ie told the House's Budgetary Commission during the hearing that around US$782.9 million of the proceeds of the government's stock divestment in Indosat had been used to prepay loans carrying interest rates of above 10 percent, provided by the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank.
He said that the prepayment of the high-interest loans would be made as an integral part of the foreign debt management and that the divestment of the government's stocks in major state- owned companies through stock exchanges will be one important source of funds in financing its loan prepayment program.
The minister explained that around $916.08 million of the outstanding debts carry annual interest rates of between 10 percent and 11.5 percent, while debts of $74.81 million have interest rates of between 10.51 percent and 11 percent, and other $160.65 million carries interest rates between 11 percent and 11.60 percent.(hen)