Sarana Menara gains another 25%

PT Sarana Menara Nusantara (TOWR) Tbk gained another 25% in the first session of trading on Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) this morning to make a 133% gain in its third day of trading.

Sarana Menara is the parent company of PT Protelindo, the largest independent tower operator in the country. Protelindo expects to finalize the acquisition of almost 4,000 towers from PT Hutchison CP Telecommunications, operator of GSM service Three.

Kicked off IDX its stocks trading on Monday, Sarana is the fourth company listed on IDX this year. The company raised Rp117 billion from the IPO of 112 million shares at Rp1050. Total issued shares is 1.02 billion. At Rp1360, Sarana has market cap of Rp1.39 trillion.

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Bhakti stocks trading suspended

IDX authorities suspended the trading of PT Bhakti Investama (BHIT) Tbk stocks this morning after a 225.6% jump in the period of February 16 to March 9, 2010.

The trading suspension applied this morning in both regular and cash markets for a cooling down period. Bhakti confirmed earlier its plan to acquire some companies in insurance, mining and energy sector. Bhakti is controlled by Tanoesoedibjo family.

IDX also suspended the trading of PT Pelita Sejahtera Abadi (PSAB) Tbk stocks this morning after a 210.34% jump in the period of February 17 to March 9.

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Sumatra Gold Updates Sontang Project

ASX-listed mining company Sumatra Copper & Gold Plc has given an update on the progress of its exploration activities in the Sontang project, which is located some 160 km north of Padang. The exploration indicates a “significant copper-arsenic soil anomally,” and “large gold anomaly,” the company said.

It said recent activity at Sontang during January and February 2010 has focused on tracing mineralization from Sontang East north-westwards to the Sontang Central and Sontang West prospects with a program of ridge and spur soil sampling at 25 meters intervals. The geochemistry has also been undertaken in conjunction with surface mapping.

“Results from ridge and spur soil sampling have outlined a significant copper-arsenic soil anomaly, marked above +100 ppm Cu (maximum 420 ppm Cu) and 140 ppm As (maximum 4,020 ppm As), that is at least 400 meters by 100 meters in size at Sontang West,” the company said.

It said work at Sontang is continuing with further soil sampling, mapping and sampling of exposures. The company hopes that the drilling on the massive ‘sulphide’ bodies already identified before the fourth quarter of 2010.

“We are very excited by the new results form Sontang,” said Managing Director of Sumatra Gold & Copper, Joceln Waller. “The discovery of further mantos, plus the large gold anomaly and results from the jasperoidal veining together with the new copper-arsenic target indicate that this is a much larger and more complex system than previously thought.” (Roffie Kurniawan)

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Jakarta Setiabudi boosts ownership in Cikini Realty

Property and hotel developer PT Jakarta Setiabudi Internasional Tbk said on Wednesday that it has purchased new shares issued by its unit PT Hotel Cikini Realty worth Rp 16.7 billion that will lead to a rise of its shares in the company 99.58% from 99.02% previously.

Cikini Realty is the operator of Hotel Formule 1 hotel chain. Cikini Realty will use Rp 9.2 billion of the funds to repay debts to Bank CIMB Niaga. The other shareholder of Cikini Realty is PT Metropolitan Realty International, which holds the remainder 0.42%.

Jakarta Setiabudi said the capital injection to Cikini Realty is aimed at supporting the unit’s business expansion and operation. It also said that the capital injection has also been approved by its creditors, i.e. PT Bank OCBC Nisp Tbk and PT Bank OCBC Indonesia. (Roffie)

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SBY confirmed Dulmatin's death, got standing applause

President SBY has confirmed one of three guys shot dead yesterday in a police raid in Pamulang, Tangerang, Banten province is the most wanted terrorist Dulmatin. He announced that in a speech before Australian parliament in Canberra this morning.

"Before enclosing this speech, I inform you that after Noordin M Top and Azahari, Indonesia had brought down Dulmatin," SBY said. Australian parliamentarians responded with a standing applause, Detik.com reported.

Mardigu WP, terrorism analyst, told the online publication that Dulmatin returned to Indonesia from the Philippines accompanied by Umar Patek and Zulkarnaen, believed to be Dulmatin's successors.

Can we claim the US$10 million bounty now?...

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Pertamina acquires 15% Semai II Block

State-owned oil and gas firm PT Pertamina has reached an agreement with a consortium of Murphy Semai Oil Co. Ltd., PTT EP Semai II Ltd, and Inpex Seram Sea Ltd to acquire 15% of participation interest in Block Semai II, offshore West Papua. The acquisition is pending government approval.

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Dulmatin shot dead? Obama will give out US$10 Million!

We're just weeks away from the visit of US President Barrack Obama when media reported today that the most wanted terrorist Dulmatin has been shot dead in police raid.

Dulmatin, mainly linked to the 2000 Bali bombing, reportedly shot dead in an Internet kiosk in Pamulang, Tangerang, Banten province. Police has yet confirm about that. Police only announced three people shot dead in the raid.

Terrorist observer Al Chaidar, meanwhile, told Tempointeraktif.com that it's Umar Patek, Dulmatin's associate, who was shot dead, not Dulmatin."According to my sources within the Jamaah Islamiyah and Darul Islam, they believed it's not Dulmatin," Chaidar said.

The US State Department has offered a reward of US$10 million for information leading to the arrest of Dulmatin and $1 million for Umar Patek. Interestingly, Straits Times reported on February 9, 2010 that Dulmatin was still alive in the Philippines despite earlier reports of his death. "I believe, from what my sources say, he is still in Sulu, southern part of Philippines," Major General Juancho Sabban, the head of the Philippine Marines was quoted by the newspaper.

Sidney Jones, senior advisor at International Crisis Group, admitted she's not sure about whether Dulmatin is shot dead. "I'm not sure it's Dulmatin because he's reportedly in Mindanao. If he returned to Indonesia, with whom?"

Intelligence observer Wawan Purwanto, meanwhile, said it is likely that Dulmatin has been shot dead."Fingerprint convinced us it's Dulmatin, but we have to wait the DNA test," Wawan said.

Detik.com source, meanwhile, claimed Dulmatin AKA Joko Pitono often came to Jakarta for garment business. As of 8PM, police have identified two corpses as R and H. The other body is identified as YI or Yahya Ibrahim. DNA test on "Dulmatin" is being carried out. The results will be announced in three days.

Well, if he will be confirmed as Dulmatin, President Obama might give out US$10 million to Indonesian police. No? Obama's schedule is not clear yet. But Indonesian officers confirmed Obama will not cancel the visit (again).

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Pertamina-PetroChina Cuts Output To Meet Gas Flare Rule

The oil production of the joint operating body (JOB) Pertamina-PetroChina East Java has been reduced by 3,000 barrels of oil per day in order to meet the gas flare target of a maximum of 14 million cubic feet per day, in line with the Law on Environment, said Chairman of the upstream oil and gas regulatory body BPMigas Raden Priyono Monday.

He however did not disclose the current production level of the JOB. But, on February 24, President Director of PT Pertamina EP Cepu, Haposan Napitupulu said as of the date, the JOB Pertamina-PetroChina has slashed oil production to 41,000 bopd from its capacity (normal production) of 48,500 bpd.

The oil produciton of the Kangean field has also been reduced by up to 2,500 bpd as it only produced water. Oil production of the Kodeco oil field has also been reduced by 4,000 bpd.

Pertamina also said it is expanding its overseas market for its downstream oil products, including aviation fuel (Avtur) and oil fuel. The company is planning to open gas stations in Malaysia and Australia, said Pertamina Marketing and Commercial Director, Djaelani Sutomo.

Priyono also said that the average oil production in the first two months of this year has reached 951,000 bpd, far below the 2010 State Budget assumption of 965,000 bpd. Average production in February alone was quite encouraging, at 959,000 bpd, just below the State Budget target. (Ferdy Hasiman)

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President Proposes Nominees for BI Deputy Governor

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has proposed three candidates for Bank Indonesia deputy governor, who will replace the incumbent Siti Ch. Fajriah, Minister for Secretary of State Sudi Silalahi told reporters at the Halim Perdanakusuma Airport on Monday night, before the President headed for Australia.

Siti, who is currently sick due to stroke, will end her term on June 9 this year. According to the Central Bank Law, 3 months before a deputy governor term ends, President is required to propose several names to the House of Representative (DPR). In return, DPR will select one of those candidates, proposed by President.

According to Kompas.com sources, the three candidates are two from internal Bank Indonesia, i.e. Terry Wargiyo and Halim Alamsyah, and one from external Krisna Wijaya, a former BRI executive. (Roffie)

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The most corrupt? Certainly!

It's surely a slap in the face! But it's also a challenge! Political & Economic Risk Consultancy (PERC) ranked Indonesia the most corrupt in Asia Pacific among 16 countries surveyed.

PERC surveyed 2174 executives in Asia, Australia, and US about corruption perception in 16 investment destinations in Asia Pacific. Indonesia, once again, is No. 1 in corruption. The irony is, Singapore, the favorite place to hide for Indonesian corruptors, is considered the "cleanest".

Corruption, collusion, and nepotism, in reality, enlarged since Soeharto's downfall. Corruption has decentralized along the regional autonomy, political parties, State institutions, etc.

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Flip-flop on electricity tariff

January 13, 2010, Kompas.com published an article titled "Pemerintah pastikan harga BBM dan TDL tidak akan naik" (government assures fuel and electricity tariff won't be raised) this year, quoting Hatta Rajasa, coordinating minister for the economy. Today, finance minister Sri Mulyani said "electricity tariff will raise by 15% in the second half." Which government we should trust in?

Here's the statement from Hatta less than two months ago: With higher electricity subsidy, the state-owned PLN can be empowered without necessarily raise the basic electricity tariff (TDL).

In the revised 2010 Budget proposed by government, electricity subsidy would increase 44.2% this year to Rp54.5 trillion. "TDL will increase 15% as of July 2010," Sri Mulyani said today.

Well, probably the government in January is different with government today (because of the Century case investigation).

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Indosat profit drops 20%

PT Indosat Tbk, controlled by Q-Tel, reported net profit of Rp1.88 trillion last year, dropped 20% from 2008 on squeezed margin.

Indosat reported sales revenue of Rp18.66 trillion last year, lower by 1.4%, while its operating expenses grew 9% to Rp15.18 trillion. The company's debts increased 17% to Rp25.47 trillion, while its subscribers declined 9.3% to 33.1 million.

The stock gained 3.6% to close at Rp5750 today on broader market sentiment. At that price, Indosat currently has market capitalization of Rp31.24 trillion, No. 21 on IDX below Indofood (INDF).

Q-Tel acquired 40.8% shares in Indosat in 2008, later raising its ownership to 65% in a bid to tap the growth potential in the fourth largest most populous country in the world. Indosat stock has gained 21.7% so far this year, but still below its peak last year (Rp6050).

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IDX gains 1.85%

Global and regional markets sentiment helped IDX to gain 1.85% and closed at 2626 today. Telkom and Astra International led the blue chips with 3.61% and 6% gain respectively.

Nikkei closed higher by 2.09%, while Hang Seng +1.97%, KOSPI +1.56%, Straits Times +1.55%, and Shanghai +0.73%. Footsie opened higher by 1.35% in London.

Bumi Resources advanced further by 2.08%, while Bukit Asam +2.24%. Indofood and Unilever increased 3.36% and 2.63% respectively. Astra Agro, TINS, ANTM, RALS, PGAS, MEDC, ISAT, BCA, BRI, and UNTR were all in positive territory.

Top gainers of the day are Sarana Menara (+49.52%), Latinusa (+23.91%), RAJA (+10.34%), Multipolar (+9.09%), Global Mediacom (+7.14%), and Astra International (+5.98%). Top losers with substantial trading value are Benakat Petroleum (-4%), Elnusa (-2.94%), and IKAI (-4.55%).

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Sarana Menara gains 29.5%

PT Sarana Menara Nusantara (TOWR) Tbk has kicked off the trading of its stocks on IDX this morning with 29.52% gain. But trading value was insignificant at Rp5 billion.

Sarana Menara is the parent company of PT Protelindo, the largest independent tower operator in the country. Protelindo expects to finalize the acquisition of almost 4,000 towers from PT Hutchison CP Telecommunications, operator of GSM service Three.

Sarana is the fourth company listed on IDX this year. The company raised Rp117 billion from the IPO of 112 million shares at Rp1050. Total issued shares is 1.02 billion. At Rp1360, Sarana has market cap of Rp1.39 trillion.

Other Top Gainers this morning are PT Latinusa (NIKL) Tbk (+19.57%) and RAJA (+10.34%), Multipolar (+9.09%), and of course Astra International (+5.71%).

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New record for Astra

The stock price of Astra International (ASSI) reached its new record high this morning at Rp38900 to make it a US$17 billion (Rp157.5 trillion) company. Astra gained 5% this morning.

Astra is just inches away from becoming the largest company on IDX. Astra is only US$1.4 billion away from taking over the position from Telekomunikasi Indonesia (TLKM). TLKM currently has market cap of Rp170 trillion and already lost 10.6% this year, while Astra gained 12%.

Two of Astra subsidiaries, PT United Tractors (UNTR) Tbk and PT Astra Agro Lestari (AALI) Tbk are also listed in the Top 20. UNTR is currently ranked 10th with market cap of Rp56.04 trillion, while AALI ranked 17th with market cap of Rp37.7 trillion. UNTR is now bigger than Bumi Resources (Rp47 trillion) and just inches away from No.8 Adaro Energy (Rp59.5 trillion). The top 7 will unlikely change in the coming weeks, because No. 7 Unilever currently has market cap of Rp88.9 trillion, quite substantial gap with Adaro.

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Farmers as human shield for blacklisted CPO producers?

What a shameful act! Business associations condemned Unilever for its decision to blacklist some CPO producers from Indonesia. They said Unilever's action has cut the price for fresh fruit bunch (FFBs) 10% already. This is strange because both prices in futures and physical markets increased substantially in recent months.

Poor Indonesian farmers! Apkasindo told journalists at Hotel Shangri-La Friday night that few months ago the FFBs were Rp1450/Kg, reduced to Rp1300 at the moment.

CPO Futures contracts for May delivery in Malaysia closed at RM2670 per ton on Friday, far above the prices in the same month last year (below RM2000/ton). In the physical market, CPO prices in Indonesia are currently above Rp7600 per Kg or about US$825 per ton.

Look at how much profit companies like Astra Agro, London Sumatra Plantation (LSIP), or Golden Agri Resources, Indofood Agri Resources, Wilmar, or First Resources have booked. Indofood Agri reported net profit of Rp1.5 trillion last year; Golden Agri (Sinarmas) reported net profit US$607 million or Rp5.65 trillion, First Resources (Surya Dumai Group) at Rp1.24 trillion; Astra Agro Rp1.66 trillion. Bear in mind, all of these guys operate plantations in Indonesia. So, four business groups generated net profit of Rp10 trillion last year from plantation, mainly palm oil, last year.

Why they keep suppressing farmers with low prices of FFBs? Bear in mind, palm oil producers generated the best profit margins, but please ask farmers and workers how much they make? Please don't use them as "shield" for your ...And for tax officers, make sure these companies don't evade tax. One group has been alleged for doing so (Rp1.3 trillion?)...Others?

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SBY might prepare "jazz blues" album

President SBY has released three albums, mainly considered "melancholic pop". Tonight, the president will enjoy performance of jazz musicians and famous artists like Toni Braxton at the Java Jazz Festival, Jakarta.

President's Office informed Detikhot.com today that the President will come to Hall D2 of Jiexpo Kemayoran where Braxton will perform. She might sing "Unbreak My Heart"?

A friend said "who knows he could get inspiration to write the fourth album, probably jazz blues." Seriously? "You better ask SBY himself. I heard the he prepared some titles already, Century Blues, Grey Pansus, White Lies, Yellow Traitors, Green Green Flip Flop, Dark Blue Sky," the crazy friend said.

"I also heard VP Boediono will write two songs: God Knows and I Swear...FM Sri Mulyani has yet to decide what to write."

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When Benakat is bigger than Energi Mega and inches away from MEDCO

Unbelievable! The newly listed Benakat Petroleum (BIPI) currently has market cap of Rp7.5 trillion, bigger than Energi Mega Persada (ENRG), and just inches away from Medco Energi (Rp8.5 trillion). Oops, it is triple the market cap of PT Elnusa (ELSA) Tbk. That much?

Some said acquisition of 37% shares in Elnusa boosted Benakat. Well, ELSA only has market cap of Rp2.48 trillion, while BIPI reported net loss of Rp32 billion in eight months of 2009. It acquired coal concessions? When these assets will generate substantial revenues?

Benakat has surged 78.6% from its IPO less than a month ago. Yesterday, the stock soared 22% to Rp255. May be next time, just sim salabim and Rp50...

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Who owns Bumi Resources?

PT Bumi Resources (BUMI) Tbk is still the busiest "casino" on Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX). Interestingly, according to the report filed by share registrar PT Ficomindo Buana, nobody owns over 5% shares in this company.

There are 51,861 shareholders in BUMI, consisted of 50,638 domestic investors and 1,223 foreign investors. Individual domestic investors (49,666) own a combined 25.34% shares, while 444 foreign individual investors only own 0.5%. Foreign institutions (792) control the majority of shares with 53.95%, while 715 domestic companies own 18.72%.

So, why BUMI is still "controlled" by Bakrie Group and its people? Through vehicles?

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Former central bank governor leaves prison

Former governor of Bank Indonesia, Burhanuddin Abdullah, has been released from Sukamiskin prison in Bandung, West Java this morning after serving his jail sentence since October 2008 for graft.

"I'm fine and hopeful. Prison is a place where I got more friends. It's like a pesantren (Islamic boarding school). Now, I want to close the chapter and looking forward a promising future," Burhanuddin said.

The Corruption Court sentenced Burhanuddin to five years in jail for his role in the misuse of Rp100 billion funds at Bank Indonesia in 2004. Last year, the Jakarta High Court upheld the lower court's verdict and extended his imprisonment by six months. But the Supreme Court reduced his jail term to 3 years in August 2009.

Burhanuddin is the first central bank governor elected by the House of Representatives (DPR) through a voting process in 2003. His predecessors were mainly appointed by Presidents. Born in Garut, West Java, July 10, 1947, Burhanuddin graduated from Padjajaran University with bachelor of science in agriculture, and master in economics from Michigan State University. Then president Abdurrahman Wahid appointed him as coordinating minister for the economy in June 2001, but he served the job for few months because of impeachment of Wahid.

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