S&P affirms Antam rating

S&P affirms Antam rating

JAKARTA: Standard and Poor's rating service affirmed on
Thursday its B rating on Indonesian mining company Aneka Tambang
(Antam) and gave its outlook as stable.

The rating agency said that Antam's weak financial profile,
material country risks, regulatory uncertainty and increasing
cost profile were constraining its rating.

"Offsetting these risks are the favorable outlook for nickel
and gold prices over the medium term and Antam's integrated
operations," said Standard and Poor's credit analyst Erly Witoyo.

Antam is a mining company with interests in nickel, gold,
silver, bauxite and iron ore operations. In 2003, the company
generated a revenue of Rp 2.1 trillion ( US$250 million) from its
operations, all of them in Indonesia. -- AFP