STOCKS NEWS INDONESIA-Astra rises on earnings result

Shares in PT Astra International, Indonesia's main

vehicle distributor and biggest listed company, rose as much as

2.5 percent on Friday on better-than-expected fourth-quarter

2012 results.

Astra, which is controlled by Singapore's Jardine Cycle &

Carriage Ltd, said on Thursday net profit rose to 4.75

trillion rupiah ($490.42 million), up 9.4 percent from the same

period a year earlier, driven by surging auto sales despite

sluggish commodities demand..

Astra's subsidiaries also rose, buoyed by its earnings

result. Heavy machinery maker United Tractors rose

1.81 percent to 19,650 rupiah per share, while printing firm

Astra Graphia was up 1.17 percent at 1,730 rupiah.

Shares in palm oil producer Astra Agro Lestari rose

0.81 percent to 18,600 rupiah.

Astra International's shares were up 1.89 percent at 8,100

rupiah. The broader Jakarta Composite Index was up 0.01

percent.

1215 (0515 GMT)

($1 = 9,659.5 rupiah)

****************************************************************

11:57 RTRS-STOCKS NEWS INDONESIA-Multipolar surges on Matahari

stake-sale talk

Indonesian investment holding company PT Multipolar

jumped as much as 24.4 percent on Friday, following the likely

stake sale in its retail division PT Matahari Department Store

Tbk.

Private equity firm CVC is looking to sell its 40 percent

stake in Matahari, seeking a deal valuation of $1.2-1.5 billion.

"Should a deal at this valuation eventuate, we see upside of

more than 150 percent to Multipolar, which owns 20 percent of

the asset. The potential transaction acts as a benchmark for

retailing valuations in the market," research house CLSA Asia

Pacific Markets said in a note on Friday.

"We assume Multipolar proportionately sells 40 percent of its

ownership (or 8 percent of LPPF's total shares) and value the

stake based on the above potential valuation range. We arrive at

1,106-1,284 rupiah/share fair equity value for Multipolar,

without assuming any holding discount."

Last month, Multipolar and its supermarket division PT

Matahari Putra Prima rose as much as 18 percent in one

session after Singapore's state investor Temasek Holdings

bought 26.1 percent stake in Indonesia's second biggest

hypermarket-chain operator worth $300 million.

Multipolar shares were up 22.22 percent at 550 rupiah and

were the most traded by volume. The broader Jakarta Composite

Index was up 0.01 percent.

1155 (0455 GMT)

(Reporting by Andjarsari Paramaditha, Editing by Prateek

Chatterjee)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/stocks-news-indonesia-astra-rises-earnings-result-054115525--sector.html

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