Lawmakers urge Garuda to postpone IPO

Lawmakers have urged state airline PT Garuda Indonesia to postpone its initial public offering (IPO) to prevent a potentially low sales price.

"It [IPO] must be delayed until we consider it sound in terms of finance, ranking and transparency," Nurdin Tampubolon, the vice chairman of House of Representatives’ Commission VI overseeing state-owned companies, said on Tuesday.

He added that Garuda Indonesia still ranked low in Asia, which would lower its IPO share price and result in a "loss to Garuda and automatically the public".

Garuda must also provide a detailed report outlining the IPO's price, cost and benefits, market share and planned proceeds usage, he said.

"It has to postpone for a year or two depending on its readiness as a state-owned enterprise (BUMN)," he added. (gzl)