PT Timah?s trading at JSX suspended

The Jakarta Stock Exchange (JSX) said on Friday it had suspended the trading of publicly listed tin mining company PT Timah Tbk because of a drastic fall of its share prices which stood at Rp 550 per share this week, compared with Rp 11,000 per share in May of 1998.

The suspension aimed to give the JSX management enough time for getting information from PT Timah about its worsening performance at the bourse, JSX?s public relations office said.

In late October, PT Timah reported Rp 25 billion (US$=10,300) net profit after tax for the first nine months of the year, which was 92 percent lower than last year?s corresponding period of Rp 296 billion.

Meanwhile, its operating margin for the nine months of 2001 was Rp 191 billion, or 44 percent lower than the Rp 343 billion of last year?s corresponding period.

The company then said the steep drop in net profit in the first nine months was due to higher production cost which reached Rp 1.5 trillion compared with Rp 780 billion in the same period of last year.

PT Timah?s president director Erry Ryana Hardjapamekas said, also in late October, they might have to merge the company with other enterprises. And, if the situation would be really bad for PT Timah to survive, it could be liquidated, Erry added.

Erry added PT Timah planned to layoff 3,750 workers. (Johnson)