Tigaraksa to embrace French retail firm

Tigaraksa to embrace French retail firm

JAKARTA (JP): PT Tigaraksa Satria, a publicly-listed distribution company, will cooperate with French retail firm Carrefour in expanding its business, corporate secretary Fauzy said over the weekend.

Fauzy said that Tigaraksa, together with Carrefour, will set up a joint venture which will establish retail facilities in a number of Indonesian cities.

"The planned joint venture, whose license is now still being processed by the Investment Coordinating Board, will be 30- percent owned by Tigaraksa and 70-percent owned by Carrefour," he said.

He added that the joint-venture company will construct a building in Jakarta at an investment of US$60 million, which will be used by Tigaraksa as a megamall. The company is also planning 18 other outlets in various cities in Java and Bali.

Asked whether the retail business had been opened to foreign investment, Fauzy responded that the retail business would be operated entirely by Tigaraksa.

He said that cooperation with Carrefour is part of Tigaraksa's strategy of expanding its business to become a trading house for consumer goods.

To support its expansion plans, Tigaraksa has signed a syndicated loan worth $60 million with 13 Singaporean and Jakarta-based banks.

ABN-Amro Bank Jakarta, CBA Asia Ltd Singapore and The Sanwa Bank Singapore acted as the arrangers of the loan under an agreement signed in Singapore last week, Fauzi said.

He added that three years ago, his company acquired PT Sari Husada, a producer of food and beverages for infants, and has equity in Australian-Indonesian distribution joint-venture company PT TNT Logistik Indonesia.

Tigaraksa's sales revenues are expected to increase to Rp 490 billion ($213 million) in 1995, from Rp 373 billion in 1994. (kod)