JAKARTA: Market disappointment over last week's Astra share sale may send a negative signal to trading activities on the Jakarta Stock Exchange (JSX) this week, according to securities analysts.

The analysts said the Astra share price disappointment could temporarily hurt investors' trading mood in that they might be discouraged by the outcome of the Astra bidding, most especially in regards to its share price.

"Astra shares were sold at a level that is lower than what the market expected," said an equity sales broker at HSBC Securities Indonesia.

Another analyst from a local securities firm said there would be some investors who would cut their losses on Astra shares early this week, and this would dampen overall market sentiment.

"Investors who bet Astra shares high last week will probably cut their losses on Monday as a result of Astra's low share price in the bidding result," he said.

"However, the negative impact of the Astra share sale would be temporary," he added.

He stated that a lot of investors were betting high on the price of Astra stake prior to the announcement of the share bidding by the Indonesia Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA).

At that time rumors were circulated in the market and the media saying the price bids would be in the range of between Rp 3,500 and over Rp 4,000, he said.

Investors were eventually let down by the IBRA decision to sell the 40 percent government shares in Astra at Rp 3,700 a piece to the winner of the open bidding which was Cycle and Carriage (C&C) Ltd of Singapore.

On the IBRA announcement day, Friday, Astra shares hit the day's high of Rp 3,800 but than moved lower and finally closed the day at 3,650, pending news that C&C won the bid at 3,700.

An equity analyst at PT Nomura Indonesia, Goei Siauw Hong, agreed that Astra stake shares were underpriced, yet it was good for the market in the long term as the completed transaction -- the first high profile deal by IBRA -- would in turn increase investors confidence in the country.

"C&C should offer a 25 percent premium on top of the share market value in return for the controlling value it gets from acquiring more than a 20 percent stake in Astra," he said.

Still other analysts said the market would also be worsened further by the negative impact on kretek cigarette shares of the government's plan to impose a higher excise on them starting in April, due to their high nicotine and tar content.

Shares in kretek (clove-blended) cigarette stocks have over a Rp 30 trillion market capitalization on JSX.

The rupiah, according to currency dealers, would appreciate against the U.S. dollar this week as hopes of the return of foreign investors to Indonesia strengthen, following the Astra share transaction.

The local currency closed the week at 7,450, a little weaker compared to 7,435 at the previous week's close.

The JSX Composite Index fell 1.6 percent last week to close at 581.47 points, down from 590.85 the previous week. And the daily average transaction value decreased to Rp 599.72 billion, compared to Rp 612.09 billion the previous week.

But the daily average turnover slightly increased to 457.2 million shares, from 425.2 million shares the previous week.

Last week's top gainers were PT Concord Benefit Enterprises, whose shares jumped 41.43 percent, PT Keramika Indonesia by 33.33 percent and PT Transindo Multi Prima by 31.62 percent.

The week's big losers were PT Mandiri Intifinance, whose shares fell by 31.43 percent, PT Alakasa Industrindo (down by 27.78 percent) and PT Panasia Filament Inti (down by 25 percent).

There was a new company listed on JSX last week, PT Dharma Samudera Fishing Industries.

Meanwhile, PT Budi Acid Jaya last week announced a distribution of cash dividend amounting to Rp 30 for each share. The payment would be effective by mid April.

The top brokerage firms by transaction value were PT Bhakti Investama with Rp 260.59 billion in transactions, PT Trimegah Securindo Lestari with Rp 236.97 billion and PT Danareksa Sekuritas with Rp 234.04 billion. (udi)

BPPN Perlu Jelaskan Alasan Mundurnya Newbridge

JAKARTA: Kendati konsorsium yang dipimpin Cycle & Carriage Limited (CCL) telah memenangkan penawaran saham PT Astra International Tbk (PT AI) dengan harga Rp 3.700 per lembar saham, namun Badan Penyehatan Perbankan Nasional (BPPN) seharusnya dapat menjelaskan alasan mundurnya konsorsium Newbridge yang sebelumnya pernah mengajukan penawaran Rp 3.750 per lembar saham.

Demikian pengamat ekonomi dari UGM Yogyakarta, Tony Prasetiantono, ketika dihubungi, Minggu (26/3). Dengan kemenangan konsorsium CCL atas pembelian 40 persen saham AI yang dikuasai BPPN. Dengan harga Rp 3.700 per lembar saham, BPPN akan mendapatkan dana sebesar Rp 3,773 trilyun.

Menurut Tony, kalau alasan mundurnya Newbridge dalam penawaran dikemukakan secara transparan, akan lebih baik dan tidak menimbulkan dugaan negatif. ''Dalam kasus bidding AI ini, banyak orang yang mencurigai ada aspek politiknya,'' tambahnya.

Meskipun demikian, target BPPN dalam penjualan saham AI, dinilai Tony sebenarnya sudah terpenuhi. ''Karena bisa saja Newbridge hanya menawar saja tetapi tidak didukung dana yang cukup atau sekadar untuk membuat benchmark,'' ungkap Tony.

Akan tetapi di luar mundurnya Newbridge, Tony Prasetiantono melihat positif masuknya pialang international George Soros ke AI meskipun dengan share yang tidak besar. ''Ini bisa memberikan sentimen positif bagi investor lain untuk masuk ke Indonesia,'' katanya.

Ditanya tentang komposisi konsorsium CCL, Tony mengatakan, concern pemerintah khususnya BPPN sekarang ini lebih pada uang. Namun bukan berarti tidak ada kekhawatiran terhadap orang-orang yang ada di belakang CCL. ''Sebab, kalau investor baru Astra ini tidak sesuai dengan yang dikehendaki, nanti bisa macem-macem. Misalnya, mengubah Astra menjadi salah satu mesin pencetak uang yang hanya menguntungkan mereka saja,'' ungkap Tony.

Akan tetapi, Tony bisa memastikan keputusan investor yang masuk ke Astra karena pertimbangan bisnis murni, terlepas dari faktor politik. Astra sebagai entitas bisnis memiliki prospek cerah dan mempunyai manajemen yang solid, meskipun dalam proses pengambilalihan oleh pemerintah ada nuansa politisnya.

Tetap aman

Sementara itu, Menkeu Bambang Sudibyo menyatakan, tidak dipenuhinya target penerimaan BPPN sebesar Rp 17 trilyun menyusul perolehan penjualan saham Astra yang hanya Rp 3,8 trilyun, sama sekali tak akan mengganggu APBN 1999/ 2000.

''Tidak terpengaruh, tidak ada kesulitan apa pun dalam APBN 1999/2000, anggaran akan tetap aman,'' ujarnya, di sela pertemuan Menteri Keuangan se-ASEAN keempat di Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam, Minggu. Ditegaskan, kondisi keuangan negara saat ini masih sangat stabil, terutama dengan meningkatnya penerimaan dari minyak.

Sekjen Depkeu Noor Fuad di tempat sama mengungkapkan, dalam APBN 1999/2000 pemerintah memproyeksikan masih akan ada anggaran lebih (anggaran yang tidak terpakai) senilai Rp 133,5 milyar. (gun/tat/Antara)