Marubeni denies sweetened deal<\/p>\n
TOKYO (AFP) - Japanese trading house Marubeni Corp. reacted
\nwith fury to a newspaper report Wednesday that alleged it
\nreceived political favors in a crucial Indonesian debt-
\nrestructuring deal.<\/p>\n
The company dismissed the Asian Wall Street Journal's charge
\nthat the deal was the result of political pressure on President
\nAbdurrahman Wahid from Japan, Indonesia's biggest aid donor and
\ncreditor.<\/p>\n
\"The article is completely inaccurate,\" Marubeni spokesman
\nKazunori Fukuda told AFP. \"It is not even worth our comment.\"<\/p>\n
The newspaper said Wahid was under fire over his approval of a
\nrescue plan for PT Chandra Asri, a debt-ridden petrochemical
\njoint venture between Marubeni, the Indonesian state and two
\nother Japanese firms.<\/p>\n
The International Monetary Fund and key aides were unhappy
\nover allegedly preferential terms granted to Marubeni, the
\narticle said.<\/p>\n
Marubeni said on May 10 it had agreed to a 100-million-dollar
\nswap of loans for shares in Chandra Asri, taking the total owed
\nit by the petrochemical venture down to around 600 million
\ndollars.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian government also planned to convert into equity
\nits loans of US$469 million to Chandra Asri, Marubeni said.<\/p>\n
The trader's outstanding loans to the firm would be repaid
\nover nine years at an interest rate 2.5 percentage points over
\nthe London interbank offered rate, the Asian Wall Street Journal
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
The restructuring left the Indonesian Bank Restructuring
\nAgency saddled with 80 percent equity in Chandra Asri, it said.<\/p>\n
The rescue plan had left the agency \"with what many view as an
\nunattractive asset and the added burden of paying back the
\npetrochemical company's debts to Marubeni,\" the article said.<\/p>\n
\"According to people familiar with the negotiations, Mr
\nWahid's decision to back the deal was influenced by his wish to
\nremain on good terms with Japan, which is by far the largest
\nbilateral lender to Indonesia.\"<\/p>\n
But the Marubeni spokesman angrily dismissed the allegation
\nthat the deal was the result of back-room political maneuvering.<\/p>\n
\"The agreement was fair and there was no pressure at all from
\nthe Japanese government behind the deal,\" Fukuda said.<\/p>\n
\"We are not even going to bother responding (formally) to the
\narticle or to take action.\"<\/p>\n
Marubeni has cut its group net profit forecast to two billion
\nyen (US$18 million) for the year to March 31, partly due to its
\ninvolvement in the Indonesian venture.<\/p>\n
Chandra Asri is capitalized at $1.05 billion and operates a
\nplant in West Java that can produce up to 510,000 tons of
\nethylene a year.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian government will negotiate to sell all of its
\nstake in Chandra Asri to the US-British oil major BP Amoco,
\nJapan's Nihon Keizai Shimbun business daily said earlier this
\nmonth.<\/p>\n
Options under consideration included asking one of the oil
\nmajors to become a partner in the venture, Marubeni said in
\nresponse.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/marubeni-denies-sweetened-deal-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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