Indonesia scales back IPO plan for state firms

JAKARTA, Mar 9 (AFP): Indonesia said Wednesday it was scaling back plans to float several state-owned companies on the stock market, and would carry out just one initial public offering (IPO) in 2011. "This year we will launch only one state-owned company in an IPO," said Pandu Djajanto, Deputy Minister for state-owned enterprises. The government had previously said it would float up to 10 state firms this year in addition to airline Garuda Indonesia, which made its debut on the Jakarta bourse in February. The move follows a disappointing debut by Garuda. Shares in the airline plunged 17.3 percent after its listing, as analysts deemed the offering price of 750 rupiah (85 cents) too expensive.