Matahari eyes Indonesia hypermarket top spot in 2012

* Aims to open at least 60 new stores in 5 years; invest 1.8 trln rph

* Sees 2011 revenue growing 20 pct from 2010's 15 trln rupiah

* Matahari's stock down 9 pct vs Jakarta Index down 8 pct this year

PT Matahari Putra Prima , Indonesia's biggest retailer by market value, aims to expand aggressively across the archipelago to keep pace with a burgeoning and free-spending middle-class as it eyes top spot in the hypermarket sector by 2012.

Indonesian salaries have risen over 25 percent in the last three years, the stock market is booming despite a recent sell off, and the government aims to build much needed ports and roads to improve connectivity between the 17,000 islands.

"Shopping demand is increasing outside Java -- mainly in Kalimantan and Sulawesi -- as some cities in the islands are the center for mining and agricultural businesses," said Carmelito Regalado, Matahari's chief operating officer, in an interview with Reuters on Thursday.

"People there have a lot of money, but they don't have access to modern retail because the penetration there is still low. That's where we're going to grow."

Matahari, which has a market capitalisation of $1 billion, expects revenues to grow by around 20 percent in 2011 as consumption increases, said Regalado, who is also president of the Matahari Food Business that operates its Hypermart chain of hypermarkets.

The company is expected to record 15 trillion rupiah revenue in 2010, according to ThomsonReuters I/B/ES.

The firm, which is controlled by the Riady family through the Lippo Group, scrapped plans to sell the Hypermart chain because of low offers and instead opted to seek a global partner and expand.

Talks between Matahari's major shareholders and potential global partners are still ongoing, but "they want a controlling stake in the firm and are looking to focus only on Hypermart", said Danny Kojongian, another Matahari director.

Hypermart is Indonesia's second-biggest hypermarket chain after PT Carrefour Indonesia, a unit of French retailer Carrefour , and has 51 outlets in the world's fourth most populous nation.

But the company is now looking to overtake Carrefour by next year as it expands.

"Every year until 2015, we're going to add 12 new Hypermart stores across Indonesia -- especially in places outside Java," Regalado said, adding that with a global partner the expansion plan will be even more aggressive. Source: Reuters