Telkom to finish Ariawest buyout
Telkom to finish Ariawest buyout
JAKARTA: PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia aims to finalize this
week plans to pay US$390 million to take over a telecom company
partly owned by AT&T Corp of the U.S.
The company, PT Ariawest International, has been at
loggerheads with state-owned Telkom over a revenue-sharing pact
which soured after the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis.
Telkom will pay $120 million for Ariawest's assets and take
over $270 million worth of debt over five-and-a-half years, a
source involved in the deal told Dow Jones Newswires.
"Payments will be made every six months," said the source, who
spoke on condition of anonymity.
Ariawest began offering local call services in West Java in
the mid 1900s in one of five agreements between Telkom and
various foreign-led joint ventures. Telkom, which until this year
had a monopoly on local call services, took 30 percent of
revenues from these joint ventures, locally known as KSOs, in
return for allowing the companies exclusive rights to build and
operate fixed lines. -- Dow Jones
;Agencies;
ANPAf..r..
CorporateBrief-Pertamina
Pertamina's unit to issue bond
JP/14/Brief
Pertamina's unit to issue bond
JAKARTA: Indonesia's state-owned oil and gas company Pertamina
plans to issue a $250 million bond later this year, via one of
its units, to finance the buyout of a geothermal power plant, a
company official said Monday.
The official, who declined to be named, said Pertamina is
planning to buy over the 220-megawatt Wayang Windu power project
from PT Mandala Nusantara, a company owned by former President
Suharto's youngest son Hutomo Mandala Putra, also known as
"Tommy." The development of the power plant was halted during the
1997 Asian financial crisis.
"We haven't decided which unit we will choose to issue the
bond," the official added.
He said further details of the bond are unavailable.
He added that Pertamina is seeking various ways, including
bond issues, to raise funds to finance investment projects. --
Dow Jones
;Agencies;
ANPAf..r..
CorporateBrief-China
China approves travel agency
JP/14/Brief
China approves travel agency
BEIJING: China's National Tourism Administration has approved
the opening of the country's first foreign-funded travel agency,
Jalpak International, state press and officials said Monday.
Jalpak, a Japanese firm affiliated with Japan Airlines, will
open with registered capital of five million yuan (US$600,000),
the China Daily reported.
The wholly-foreign capitalized travel agency is expected to
open by the end of the year, focusing on Japanese tour groups
coming to China.
China authorized foreign investors to apply to run travel
agencies beginning July 12, marking a further opening of the
country's tourism sector in line with its commitments for
accession to the World Trade Organization.
Foreign operators are restricted to the cities of Beijing,
Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Xian and are not permitted to
offer Chinese citizens overseas tours, including Hong Kong and
Macau, the report said. -- AFP
;Agencies;
ANPAf..r..
CorporateBrief-Car
Volkswagen to cut 4,000 jobs
JP/14/Brief
Volkswagen to cut 4,000 jobs
NEW YORK: Volkswagen plans to cut 4,000 jobs in Brazil due to
weak car sales in the first half of the year, The Wall Street
Journal reported Monday.
The German carmaker will slash nearly 16 percent of 24,800
Brazilian jobs because of overcapacity at its five Brazilian
factories following an eight percent drop in car sales from
January to June.
But Volkswagen, which in 2002 held 26 percent of the Brazilian
automobile market, with some 382,000 auto sales, said it plans to
transfer many of the affected workers to a new firm it is
creating in Brazil, called "Autovisao Brasil." It said it would
release more details of the plan on Monday.
Brazil has seen negative economic growth for two successive
quarters, according to government figures, technically putting it
in a recession. -- AFP