Qtel Unit Indosat to Issue $271 Million Bond

Qtel Unit Indosat to Issue $271 Million Bond

Indosat PT, Indonesia's No.2 mobile phone provider, plans to issue bonds worth $271 million, a statement from majority owner Qatar Telecom (Qtel) said on Tuesday.

April 18, 2012 9:37 by kippreport

Indosat PT, Indonesia’s No.2 mobile phone provider, plans to issue bonds worth $271 million, a statement from majority owner Qatar Telecom (Qtel) said on Tuesday.

The bonds, conventional and Islamic, will have a maximum tenure of 10 years, with the proceeds used mainly for investment and to refinance debt.

Qtel owns a 65 percent stake in Indosat.

(Reporting by Matt Smith; Editing by Firouz Sedarat)

Analysts say they are focusing less on the results of Egyptian property firms than on their balance sheets and their progress rolling out projects and securing pre-sales given the economy is still suffering from last year’s uprising and that doubts linger about the sanctity of some industry contracts.

“During a tough 2011 SODIC preserved the strength of its balance sheet, improved cash collection delinquency rates, increased receivables and maintained healthy levels of cash on hand,” the company said in a statement.

It said it had several projects lined up for launch and had made progress on issues surrounding its land bank, securing a development plan from the government for a key housing project.

A successful launch of its Westown Residences project in Cairo, designed since the uprising that ousted President Hosni Mubarak last year, had given the company a base for a strong first quarter of 2012, it said.

“SODIC has achieved 711 million pounds of net new contracted sales for Q1 2012, selling out all projects launched post-revolution,” it said.

The company said this month a court ruling that fined and sentenced its former chairman to prison over corruption charges would have no impact on its shareholders or its assets.

($1 = 6.0387 Egyptian pounds)

(Reporting by Tom Pfeiffer and Ehab Farouk; Editing by David Hulmes)