Telkomsel may launch IPO later this tear

JAKARTA (JP): Private cellular operator PT Telkomsel is ready to float part of its shares on international and domestic markets, according to company senior executive Koesmarihati Sugondo.

"The flotation would be decided by the board of commissioners, but Telkomsel has been prepared to enter the stock markets at anytime," Sugondo said after introducing a new service called SimPATI here yesterday.

Swiss securities firm SBC Warburg has predicted that Telkomsel will launch its initial public offering (IPO) by the fourth quarter of this year, raising around US$250 million in fresh funds.

Telkomsel was founded on May 26 two years ago to operate a Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) cellular system.

The company is 42.72 percent owned by PT Telkom, 35 percent by PT Indosat, 17.28 percent by PTT Telecom Nederland of the Netherlands and 5 percent by Setdco Group.

Sugondo said that the company would probably meet the Jakarta Stock Exchange listings requirements, such as booking a profit in two consecutive years.

It was possible that Telkomsel would also float its shares on international stock exchanges, she said.

She refused to disclose further details of the IPO, including the number of shares or the timetable.

Sugondo announced earlier this year that her company had made a profit last year of about Rp 50 billion.

Telkomsel has assets of around Rp 1.7 trillion and equity of Rp 1.4 trillion. The company plans to double its investments to Rp 710 million this year.

Telkomsel, one of the country's three GSM cellular operators, announced earlier this year that it wanted to gain an ISO-9000 certificate this year.

Sugondo said that the ISO certification would help the company both provide better public services and become a world-class cellular operator.

PT Excelcomindo Pratama and PT Satelindo also operate GSM systems. These three GSM carriers are battling to provide the most innovative, qualified and diversified services to GSM subscribers, amid tight competition from other domestic telecommunications operators, because tariffs are fixed by the government.

Satelindo, which runs GSM, satellite and international telecommunications, also plans to float its shares next year.

SimPATI are subscriber identity module cards with limited units which will allow users to make as many local calls as they want until the units are used up.

Company director of engineering Garuda Sugardo said that and his company was the only GSM operator which covered up to 240 big cities and small towns in the country's 27 provinces.

The company currently has 280,000 customers, he said. (icn)