Corporate News in Brief - November 2008

CORPORATE NEWS IN BRIEF

November 2008

MASPION BUILD LPG TERMINAL. The Maspion Group is building an LPG storage terminal with a capacity of 10,000 tons in Gresik, East Java to support conversion of kerosene into gas mainly for household fuel. The project is estimated to cost US$26.7 million. Maspion cooperates with state-owned oil and gas company PT Pertamina to carry out the project. A joint venture company named PT Maspion Energy Mitratama (MEM) will be established to run the project, which is to be completed in May 2009. The terminal is expected to be able to distribute LPG for a number of LPG filling stations in a number of regencies in East Java. The facility will be built over a 5.6 hectare plot of land in the Maspion Industrial Estate in the coastal area of Gresik. The industrial estate is equipped with jetty for LPG vessels. MEM Director Seto Yusuf Widia said the LPG terminal is designed to have four units of storage tanks with a capacity of 2, 5000 tons each. The project is already 57% completed.

RIO TINTO EXPECTED TO SIGN NICKEL MINING CONTRACT. The government and Rio Tinto are expected to soon sign a working contract for Rio Tinto to develop nickel mine in Lasampala in the border area of Central and Southeast Sulawesi. "The signing of contract with Rio Tinto is the next target," Mineral, Coal and Geothermal Director General Bambang Setiawan said after the signing of an iron making industry contract with PT Jogja Magasa Iron recently . The contract is expected to be signed even before the mineral and coal bill is passed into law . The signing of the contract with Rio Tinto has been delayed over conflicting regulation issued by the Jakarta and provincial and district administrations . Rio Tinto plans to invest around US#2 billion in Lasamphala , which is estimated to have a nickel reserve of 35 million-40 million tons. Rio Tinto Indonesia President Omar S. Anwar said his company hopes to produce 46,000 tons of nickel metal annually in the first years of operation to be increased later to 100,000 tons.

WINGS AIR TO BUY 27 UNITS OF ATR AIRCRAFT. Wings Air, a subsidiary of the country's largest private airline PT Lion Air, will buy at least 27 units of propeller aircraft ATR 72 -500 and ATR 72-600 . Lion Air General Director Edward Sirait said the 27 units of aircraft to be bought at an estimated cost of US$405 million (Rp4 trillion) will be operated to serve flights to areas that could not accommodate wide bodied aircraft . The aircraft , which are more efficient , will start operation in the country in 2010, Sirait said. While waiting for the delivery of the 27 aircraft , Lion Air will hire 8 units of ATR 72-210 to start operation in January, 2009, he said. The small aircraft will serve as feeders of Lion Air's Boeing 737-900ER , which will dominate the aircraft used by the airline Lion Air has placed order for more 178 units of Boeing 737-900ER and some of which already delivered and operated in the country.