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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