PTBA rumored to issue Rp300 billion bond

State coal miner PT Batubara Bukit Asam (PTBA), which sold its shares in an initial public offering (IPO) last December, has planned to issue bonds worth Rp 300 billion (US$=Rp8,870), Bisnis Indonesia quoted a source as saying over the weekend.

?Bukit Asam will issue bonds worth around Rp300 billion,? the source said, adding that the company was also considering to pick Danareksa Sekuritas as underwriter in the bond issuance.

Last December, PTBA launched its IPO to sell 346.5 million shares through the Jakarta Stock Exchange and the Surabaya Stock Exchange. It also revealed its plan of issuing bonds in order to buy a stake in East Kalimantan-based coal mining firm PT Kaltim Prima Coal (KPC).

However, PTBA president director Ismet Harmaini said that his company had not made any concrete plan to issue bonds. ?No further step has been made concerning our plan to issue bonds,? he told Bisnis Indonesia.

PTBA operates a huge coal mine in Muara Enim, South Sumatra province, and another coalmine in West Sumatra province. (*)