PTBA to offer 346.5 million IPO shares

State-owned coal miner PT Tambang Batubara Bukit Asam (PTBA) announced on Tuesday it will sell 346.5 million shares Dec. 12-13 and Dec. 16 in an initial public offering through the Jakarta Stock Exchange and the Surabaya Stock Exchange.

The IPO price for the shares will be Rp575 (US$=Rp8,940) each, while the shares will have nominal value of Rp500 each, the company said in a statement printed in Bisnis Indonesia daily.

The 346.5 million shares will include 315 million of the government?s shares in the company and 31.5 million new shares.

PTBA said it would issue 173,250,000 warrants for share buyers. Each will receive one warrant for every two shares bought.

The IPO shares account for 16.26 percent of PTBA?s enlarged equity.

The government will use most of the IPO proceeds to finance the state budget.

PTBA operates a huge coalmine in Muara Enim in South Sumatra province, and another coalmine in West Sumatra.

The company produced 10.2 million tons of coal in 2001. Its total production was targeted at 9.8 million in 2002. (kominta/leo)