Toll road developer plans to float 122m in stocks

JAKARTA (JP): PT Citra Marga Nusapahala, a major toll road developer, will offer new shares to the public next month to raise funds for the construction of a new toll road.

The number of shares to be offered will be approximately 122 million which represents 24.4 percent of the company's enlarged number of stocks.

The new shares, each with a par value of Rp 500 (22.8 U.S. cents), will be listed on the Jakarta and Surabaya stock exchanges in January.

At present, Citra Marga, which developed the elevated toll road linking Tanjung Priok in North Jakarta with Cawang in East Jakarta, is jointly owned by Yayasan Purna Bhakti Pertiwi, PT Jasa Marga, PT Bhaskara Dunia, PT Krakatau Steel, PT Indocement Tunggal Prakasa and PT Citra Lamtoro Gung Persada.

The company's president, Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana, said about 50 percent of the funds expected to be raised will be used to finance the construction of a new toll road linking Tanjung Priok and Pluit, one of the most crowded traffic routes in North Jakarta. The remaining funds earned from the shares will go towards the repayment of the company's debts.

Hardiyanti, more often called by her nickname Mbak Tutut, said that her company issued bonds last year worth approximately Rp 275 billion (US$127.9 million) to partly finance the construction of the new toll road, which is now under construction.

The company, which suffered a loss of about Rp 22.4 billion in 1991, projects a net income of Rp 58.7 billion this year. The net income is estimated to reach Rp 108.1 billion in 1996 when the new toll road is fully utilized. (hen)