SSI considers buying 500 hectares to expand

JAKARTA (JP): PT Surya Semesta Internusa (SSI) is considering buying about 500 hectares in Karawang, West Java, next year to expand its industrial estate project.

The publicly listed industrial estate developer's vice president, Johannes Suriadjaya, said here yesterday it would buy the land in the first semester next year.

He said the firm would spend between Rp 125 billion (US$52.08 million) and Rp 150 billion on the land.

"The land will cost between Rp 25,000 per square meter to Rp 30,000 per square meter," he said.

Johannes is the son of B.A Suriadjaya, the younger brother of William Suriadjaya -- the founder of Astra International.

He said the land was adjacent to its subsidiary PT Suryacipta Swadaya's industrial estate in Karawang.

"We did not take the 500 hectares earlier because of land clearance problems," he said.

He said the owners had offered the land to Suryacipta.

He said Suryacipta was licensed to develop and manage 1,400 hectares in Karawang, and it had bought 1,207 hectares.

He said the company had sold about 190 of the hectares to major tenants including Bridgestone, JVC, GS Battery, Bekart, PT Keramika Indonesia Asosiasi at an average cost US$53 per square meter.

PT Surya Semesta Internusa, established 26 years ago, is an integrated real estate company with five business divisions: industrial and non-industrial real estate, construction, building materials, hotels and other investments.

Johannes said the company projected a Rp 950 billion revenue and a Rp 126 billion net profit for 1998.

Tjandra Bachtiar, the firm's finance director, said revenue was expected to increase 28 percent to Rp 806 billion this year, from Rp 627 billion in 1996, while net profit was projected to increase to Rp 89 billion in 1997, up 82 percent from Rp 49 billion in 1995.

He said the company, which had total assets of Rp 1.2 trillion as of March 1997, booked a total revenue of Rp 147 billion in the first quarter of 1997, up 52 percent from Rp 97 billion in the corresponding period last year.

"The company posted Rp 28 billion in net profit in the first quarter this year," Tjandra said.

He said industrial and non-industrial real estate was expected to contribute about 78 percent of the company's total net profit in 1997, construction 12 percent, building materials 2 percent, hotels 3 percent and other investments 5 percent.

"Each division's contribution to this year's net profit will be about the same as in 1996," he said. (09)