"There has been discussion about it but formally it has not yet been conveyed to us," State Enterprises Minister Mustafa Abubakar said at his office here on Friday.
He said the idea of the state-owned telecommunication company to conduct a buyback was good as it could strengthen its position in Telkomsel.
PT Telkom currently holds 65 percent shares in the cellphone operator PT Telkomsel while the rest is held by SingTel.
Actually, since 2008 the idea has already been raised but PT Telkom has decided to only buy back shares held by the public.
Mustafa said by holding bigger shares in Telkomsel now controlling up to 55 percent of cellphone market in the country PT Telkom would be able to contribute more revenue.
"That is good if Telkom could control up to 100 percent. We will encourage them to negotiate it with SingTel," he said.
Telkom`s head of corporate communication Eddy Kurnia meanwhile said he shared the minister`s support for Telkom`s plant to conduct a buyback.
"We support the minister as it is what Telkom and shareholders have been hoping," he said.
He said it would certainly still take time to realize it as it is now still a mere plan. So, we could not as yet talk about timing and others, he said. "We still need to conduct a comprehensive and thorough internal study," he said.
Mustafa said he would refer the buyback decision to PT Telkom`s board of directors including with regard to funding.
"If funding is strong and positive for the company please just go ahead. I think their internal funds are sufficient for it," he said. (*)
Editor: Kunto Wibisono
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