Stocks rise to 6-week high as Bumi, Kimia advance
Stocks rise to 6-week high as Bumi, Kimia advance
Naila Firdausi, Bloomberg/Jakarta
Indonesian stocks rose to a six-week high, led by coal-miners such as PT Bumi Resources, after PT Pertamina and Canada's Accelon Energy Systems Inc. agreed to build a plant that can turn coal into diesel.
PT Kimia Farma advanced after the government said it has appointed the state-run drugmaker to produce Tamiflu, which may be used to treat avian influenza. At least seven people have died of bird flu in the nation.
The Jakarta Composite Index added 6.66, or 0.6 percent, to 1081.08 at the 4 p.m. local time close, its highest since Oct. 18. Forty-nine stocks rose, 43 fell and 245 were unchanged.
Bumi, Indonesia's biggest coal exporter, rose Rp 10, or 1.4 percent, to Rp 730, ending a four-day, 5.3 percent slide. PT Tambang Batubara Bukit Asam, a state-controlled coal miner, climbed Rp 10, or 0.6 percent, to Rp 1,660.
State oil and gas company PT Pertamina and Accelon Energy signed an agreement on Nov. 23 to build a $6 billion plant that would turn coal into diesel, Widya Purnama, Pertamina's president, said on Nov. 25.
"The news helped sentiment on the stocks," said Prayoga Triyono, head analyst at PT Henan Putihrai in Jakarta, who recommends investors "buy" shares of both Bumi and Bukit Asam. "The stocks are attractive at their current prices."
Henan was the second-biggest net buyer of Bumi shares on Monday.
Kimia Farma, a state-controlled drugmaker that runs the largest pharmacy network in the country, jumped Rp 15, or 12 percent, to Rp 145, its biggest gain since Sept. 16, 2003.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said on Monday he has appointed state-run Kimia to make the anti-viral drug which may work against bird flu. Roche Holding AG, the second-largest Swiss drugmaker, said on Nov. 25 that Indonesia can make Tamiflu without a license.
The government said on Nov. 25 it may appoint either Kimia Farma and/or PT Indofarma to make the drug, also known as oseltamivir, as the country prepares for a possible outbreak of bird flu among humans. Indofarma, the country's biggest maker of generic drugs, rose Rp 10, or 9.5 percent, to Rp 115.
Crude palm oil for delivery in February fell 0.9 percent to 1,406 ringgit (US$372) a metric ton at 12:30 p.m. Kuala Lumpur time on the Malaysian Derivative Exchange, its biggest decline since Oct. 21.
PT Perusahaan Perkebunan London Sumatra Indonesia, the country's second-biggest publicly traded agricultural company, slipped Rp 25, or 0.8 percent, to Rp 3,000. PT Bakrie Sumatera Plantations, the third biggest, lost Rp 15, or 3.8 percent, to Rp 385. Both companies have oil-palm plantations.
PT Perusahaan Gas Negara, Indonesia's biggest publicly traded energy company, declined Rp 50, or 0.8 percent, to Rp 6,150 after some investors judged its three-day, 14 percent jump excessive.
"Investors were realizing gains after the spectacular jump," said Adi Hartadi, an analyst at PT Mandiri Sekuritas in Jakarta.
PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia, the nation's biggest telephone company, climbed Rp 100, or 1.9 percent, to Rp 5,350. The company's Telkom-2 satellite launched earlier this month may generate $468 million in revenue over 15 years, Bisnis Indonesia reported, citing Vice President Garuda Sugardo.