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New York: Fitch Ratings has issued the following commentary: Fitch Ratings Indonesia has upgraded PT Surya Artha Nusantara Finance's (SANF) National Long-Term Rating to 'AA+(idn)' from 'AA(idn)', with a Stable [...]

New York City: Moody's Investors Service has issued the following news release: Moody's Ratings (Moody's) has affirmed United Tractors Tbk (PT)'s Baa2 issuer rating. The outlook remains stable. 'The affirmation [...]

New York City: Moody's Investors Service has issued the following news release: Moody's Investors Service has affirmed United Tractors Tbk (PT)'s Baa2 issuer rating. The outlook remains stable. 'The affirmation [...]

: The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) said on Wednesday that a wholly owned subsidiary has entered into an agreement with GoTo Group, the largest digital ecosystem in Indonesia, for [...]

New York City: Moody's Investors Srvice has issued the following news release: Moody's Investors Service has today affirmed Federal International Finance (P.T.) (FIF)'s Baa2 long-term local and foreign currency issuer [...]

New York City: Moody's Investors Service has issued the following news release: Moody's Investors Service has upgraded the issuer rating on United Tractors Tbk (PT) to Baa2 from Baa3. The [...]

New York City: Moody's Investors Service has issued the following news release: Moody's Investors Service has upgraded the ratings and, where applicable, the deposit, issuer and senior unsecured debt ratings [...]

Indonesia's government opened the bidding for its controlling stake in the nation's automaker today, a new phase in its struggle to sell assets seized from former President Suharto's family and […]

JAKARTA, Nov 23 Asia Pulse - Two financing subsidiaries of Indonesia's largest automotive company PT Astra International will issue bonds and medium tern notes (MTN) with a total value of [...]

JAKARTA, June 4 Asia Pulse - Indonesia's 10th largest bank in terms of assets, PT Bank Permata (JSX:BNLI), has been given the go ahead by one of its largest shareholders [...]

JAKARTA, May 13 Asia Pulse - Indonesia's largest automotive company PT Astra International plans to distribute larger dividend when many other companies are forced to retain profit or suffer losses [...]

JAKARTA, Feb 6 Asia Pulse - PT Astra Sedaya Finance will issue bonds valued at Rp500 billion (US$454.4 million) -Rp750 billion this month to support expansion of its financing business. [...]

JAKARTA, Jan 31 Asia Pulse - Fitch Ratings has upgraded the individual rating of publicly-listed PT Bank Permata Tbk (JSX:BNLI) to 'C/D' from 'D' and affirmed its support rating at [...]

JAKARTA, Oct 9 Asia Pulse - PT Astra International Tbk (JSE:ASII), one of Indonesia's largest business conglomerates, has decided to pay an interim dividend of Rp160 per share for the [...]

JAKARTA, Sept 11 Asia Pulse - Three financing subsidiaries of the country's largest motor vehicle distributor PT Astra International are considering issuing bonds next year to increase their financing capacity. [...]

JAKARTA, May 25 Asia Pulse - Indonesia's PT Astra International (AI) (JSX:ASII) at its general shareholders' meeting in Jakarta on Wednesday decided that the company would pay a dividend of [...]

* Astra Sedaya Finance, Jakarta, Indonesia, an automotive financing unit of Astra International, said GE Capital Corp., Stamford, Conn., a unit of General Electric Co., planned to buy a 47 […]

The recent Mexican devaluation crisis caused many fund managers to back out from emerging markets. Indonesia's PT Astra International has been hit hard by selling activity and its share price is currently at $1.77, an unusual level for the company. Some analysts believe that Astra's bargain share price could present a good opportunity for investors.

The Government of Singapore Investment Corporation Pte. Ltd. has aggressively poured cash into bonds, shares, currencies, property, start-ups and other businesses. Some of the major deals since 1997 include buying 15% of Thai Farmers Bank, 20% of Thailand's Land and House PLC, 25% of Malaysia's Sunway City Bhd., 7% of Indonesia's Astra International.

Astra International, the dominant automotive manufacturer in Indonesia, is attracting the attention of large US-based investors. The company is receiving such focus after Gilbert Global Equity and Capital and Newbridge Capital entered negotiations for the purchase of a 19.9%-share of the company that is being held by the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency. Analysts are advising investors to buy Astra shares but are cautioning them against quick profit expectations.

Investment advisers and mutual fund managers say that investors should refrain from committing money in Indonesian companies as share prices of most companies are expected to drop further. The floating of the rupiah has resulted in shares being sold off that investors are urged to wait for the market to bottom out. Some companies however, like PT Indonesian Satellite, PT Tambang Timah and PT London Sumatra Indonesia are good investments as these companies have solid earnings and are less exposed to currency devaluation.

Investors are confident that PT Hanjaya Mandala Sampoerna's decision to sell its 2.85% stake in car assembler PT Astra International will boost investor confidence on both companies. After it announced its decision, Sampoerna's stock rose by 5.3% to 21,825 rupiah per share from 20,725 rupiah, while Astra's foreign shares increased by 300 rupiah to 4,950 rupiah. Astra's local share price remained at 4,250 rupiah though it posted strong 3rd qtr. 1996 results.

PT HM Sampoerna and owner Putera Sampoerna have raised their stakes in PT Astra International to 13%. Astra, which assembles most of Indonesia's motorcycles and automobiles, has a highly-fragmented shareholding due to the bankruptcy of the founding Soeryadjaya family. Regulators note that, prior to purchase, Putera reported his intention to buy $188 million worth of Astra stock. Stock market analysts speculate that the Suharto family masterminded the transactions.

The Indonesian government has forced the Soeryadjaya family, the founders of Astra International, to sell Rp1,000 billion of shares to a 19 member consortium of corporate and institutional investors. The Soerryadjaya family had to sell shares to raise cash to cover the debts of Bank Summa, which had gone bankrupt. The family now owns 12.4 million Astra shares, compared with 178 million in November 1992.