Telkom needs extension from SEC

Telkom needs extension from SEC

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

State-owned telecommunications company PT Telkom announced that
it had submitted a proposal to the United States Securities and
Exchange Commission (SEC) for a 15-day extension in filing its
2004 audited financial account.

The country's largest telecommunications firm said in a
statement over the weekend that the decision was taken following
its failure to meet a June 30 deadline for submitting its
accounts based on the SEC standards.

According to the statement, the company will need more time
because it is still answering the watchdog's queries on the 2003
report as well as working with its advisors to complete the
preparation and review of the 2004 accounts.

However, Telkom indicated the possibility that it might even
fail to submit the account within the extended deadline.

The Bandung-based company is required to submit its accounts
to the SEC since its American depositary receipts are traded on
the New York Stock Exchange.

The SEC has demanded that Telkom review the so-called form 20-
F in the company's 2003 account in order to enable KPMG, its
auditor for the 2004 financial report, to eligibly include the
company's 2003 account in the latest financial report.

Problems with Telkom's financial reports emerged when the SEC
rejected Telkom's 2002 financial account as it did not recognize
the company's initial auditor for the account. The company later
appointed PricewaterhouseCoopers to reaudit the report.

Due to the reauditing, Telkom had to revise its 2002 financial
report to incorporate a 3.7 percent decline in its consolidated
net profit and negative adjustments to its 2002 and 2001 profits.

The company was also late in publishing its 2003 audited earnings
because of the previous delays.

The government owns 51 percent of Telkom, with the remaining
49 percent held by public investors.