Gresik names Citi as banking provider
To boost its financial performance and facilitate its efforts to develop as a global player, Indonesia’s largest cement manufacturer, PT Semen Gresik, has appointed the local unit of global financial services firm Citi Group as its official financial and banking services provider.
Under the agreement, Citi Indonesia (Citibank), through its Global Transaction Services unit, will provide cash and treasury management services to help manage and simplify Semen Gresik’s financial transactions through services such as real-time virtual accounts, web-based financial reporting, and liquidity and investment management.
"Efficiency is the key to competing in a globalized world. To compete as a global player, we need a global partner that can help us with best practice. It is for this reason that we have teamed up with Citi Indonesia to fulfill our ambitions," Semen Gresik president director Dwi Soetjipto said at the signing of the cooperation agreement Friday.
Semen Gresik finance director Cholil Hasan said that the partnership was also intended to anticipate the company’s future plans, such as the expansion of production and corporate restructuring.
"As a company, we have the strength to become a global player. What we need now is an equally strong treasury system, infrastructure and human resource," Cholil said.
Meanwhile, Citi country officer for Indonesia, Peter Eliot, said that the bank would provide Semen Gresik with efficient cash management and treasury operations tools so that it could compete on a global scale.
Semen Gresik, which has been listed on the Jakarta and Surabaya Stock Exchanges since 1991, also includes Semen Padang in West Sumatra and Semen Tonasa in South Sulawesi. With an annual production capacity of about 17.1 million tons, Semen Gresik has a market share of about 45 per cent in Indonesia. The company also exports part of its production to a number of countries.
Semen Gresik, Dwi said, planned to build a new plant with a production capacity of about 5Mt in order to increase its total production to more than 23 million tons by 2011.
Published under Cement News
