JAKARTA. PT Astra International Tbk (ASII) sets its capital expenditure (capex) for year 2023 to IDR 40 trillion. Out of said amount, PT United Tractors Tbk (UNTR) will receive the highest portion, amounting to 60%.

Tira Ardianti, Head of Investor Relations of ASII, confirmed that this year, ASII has prepared a higher capex budget of up to IDR 40 trillion from the initial IDR 26.4 trillion seen in 2022. “This year, our capex budget is approximately IDR 40 trillion. As far as I could recall, 60% of those IDR 40 trillion will be channelled to United Tractors Group (UNTR), as they always receive the highest portion,’ she explained during the Ifthar of Astra and Journalists event in Jakarta yesterday (30/3).

According to Ardianti, UNTR will then allocate capex to purchase construction tools, as well as replacing Komatsu heavy equipment in the mining services of its subsidiary, PT Pamapersada Nusantara. At the end of 2022, UNTR reportedly branched out to nickel mining, expending IDR 4.27 trillion after acquiring two nickel companies, PT Stargate Pacific Resources and PT Stargate Mineral Asia, through its direct subsidiary, PT Danusa Tambang Nusantara (DTN).

Ardianti also mentioned that the other portion of capex budget will be used to support all business lines, including some of ASII’s new subsidiaries. “So, we consistently allocate capex to our business lines in the automotive, financial services, and infrastructure segments, as well as investments in new businesses of Astra,” she further reaffirmed.

ASII’s capex once hit the lowest at IDR 8 trillion during the pandemic in 2020 before finally increasing to IDR 9.2 trillion in 2021 and proliferating to IDR 26.4 trillion in 2022. (AM/ZH)