Telkomsel may launch IPO later this tear

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)