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ashion and lifestyle retailer PT Mitra Adiperkas and supermarket operator PT Hero Supermarket are in the process of selling their shares to raise funds to support their respective expansion plans.

Mitra Adiperkasa, whose shares are traded on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) under the code MAPI, expects to raise up to Rp 1.37 trillion (US$139 million) in total from its rights issue.

The company'€™s corporate secretary, Fetty Kwartati, said the funds were needed to partly finance the company'€™s plan to acquire an additional 100,000 square meters in retail space this year. '€œWe had opened 10,768 square meters by the end of April. This year'€™s expansion plan is to have an additional 100,000 square meters in total,'€ she said.

The company currently has 1,454 stores in 52 cities nationwide, according to its website, increasing by 71 units compared to 1,383 stores as of the end of December 2012. The company plans to open 350 new stores by the year'€™s end.

The company now holds licenses to distribute more than 100 global brands, including Zara and Reebok. It recently opened a new store concept called Galeries Lafayette in Pacific Place Mall in Jakarta.

The company announced earlier that it would sell 166 million new shares in a non-preemptive rights issue through a private placement mechanism. The share price for the offering has been set at Rp 8,300.

Mitra Adiperkasa said the non-preemptive rights, which will be proposed for approval at an extraordinary meeting of shareholders on June 18, would help it to strengthen its capital structure and increase the number of floating shares to increase stocks trading liquidity.

Mitra Adiperkasa is not the only retailer seeking fresh money from the capital market.

PT Hero Supermarket is also seeking to raise Rp 2.98 trillion from selling new shares to the public in a preemptive rights issue. Hero will sell 889.43 million new shares or about 21 percent of its enlarged capital. The shares will be sold at Rp 3,350.

The firm planned to use around Rp 894 billion or 37 percent of the funds raised from the offering to expand the number of its stores. Hero director Edison Manulu said that the company would be able to open around 100 new outlets with the money gained from the offerings.

After opening 97 stores last year, Hero had 605 stores at the end of December 2012.

Hero operates its supermarket chain under the names Hero and Giant, and it also owns health and beauty stores called Guardian as well as a minimarket chain, Starmart. In 2012, the company also entered an agreement to open and operate IKEA stores, a furniture retailer whose concept and trademark are owned by Netherlands-based Inter IKEA System B.V.

Hero will use 10 percent of the funds raised from the offering, or around Rp 298 billion, to support the opening of its first IKEA store in Alam Sutera in Tengerang, which is expected to start operating in 2014. The remaining funds will be used to pay off bank loans and other creditors.

Shares in MAPI closed at Rp 8,200 on Friday, declining by 2.95 percent compared to Rp 8,450 the previous day. Meanwhile, shares in HERO were unchanged at Rp 4,025 on Friday.