Antam names underwriter for bond offering

Publicly listed general mining company PT Aneka Tambang (Antam) has appointed a joint venture security company PT ABN Amro Asia as the main underwriter for its planned bond offering.

Antam?s finance director Ki Agus Umar Tochfa said in Jakarta on Tuesday that the joint venture securities companies outbid other 12 candidates including PT Citicorp Securities, UBS Warburg, Credit Suisse First Boston, PT Danareksa Sekuritas, PT Trimegah Securitries and a consortium comprising of PT Bahana Securities, PT Andalan Artha Advisindo Sekuritas (AAA), PT Mandiri Sekuritas and PT Deutsche Securites.

Antam plans to issue bonds worth about US$150 million in the United States to partly finance the construction of the company?s third ferronickel smelting plant in Sulawesi, which would cost about US$230 million.

The company would also raise loans from state owned Bank Mandiri and its own fund to finance the construction of the third ferronickel plant, which is expected to be able to boost its ferronickel production capacity to 25,000 tons a year from 11,000 tons at present. (*)