Sorini Agro Asia to Delist Shares from Indonesia Stock Exchange
Artificial sweetener sorbitol manufacturer Sorini Agro Asia Corporindo will voluntarily delist its shares from the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) as it fails to comply with a minimum free-float regulation. Per 31 January 2016 all listed companies in Indonesia are required to have a minimum free float ratio of 7.5 percent (of its paid-up capital) and at least 300 shareholders (BEI No. Kep-00001/BEI/01-2014). These new regulations were implemented in order to boost liquidity in Indonesia's stock market.
After this regulation came into effect (on 31 January 2016) the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) still granted time for companies to adjust to the new rules, possibly because it was afraid companies would feel encouraged to delist if the IDX would flex its muscles too much on this issue (the IDX is trying to boost the number of listed companies in Indonesia and was therefore a bit more flexible on this matter).
However, in February 2016 the IDX reprimanded Sorini Agro Asia for the first time as publicly traded stocks of the company only comprised 1.33 percent of its total outstanding shares (while its investors holding stock numbers 321 and therefore does not form a problem). A second reprimand, including a modest IDR 25 million fine, followed in August 2016. After Sorini Agro Asia announced plans to delist from the IDX, its shares were suspended from trading for one day on 15 August 2016.
Sorini Agro Asia operates eight manufacturing facilities in Indonesia and is one of the world's largest producers of sorbitol (also known as glucitol), an artificial sweetener. The company’s lineup of products comprises starch and starch derivatives products such as sorbitol syrup and powder, maltitol, dextrose monohydrate, maltose syrup and maltodextrine, which are essential raw materials in the production of consumer goods ranging from food and beverage to cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. Aside from increasing sales in the fast-growing Indonesian market, Sorini also supplies its products to multinational customers in more than 70 countries worldwide.
Since 2011 Cargill Foods Indonesia, the local unit of global agribusiness Cargill, owns a 98.67 percent stake in Sorini Argo Asia, the remainder is publicly traded on the IDX. Those 300+ shareholders are now given the opportunity by Sorini Agro Asia to sell their shares at the premium price of IDR 4,250 per share (on Friday the company's shares closed at IDR 1,700 a piece). If the shareholders refuse to sell their stakes, then they will remain shareholder after the company goes private.
After the general shareholders meeting on 28 February 2017 Sorini Agro Asia will give an update about the future plans and strategies of the company.
Up to the third quarter of 2016, Sorini Agro Asia booked IDR 2.34 billion in net income, down significantly from IDR 45.49 billion in the same period one year earlier. Meanwhile, it posted IDR 1.13 trillion in revenue, down 11.7 percent (y/y) over the same period.
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