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ellular phone distributor Tiphone Mobile Indonesia plans to acquire three telecom-related companies this year to further expand its business in the country’s cell phone market, a company executive said.

Tiphone corporate secretary Samuel Kurniawan said in Jakarta on Thursday that the company would need between Rp 400 billion (US$43.6 million) and Rp 500 billion to finance the acquisition.

Samuel said that several banks had expressed interest in providing loans to partly finance the acquisitions. “We have received offers from five banks, namely Bank Mandiri, BCA, BII, CIMB and Permata. Several others banks want to meet us. We will propose our working plans,” Samuel said.

He, however, refused to name the companies on Tiphone’s acquisition list. “The companies can be distributors of telecommunication vouchers or other Chinese cell phones. We hope to acquire at least one company in the first semester of this year,” Samuel said on the sidelines of his company’s listing on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) on Thursday.

Tiphone currently has four subsidiaries: PT Telesindo Shop and PT Excel Utama Indonesia, which are engaged in the distribution of telecommunication devices; PT Setia Utama Services, which offers after-sales services for cell phones; and PT Setia Utama Media Aplikasi, which is involved in content
development.

Tiphone expects to book total revenue of about Rp 11 trillion, about Rp 3 trillion higher than the company’s initial target of Rp 8 trillion, this year thanks to the acquisitions. Tiphone is targeting to book Rp 220 billion in net profit in 2012, a 29.41 percent increase from about Rp 170 billion in 2011. The company estimates to book total revenue of Rp 6 trillion in 2011.

On its debut trade on the IDX on Thursday, shares in Tiphone (TELE) gained 5 percent to close at Rp 325 from its initial public offering (IPO) price of Rp 310. Total transactions in TELE reached Rp 32.94 billion.

Tiphone, which became the second company to enter the IDX this year, sold 1.35 billion shares in its IPO, equal to 25.23 percent of its enlarged shares, last week. The company reaped Rp 418.5 billion ($45.66 million) from the IPO. (rcf)