BDF debt restructuring plan approved<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Publicly listed PT BBL Dharmala Finance (BDF)
\nannounced on Thursday its debt restructuring proposal received
\ninitial approval from the negotiation team representing the
\ncompany's creditors.<\/p>\n
\"The creditors' debt restructuring steering committee has
\napproved our restructuring proposal,\" a BDF executive said after
\nthe company's annual shareholders meeting.<\/p>\n
Company director Sim Idrus Munandar said the next step was to
\ngain final approval from all of its creditors for its proposal to
\nrestructure its US$141 million debt.<\/p>\n
The steering committee consists of five creditors who
\nrepresent some 15 local and foreign creditors in the debt
\nsettlement negotiations, BDF corporate secretary Indrawati
\nGunawan said.<\/p>\n
The five creditors on the steering committee include the
\nInternational Finance Corporation, which is the World Bank's
\nprivate investment institution, the Commonwealth Development
\nCorporation and Dutch financial institution FMO, Indrawati said.<\/p>\n
\"The approval from the creditors means they still believe in
\nthe recovery of our company,\" Indrawati said.<\/p>\n
The financial crisis, which hit Indonesia in August 1997, has
\naffected most of the country's business sectors, particularly
\nafter the government raised interest rates to as high as 70
\npercent to cope with spiraling inflation.<\/p>\n
Indrawati said about 65 percent of BDF's leasing facilities
\nwere given to small and medium-size companies.<\/p>\n
She said a number of these companies could not service their
\ndebt, so their financed machinery and equipment, which also
\nserved as collateral, had to be repossessed by BDF for resale.<\/p>\n
\"We need the funds from the resale of this machinery to
\nservice our own debt,\" Indrawati said.<\/p>\n
The company provided Rp 4 billion in new financing in 1998
\ndown from Rp 589 billion the previous year, she said.<\/p>\n
BDF suffered a Rp 247 billion net loss in 1998, compared to a
\nRp 145 billion net loss the previous year due to increased
\nforeign exchange losses resulting from the company's U.S. dollar
\ndebt exposure.<\/p>\n
The company's equity entered the red at minus Rp 245 billion
\nat the end of 1998, from Rp 2.1 billion the previous year.(udi)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/bdf-debt-restructuring-plan-approved-1447893297",
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