SSL to sell 128 million shares to public

JAKARTA (JP): Shipping company Samudera Shipping Line Ltd (SSL) plans to offer 128 million shares to the public before its listing on the Stock Exchange of Singapore Dealing and Automated Quotation System (SESDAQ).

The company said the shares, about 30.4 percent of the total enlarged capital, would be sold at S$0.39 each and were expected to raise about S$48 million (US$32 million) from the public.

Overseas Union Bank will become the manager and lead underwriter for the share offering. The offering will begin today and close on Sept. 20.

Samudera Shipping Line Ltd, a subsidiary of Samudera Indonesia Group, is involved in regional container shipping, owning and chartering vessels for liquid and gas cargo in Asia.

SSL, a major feeder operator between the hub port of Singapore and the outlying ports of other Asian countries, has set up extensive networks serving more than 20 ports in Asia including Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, China, Taiwan, Cambodia, the Philippines, Vietnam and India.

Some of its regular customers are mainline operators such as Hapag, Lloyd, Maersk Line and COSCO.

The company has shown sound performance over the past few years.

The company recorded a total turnover of S$194.5 million in 1996 compared to S$45.9 million in 1994 and booked a net profit of S$9.98 million in 1996 compared to S$0.97 million in 1994.

The company said it expected its business to grow in the years ahead given the current strong growth of container traffic and the rising demand for petroleum and petrochemical products in Asia.

The company said container traffic volume was expected to increase by 211 percent to 190 million tons equivalent units (TEUs) in 2008 from 61 million TEUs in 1995.

With a projected 8.2 percent increase in chemical products in the coming years, demand for tankers was also expected to increase.

The company's executive chairman Soedarpo Sastrosatomo said SSL would pledge to strengthen its network and enhance its competence in regional container shipping and transporting liquid and gas cargo in the region.

"We are confident of capitalizing on the growing opportunities in the region," he said. (aly)