TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta: The government and the stock exchange authority have stated they do not want to interfere in the plan of the Setdco Group, owned by Setiawan Djody, which intends to buy 22.3 percent of Telkomsel's share from Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel).According to the Secretary of the State Ministry for State Owned-Enterprises (SOEs), Said Didu, the intention to buy Telkomsel's share is Djody's business.
“There is no connection with the government,” he said on Monday (21/5) at his office in Jakarta.
The Director of Jakarta Stock Exchange Listing, Eddy
Sugito, is of a similar opinion.
“It's welcomed,” he said.
On Sunday, President Director Setiawan Djody, in his press release announced the plan to buy Telkomsel's share from SingTel.
He said he viewed that this corporate action was an effort to settle the dispute in Telkomsel's share purchase by SingTel in 2001.
“We viewed that the purchase was flawed. But we don't want to maintain it and want to settle it by business,” he said at XXI Club Djakarta.
Setdco claims it has prepared around US$1.6 billion funds to purchase 22.3 percent of the total 35 percent of SingTel's shares in Telkomsel.
The majority of the funds, 70 percent, was obtained from foreign bank loans and the remainder was Setdco's.
Djody explained in 1990s, Setdco together with KPN Royal Dutch had 22.3 percent of Telkomsel's shares, with Setdco owning five percent and KPN the remainder.
In 2001, KPN collapsed and wanted to release its share. Setdco, which owned the first rights refusal, wanted to buy KPN's ownership amounting to US$650 million.
“But due to a minister's interference, (the share) was released to SingTel at a price of US$601 million.”
Setdco's share was also bought by SingTel.
Eddy said that the stock exchange authority was only watching to protect the interest of public investors.
