Soros buys $40m in bonds from Datakom

Soros buys $40m in bonds from Datakom

JAKARTA (JP): American billionaire and hedge fund manager
George Soros has bought US$40 million out of the $250 million in
bonds issued by a local telecommunications company, media baron
Peter F. Gontha said yesterday.

Soros, who Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad blamed
for the currency crisis in Southeast Asian countries, bought the
bonds recently from PT Datakom Asia, Gontha told newsmen.

"It's a surprise because that was the first time he has
invested in bonds, let alone the ones issued by an Indonesian
company," Gontha said after a meeting with President Soeharto
yesterday to report on the planned launch of Datakom's
broadcasting satellite in October.

Datakom floated the eight-year bonds in the United States with
a fixed coupon rate of 12.75 percent, added Gontha, a director of
Datakom.

PT Media Citra Indostar, a subsidiary of Datakom, will launch
the Indostar-1 satellite, a direct broadcast television
spacecraft in October, he said.

The European aerospace consortium Arianespace will launch the
US$173 million satellite from Kourou in French Guiana. The
satellite will operate four months after it goes into orbit.

The satellite operation will deliver programs from five
private television networks across the country and interactive
nontelephony services.

"The President has named the satellite Cakrawarta which means
news weapons," Minister of Tourism, Post and Telecommunications
Joop Ave said.

Accompanying Joop and Gontha at yesterday's meeting were
Minister of Information R. Hartono, Minister/State Secretary
Moerdiono, PT Indosat's president Tjahjono Soerjodibroto and
businessman Bambang Trihatmodjo, chairman of the widely
diversified Bimantara Group.

Gontha, an executive of the company, said Media Citra's
shareholders included the state-owned telecommunications company
PT Indosat, PT Asriland (Bambang Trihatmodjo), PT Lembah Subur
(Salim Group), PT Persada Giri Abadi (Gontha), state-owned TVRI
Foundation, PT Telkom and PT Yasawiryatama Tama Cipta (YTC).

"Indosat has a right to buy 20 percent of the total shares, PT
Telkom 12 percent and TVRI Foundation up to 7.5 percent," Gontha
said.

Datakom's shareholders include state-owned PT Indosat, PT
Asriland (Bambang Trihatmodjo), PT Lembah Subur (Salim Group), PT
Persada Giri Abadi (Gontha) and PT Azbindo Nusantara.

The satellite, manufactured by CTA of the Virginia-based
International Technology Inc. of the United States, will cover
the entire Southeast Asian region.

The satellite is expected to operate on the 117.2 eastern
degree.

Gontha said the satellite would be linked to all private
television stations such as RCTI, Indosiar, ANteve, TPI
and SCTV.

"Foreign TV stations including CNN and Discovery have also
expressed interest in using our transponders," said Gontha.

PT Indonusa Telemedia, a subsidiary of Media Citra Indostar,
will offer interactive nontelephony services for domestic and
international markets beginning next year after the satellite
starts its operation.

It will provide entertainment services including news, audio
materials, videos and games on demand, home shopping as well as
transactions.

Using the satellite, the Ministry of Education and Culture
will launch a new television channel dedicated solely for
education in November. (prb)

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