"Today the names of the five companies for selection have been received and the next step will be a `beauty contest`, the company`s president director, Rinaldi Firmansyah, said on the sidelines of the signing of a memorandum of understanding with other state-owned enterprises for improving national connectivity here on Thursday.
Rinaldi said the five companies had been chosen from a field of eight companies that had registered their interest in serving as Telkom`s financial adviser in the buyback.
"They are both foreign and local companies. We hope we can appoint the most competent one," he said.
He did not tell the names of the companies but said that the local company that had been confirmed to participate in the selection was PT Bahana Securities while the foreign companies come from the US and Europe.
"Later we will select one local and two foreign companies," he said.
Telkom`s plan to buyback its SingTel shares in PT Telkomsel which is PT Telkom`s subsidiary has been supported by the state enterprises ministry.
"We are open. Telkom`s idea to control up to 100 percent of Telkomsel shares came from the management. Certainly we support it," state enterprises minister Mustafa Abubakar said.
Rinaldi declined to tell the source of funds for the planned acquisition. "We do not know yet how much it would be as the value would only be known after the financial adviros have been appointed," he said.
What needs to be settled right now is appointing the financial advisors who would then calculate the value and give inputs to the management.
"So, just wait for further processes," he said.
He said so far it it has been decided the acquisition would be financed using company`s internal cash money and probably also proceeds from sales of government treasury stock. (T.R017/H-YH/HAJM/A014)
Editor: Priyambodo RH
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