Indonesian Firms Plan To Combine

Indonesia’s sole ethylene producer, Chandra Asri, plans to merge with Tri Polyta Indonesia, a polypropylene maker listed on the Indonesian stock exchange. After the merger by exchange of shares, privately held Chandra Asri will become a publicly held concern. Both companies are controlled by Barito Pacific, one of Indonesia’s largest conglomerates. Chandra Asri’s main asset is a 600,000-metric-ton-per-year cracker that came on-line in 1995. With combined annual sales of about $1.6 billion, the merged company will be one of the largest petrochemical makers in Southeast Asia, the two firms say, with improved vertical integration. Chandra Asri is already Tri Polyta’s main supplier of propylene.