Telkom secures majority stake in DayaMitra

Telkom secures majority stake in DayaMitra

JAKARTA (JP): State-owned telecommunications company PT Telkom
has signed a memorandum of understanding to acquire a majority
stake in PT Daya Mitra Telekomunikasi (DayaMitra), its partner in
the KSO joint operation scheme.

Telkom said it would pay US$121.93 million for a 90.32 percent
stake in DayaMitra, which provides telephone services in KSO
Region VI covering all of Kalimantan.

Telkom also agreed to take over the larger part of DayaMitra's
debt obligation of about $88.5 million, the company said in a
statement.

Telkom will make an initial payment of $18.29 million upon
completion of the transaction and will pay the rest of the debt
in equal quarterly installments over a two-year period, it said.

The completion of the transaction is subject to certain
conditions, including execution of definitive legally binding
documentation and the approval of both companies' shareholders.

"Following the completion of the transaction, DayaMitra will
be 90.32 percent owned by Telkom, with the Hong Kong-based TM
Communications Ltd. owning the remaining 9.68 percent interest,"
the company said.

Telkom president Muhammad Nazif said the agreement with
DayaMitra was part of a comprehensive program to restructure the
operations of its five KSO partners.

The state telecommunications company earlier agreed to sell
its interest in Mitra Global Telekomunikasi Indonesia, its KSO
partner for KSO Region IV covering Central Java.

DayaMitra, a joint venture between Cable & Wireless
(Singapore) Pte. Ltd., TM Communications Ltd. and two Indonesian
companies, obtained a license in 1995 to provide phone services
in Kalimantan under a joint operation scheme with Telkom.

Telkom's other KSO partners are PT Pramindo Ikat Nusantara,
which operates in Sumatra, PT Aria West International in West
Java and PT Bukaka Singtel International in eastern Indonesia.
(hen)