Monday, 25 May 2015

PP Property to acquire a hotel and a mall.
PP Property (PPRO) plans to acquire a hotel and a mall in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan. The company is preparing Rp415b with Rp180b to acquire a hotel and Rp245b for a mall acquisition. The funds will come from IPO proceeds and loans.

Corporate tax rate to drop from 25% to 18%?
The Ministry of Finance is considering lowering the corporate tax rate from 25% currently to 18% to spur the economy and attract investment. If implemented, the government could issue a new tax law in 2016. Corporate tax was lowered from 30% to 28% in 2009 and to 25% in 2010 to deter transfer-pricing activities.

‘Plastic rice’ create dissent toward government.
The National Police chief doubted that the discovery of suspicious rice grains in other regions was similar to the plastic rice found recently in Bekasi, West Java. He said the police were currently working with the Trade Ministry and several labs to clarify the cases. Home Minister Tjahjo Kumolo suspected it was an attempt to sabotage the government while President Jokowi said the motive behind the controversial rice distribution could not be profit. House of Representatives (DPR) deputy speaker says the circulation of “plastic rice” could be an inside ploy to disrupt food supplies and create public dissent toward the government. The suspicion was because synthetic rice is more expensive to produce than rice, making the problem itself rather odd.

DBS pledges S$12m more to boost activities in Marina Bay area.
DBS will pump in S$12m more over three years to boost activities in the Marina Bay area. DBS had pledged S$10m in 2013 to introduce a slew of activities to attract people to the area. The programmes, including DBS Movies by the Bay, the DBS Marina Bay Sailing Programme and POSB PAssion Run for Kids, have attracted more than 60,000 people. From July, the public will be able to board sailboats for free under the DBS Marina Bay Sailing Programme, as the bank will expand its fleet to include six Swedish Match 40 boats from eight currently.

Tuesday, 26 May 2015

Bank Tabungan Negara to launch branchless banking products.
Bank Tabungan Negara (BBTN) will launch its branchless banking products by partnering PT Pos Indonesia. The company will launch Tabungan Cermat via 544 post offices in Central Java and Yogyakarta. For 2015, the company targets 1,044 post offices to serve Tabungan Cermat. The company claims it needs 30,000 agents to market its branchless products. The company expects Rp3t of third-party funds to come from Tabungan Cermat by end-16.

Garuda Indonesia: GMF Aero Asia aims for US$150m revenue in 1H15.
GMF Aero Asia, a subsidiary of Garuda Indonesia, is aiming for revenue around US$150m in the 1H15. GMF Aero Asia has booked revenue 1Q15 of US$65.96m of performing 6.3% better than the initial target of US$62m. GMF Aero Asia also plans to operate a fourth hangar in July at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport. In the FY14, Garuda Indonesia, Citilink and Sriwijaya Air had contributed around 75% of GMF Aero Asia total revenues.

Pyridam Farma targets revenue growth of 9.5%.
Pyridam Farma (PYFA) targets to achieve revenue of Rp243b, up 9.5% yoy, for 2015. The company will improve its efficiency by replacing old machines. The company will also launch three new branded generic drugs this year. The three drugs are a drug to prevent the oxidation of blood vessel blockage of the heart, a drug to for vertigo and a drug for menopause.

Lower LTV for property to create positive sentiment in property sector.
After being hit by higher downpayments, rupiah depreciation and higher interest rates in the past two years, the government’s plan to cut down payments for property is viewed to post some positive sentiments to the sector. According to Mr Budiarsa Sastrawinata (President Director of Ciputra Residence), the relaxation of LTV regulation will increase purchasing power, especially for mid- to lower-end segments. Meanwhile, Mr Suteja S. Darmono (Director of Jababeka) also said lower down payment will provide stimulus to property demand and hence, he believes sales volume may increase 10-15% this year.

Textile Industry lays off thousands of workers.
Indonesia’s textile industry has laid off at least 6,000 of its 1.5m workers so far this year as manufacturers cope with rising production costs and declining domestic sales. Indonesia Textile Association (API) chairman said that producers’ inventories were piling up in storage, forcing them to reduce production and lay off some of their workers. The 6,000 retrenched workers are from several companies in Bandung. If textile companies in Central Java and East Java are to be included, the number of workers fired could reach in the tens of thousand.

Wednesday, 27 May 2015

Garuda prepares 1.61m seats for Lebaran festive season.
Garuda Indonesia (GIAA) is preparing 1.61m seats in anticipation of the Lebaran festive season. Compared with last year’s Lebaran, there are 16,044 more seats available this year and are expected to be able to cater to the high demand during the period. (Source: IQ Plus) Indika Energy: To lend US$30m funds to Indika Capital. Indika Energy (INDY) will lend of US$30m funds to its subsidiary, Indika Capital Investment. Indika Capital Investment will use US$25m of funds to finance its coal trading business while the remaining will be used as working capital.

Samudera Indonesia prepares subsidiary for IPO.
Samudera Indonesia (SMDR) plans to IPO its subsidiary, Samudera Terminal Indonesia (STI) in the next five years. Total equity of STI has reached US$150m. Before the IPO, SMDR will increase the STI’s capacity and number of terminals by allocating US$320m in the few years. Moreover, the company also will enter the energy infrastructure market by building a power plant with a capacity of 35,000 MW and preparing shuttle tanker, floating storage, regasification barge, and floating regasification Units (FSRU). For this year, SMDR has allocated a capex of US$120m to buy five new ships.

Visi Media Asia to pay off its US$195m debt.
Visi Media Asia (VIVA) targets to pay off its US$195m debt to Credit Suisse in 3Q5. Currently the company is seeking loans from local banks.

Institutional investment to close infrastructure gap.
Over 200 experts on infrastructure and investment from G20 countries and international organisations such as the World Bank and IMF were in Singapore this week for a four-day series of meetings hosted by the Finance Ministry (MOF). The meetings included a G20 Working Group meeting on investment and infrastructure, as well as the first G20-World Bank Group-Singapore workshop on project prioritisation and preparation. The meetings wrap up with the G20/Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Singapore High-Level Roundtable on Institutional Investors and Long-Term Investment, which will discuss ways to close the infrastructure financing gap.

Thursday, 28 May 2015

Link Net builds homepass in 1Q15.
Link Net has built 1.5m homepass networks in Jabodetabek, Bandung, Surabaya and Bali in 1Q15. The company targets to build 2m homepass networks this year. The company also plans to expand to Medan, Semarang and Central Java.

Multipolar to expand its data centre with US$200m investment.
Multipolar Technology (MLPT) will invest US$200m to build a data centre spanning 20,000 sqm in Cikarang, West Java in the next five years. The company will build a Tier-4-ready data centre though its subsidiary, Graha Teknologi Nusantara (GTN) which is a JV between MLPT (65%) and Mitsui and MKI (35%). For 2015, MLPT has allocated capex of Rp394b which came from internal financing and external. About Rp216b of capex will be used for the GTN data centre, Rp1134b for Visionet Internasional and Rp44b for the internal data capabilities of company. The company targets to achieve revenue growth of 9% yoy this year with net income growth of 8-9% yoy. The company also will pay out 2014 dividends amounting to Rp10.7b or Rp5.71 per share.

Sumber Alfamart Trijaya to open 120 stores in the Philippines.
Sumber Alfamart Trijaya (AMRT) through its subsidiary, Alfamart Retail Asia (ARA), plans to open 120 stores in the Philippines this year with total investment of Rp50b. The funds will come from the bank loans. The expansion will be done through a JV between ARA in Singapore (35%) and SM Retail Supermarket Philippines (65%). The company also will open 1,200 new Alfamart stores in Indonesia this year by building 50% of stores outside Java. The company will maximise its distribution channel (DC) utilisation to 90-95% and add two new distribution channels in Cianjur and Serang. The company has allocated Rp80b-100b to build one DC. For now, AMRT has 44 stores in Philippines, 31 centre distribution channels in Pontianak, Banjarmasin, Manado, and Batam and 10,086 Alfamart stores. The company has allocated a total capex of Rp2t for this year.

Court orders club to stop use of “Ku De Ta” name.
The days of swish club Ku De Ta operating under that name at the Marina Bay Sands (MBS) SkyPark may be numbered. The club which is controlled by L Capital Asia, an investment arm of French luxury group LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton, which indirectly holds its controlling stake in Ku De Ta SG. The decision caps a five-year legal battle launched in 2010 by the partners of a beachfront club in Bali that began using the Ku De Ta name in 2000. The Bali club’s partners objected to the name being used by the club in Singapore and sought to enforce their trademark rights.

Caps on interest rates and late fees for moneylending.
An upfront administrative fee of not more than 10% of the loan principal and a 4% cap on nominal interest rate per month regardless of a borrower’s income were among some of the key recommendations announced by an advisory committee tasked to better protect borrowers. Late interest fees will also be capped at 4% a month while late fees will not be more than S$60 per month.

Friday, 29 May 2015

Arwana Citramulia to supply 40% of ceramic tiles needed for 1m Houses Programme.
Arwana Citramulia (ARNA) aims to supply 40% of the ceramic tiles needed for the One Million Houses Programme which was launched by the Ministry Of Public Works And Housing (Kemenpupera). The company also decided to pay out 2014 dividends of Rp88b.

Bukit Asam acquires coal companies in Kalimantan for US$36m.
Bukit Asam (PTBA), through its subsidiary International Prima Coal (IPC), will acquire two coal companies for a total value of US$36m. PTBA will acquire a coal miner Tabalong Prima Resources (TPR) in South Kalimantan as well as a coal handling and transportation company Mitra Hasrat Bersama (MHB) in Central Kalimantan. Following the sales purchase agreement signed on 28 May 15, PTBA expects to acquire 100% of both companies within 6 months. TPR owns coal resources of 292m tonnes and a coal reserve of 109m tonnes. The average stripping ratio of TPR mines is 4.16x. MHB owns a port that can handle a 300-feet barge, or about 10,000 DWT (deadweight tonnes). MHB also owns stockpile on a 60ha area with loading and unloading facilities using conveyor system at the riverside of Barito River. MHB owns a hauling road facility of 85 km length that connects TPR mines to the port.

Jasa Marga plans to borrow more for Solo-Kertosono toll-road project.
Jasa Marga (JSMR) is planning to borrow Rp7t from local banks to finance Solo-Ngawi and Ngawi-Kertosono toll-road project with total size of 177.12km. Total investment for these two tollroad sections is Rp9t. 70% of these project will be funded by bank loans with the remaining via the company’s cash. As for Solo-Ngawi section, 80% of the land acquisition has been completed and the company expects construction to kick off in Aug 15.

Nippon Indosari Corpindo to pay out 2014 dividend.
Nippon Indosari Corpindo (ROTI) will distribute 2014 dividends of Rp27.9b (15% of 2014 net income) or Rp5.53 per share on 1 Jul 15. In addition, the company has decided to appoint Jusuf Arbianto Tjondrolukito as a new independent commissary to replace Gidion S Oetomo and Seiji Kusinoki as a new director to replace Takao Okabe. For 2015, the company targets to achieve revenue of Rp2.25t which represents a growth of 20% yoy. The company has launched two new products in 1Q15 and plans to launch another new product this year. ROTI has allocated capex of Rp350b this year of which Rp160 came from bonds and the rest from internal financing.

Sepatu Bata targets revenue of Rp1.1t.
Sepatu Bata (BATA) targets to achieve revenue of Rp1.1t, up by 10% yoy this year. The company has prepared 100 styles for big events in Indonesia such as Eid and school holidays with a targeted sales of 11.5m pairs of shoes. The company also increased ASP by 5-10%. The company claims that weakening rupiah against the US dollar significantly affects net profit as 30% of raw materials are imported. Moreover, the company plans to change its target segment from middle-low income class to middle-high income class. BATA will open 22 new stores this year with total capex of US$5m to cover the opening of new stores, increasing new machines, and employee training.

NTUC Fairprice new food waste reduction initiative.
Last year, FairPrice’s food waste came up to 11.9kg per sq m, which is the equivalent of 88 garbage trucks’ worth, or 2,200 tonnes. At a launch of its food waste reduction framework today (May 28), FairPrice Singapore said the chain aims to use the index as a benchmark to further reduce the food waste it generates in subsequent years, although no target has been set.Food waste makes up 10% of Singapore’s total waste. Only 13% of food waste was recycled last year, statistics from the National Environment Agency show, although the authorities are trying to push up the recycling rate, including announcing a pilot recently on placing food waste recycling machines at two of Singapore’s largest hawker centres.