Indonesia Telkomsel Plans To Issue IDR2 Trillion Bonds In 3Q

JAKARTA -(Dow Jones)- Indonesia's largest cell phone operator by subscribers, PT Telekomunikasi Seluler, or Telkomsel, plans to issue IDR2 trillion ($211 million) in bonds in the third quarter of this year to help finance its capital expenditures for 2007.

Rinaldi Firmansyah, the president director of PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia, which owns 65% of Telkomsel, told reporters Thursday that Telkomsel is also seeking bank loans to help finance a $1.5 billion plan to develop its cellular business.

He didn't say how much the company would borrow through bank loans but did say Telkomsel will also use its internal cash to cover the capital expenditures.

Telkomsel expects to have up to 56 million cell phone subscribers this year, up from 36 million subscribers by the end of 2006.

-By Linda Silaen, Dow Jones Newswires; 62 21 3983 1277; edhi.pranasidhi@dowjones.com

-Edited by Mary de Wet

(END) Dow Jones Newswires"

Posted to the site on 3rd May 2007