Telkom keeps Kristiono, names Abeng chairman

Telkom keeps Kristiono, names Abeng chairman

Dewi Santoso, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Shareholders of publicly listed telecommunications firm PT
Telkom retained Kristiono as the company's president in a major
reshuffle proposed by the government following accounting woes.

Meanwhile, Tanri Abeng, a former minister overseeing state
enterprises, was named as the company's president commissioner,
replacing Bacelius Ruru. The position is equal to a company
chairman.

Tanri had been implicated in the high-profile 1999 Bank Bali
scandal, but was later acquitted by the court due to lack of
evidence.

"The reshuffle is aimed at improving the company's
performance," said Roes Aryawijaya, deputy at the Office of the
State Minister of State Enterprises, on Wednesday following an
extraordinary shareholders meeting of the company that approved
the reshuffle. The government owns a controlling 51 percent stake
in Telkom, which is listed on both the Jakarta and New York stock
exchanges.

He acknowledged, however, that part of the reason for the
changes in the management was due to a six-month delay in the
completion of a reaudit of Telkom's 2002 financial report, which
put the company at risk of being delisted from the New York Stock
Exchange. The reaudit of the 2002 accounts, which was required by
the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), resulted in a
3.7 percent decline in the 2002 profit than earlier reported.

Speculation had been rife that State Minister of State
Enterprises Laksamana Sukardi would fire Kristiono and replace
him with someone from outside the company. However, such a move
would have been unpopular among both employees and independent
shareholders amid a conviction that Telkom should be led by a
person who knows the company well. Kristiono, who took the helm
at Telkom in 2002, has been with the company for more than 22
years.

The government did, however, appoint a new finance director,
Rinaldi Firmansyah, replacing Guntur Siregar. The former is
currently deputy commissioner at state-owned securities house PT
Bahana Sekuritas.

Meanwhile, Suryatin Setiawan, previously telecommunications
network business director, was appointed as service business
director.

Abdul Haris was appointed as the new telecommunications
network business director.

On the board of commissioners, head of the Fiscal Analysis
Body at the Ministry of Finance, Anggito Abimanyu, and staff
member at the Office of the State Minister of State Enterprises,
Gatot Trihargo, were selected as new board members. Arif Arryman
and P. Sartono were retained as independent commissioners at
Telkom.

On Wednesday, Telkom shares fell by Rp 50 to Rp 7,150, which
contributed to the overall decline of the Jakarta stock composite
index.

Telkom is the largest telecommunications company in Indonesia
and the largest counter on the JSX, with a 17 percent market
capitalization.

Meanwhile, Kristiono said that Telkom would file its 2003
audited report in May of this year, which is still in line with
the deadline set by the U.S. SEC, but way beyond the March
deadline set by the Indonesian Capital Market Supervisory Agency
(Bapepam).

Telkom has appointed accounting firm KPMG to audit the
financial report.