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ne of the country’s largest media companies PT Media Nusantara Citra, listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) as MNCN, has sold its 99.99 percent owned subsidiary PT Okezone Indonesia, which runs local news portal okezone.com, to its affiliated company, the NASDAQ listed Linktone Ltd.

Arya said that the sale was part of MNCN’s efforts to focus on its core businesses, the television industry.

“We want MNCN focused on advertisement-based media. News portal Okezone also raises income from advertising, but the amount remains small, so we have decided to develop Okezone as a multimedia company,” MNCN corporate secretary Arya Sinulingga said on Friday.

Currently, MNCN has a variety of media interests, ranging from broadcasting to printed media. MNCN now has three national television stations, RCTI, Global TV and MNC TV, and radio channels through MNC Networks.

The company has a daily newspaper, Seputar Indonesia, various tabloids and magazines.

Previously, MNCN, through its subsidiary MNC International Ltd. — based in the Cayman Islands — held a 58.13 percent stake in Linktone. On June 29, MNC International sold its shares in Linktone to United Arab Emirates-based Global Mediacom International Ltd, in a deal worth around $74 million.

Global Mediacom International is 100 percent owned by PT Global Mediacom, the holder of 70 percent stake in MNCN.

According to Arya, Global Mediacom will strengthen its profile in three business sectors: advertising-based through MNCN, subscribers-based through PT MNC Sky Vision — which currently operates pay-TV brand Indovision — and multimedia based via Linktone.

Linktone provides services and content to traditional and new media consumers in China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Singapore.

In a statement issued by Linktone on Friday, the company has completed incorporation of media content distribution services PT InnoForm into its business. Linktone’s executive chairman and chief executive office, Hary Tanoesoedibjo, said that the incorporation of InnoForm Indonesia was part of their efforts to develop Linktone.

“These recent changes to our business are in line with our efforts to transform Linktone from a China-focused provider of mobile value-added services into a multi-platform media distributor serving the entire pan-Asian
region,” Hary, who is also the president director of MNCN and Global Mediacom, said in a written statement.

Linktone reported $59.09 million in net revenue last year, a 15 percent drop compared to $69.62 million
in 2010. Despite lower revenue, Linktone managed to press down its operating expenses and booked $6.29 million in net profit last year, a significant improvement as the company made a $277,143 loss in 2010.

MNCN reaped Rp 1.32 trillion in revenue in the first three months of the year, a 13 percent increase compared to
Rp 1.16 trillion in the same period last year. Its net profit stood at Rp 352.16 billion, up 44 percent from Rp 243.12 billion in the same period last year.