NEW YORK (Yosefardi) – Philip Morris International Inc. said its subsidiary, PT HM Sampoerna Tbk (HMSP), in which it holds a 98.18% interest, will explore options to comply with the Indonesian Stock Exchange’s mandatory requirement of a minimum threshold for public shareholding.
On January 30, 2014, the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) introduced a regulation requiring all listed public companies to have at least 7.5% of their total paid up capital owned by the public by January 30, 2016.
Sampoerna has engaged investment banks to assist with the evaluation of various strategic options to fulfill this requirement. These include potential capital market transactions.
HMSP is Indonesia’s largest tobacco company with a cigarette market share in 2014 of 34.9%. At an industry size of 314 billion units in 2014, Indonesia is the largest cigarette market outside of the People’s Republic of China.
Sampoerna’s brand portfolio includes Sampoerna A and Dji Sam Soe in the premium price segment and U Mild and Sampoerna Hijau in the mid-price segment.