Indonesia's state-owned gas and energy firm PT Perusahaan Gas Negara Tbk has bought a 20 percent participation stake in the Ketapang gas block in East Java, it said in a filing to the Indonesian stock exchange on Tuesday.
Mainly owned by Malaysia-based oil and gas giant Petronas , Ketapang block is estimated to produce 50 mmscfd gas from one of its sub-blocks in the first half of 2014.
Jakarta-based CIMB Sekuritas raised its target price on Perusahaan Gas Negara to 5,550 rupiah from 5,400 rupiah, while maintaining an 'outperform' rating.
"We continue to favour the stock given the positive industry trend resulting in secured margins and limited volume downside," CIMB Sekuritas analyst Erindra Krisnawan said in a note on Tuesday.
Shares of the gas producer were up 0.51 percent at 4,950 rupiah. The broader Jakarta Composite Index was down 0.05 percent.
1257 (0557 GMT) (Reporting by Andjarsari Paramaditha in Jakarta, Editing by Sunil Nair)
*************************************************************** 09:29 STOCKS NEWS INDONESIA-Citi raises Indosat to neutral
Citi Research upgraded cellular operator PT Indosat Tbk to 'neutral' from 'sell', citing the company's operational improvements and higher capital expenditure level.
"Based on the limited preliminary release, Indosat had been able to drive group revenues well, rising 10 percent year on year, sustaining 3Q12's positive momentum with further improvement in 4Q12," Citi analyst Arthur Pineda said in a note on Tuesday.
Management had forecast that it would raise capex levels to 8 trillion rupiah ($824.23 million) from 6.3 trillion last year, reflecting the company's move to raise 3G network coverage and capacity to better match peers and subscribers interest, Pineda said.
The research house also raised its target price on Indosat shares to 6,800 rupiah from 6,600, following the company's recent share price underperformance. It also raised its 2013-2014 core earnings (EBITDA) estimates by up to 5 percent.
Shares of the company were down 1.52 percent at 6,500 rupiah. The broader index was up 0.35 percent.
0909 (0209 GMT)
($1 = 9,706 rupiah) (Reporting by Andjarsari Paramaditha; Editing by Anand Basu)
