Govt pays US$540m off foreign loans<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The government last month paid US$540.46 million
\nof its high-interest debt to multilateral agencies ahead of
\nschedule and will soon amortize another $50.58 million, Minister
\nof Finance Mar'ie Muhammad said yesterday.<\/p>\n
Speaking before the House of Representatives' plenary session,
\nMar'ie said the amortized loans had annual interest rates of more
\nthan 9 percent.<\/p>\n
Mar'ie said $262.97 million of the early loan repayments went
\nto the World Bank and $277.58 million to the Asian Development
\nBank.<\/p>\n
The government is also paying off $50.58 million of its high-
\ninterest loans from the French and the United States governments
\nand $156 million in export credits, he said.<\/p>\n
"If these debt prepayments can be concluded, the government
\nwill have prepaid a total $2.82 billion in foreign debt by the
\nend of the current fiscal year (1996\/1997) next March," Mar'ie
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
The amortization of debt will allow the government to save
\n$440 million in annual interest charges, he said.<\/p>\n
Mar'ie explained yesterday how the debt would be amortized
\nwhen he presented five bills to the House for deliberation.<\/p>\n
The bills are on local taxes and fees; on tax on the transfer
\nof land and buildings; on tax collection with distress warrants;
\non tax courts; and on amendments to the 1994\/1995 budget.<\/p>\n
The minister did not elaborate on where the debt repayment
\nfunds came from.<\/p>\n
He said earlier this year that the government would continue
\nto repay its high-interest loans early using proceeds from the
\nsale of government shares in state-owned companies and from
\nbudget surpluses.<\/p>\n
Mar'ie yesterday dismissed speculation that the early
\nrepayments were financed by proceeds from the sale of Bank BNI
\nshares, which were listed on the Jakarta stock exchange
\nyesterday.<\/p>\n
"No, the funds were not derived from BNI because BNI will use
\nthe fresh funds from its public offering to strengthen its
\ncapital structure," Mar'ie told journalists after the plenary
\nsession.<\/p>\n
In the 1995\/1996 fiscal year, the government paid $738.6
\nmillion of its high-interest debt early: $264.7 million went to
\nthe World Bank and $473.9 million to the Asian Development Bank.<\/p>\n
The government made these repayments after selling its shares
\nin domestic telecommunications provider PT Telkom on the New York
\nStock Exchange and tin miner PT Tambang Timah on the London Stock
\nExchange.<\/p>\n
In the 1994\/1995 fiscal year, the government amortized $782.9
\nmillion of its high-interest debt: $423.2 million to the World
\nBank and $359.7 million to the Asian Development Bank.<\/p>\n
Early debt repayments in the 1994\/1995 fiscal year were
\nderived from the sale of government shares in international
\ntelecommunications firm PT Indosat on the domestic bourses and
\nNew York Stock Exchange in 1994. (rid)<\/p>",
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