S & P puts Matahari on CreditWatch listing<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Standard and Poor's Corp has put PT Matahari
\nPutra Prima's BB corporate credit rating and Matahari
\nInternational Finance Co. B.V.'s Rp 237 billion (US$100 million)
\nnotes' BB rating on a CreditWatch list for developing
\nimplications.<\/p>\n
The rating agency said yesterday the CreditWatch listing
\nfollowed the retail giant Matahari Putra Prima's recent
\nannouncement of a proposed restructuring of its share holding,
\nwhere control of the company was likely to pass to the Lippo
\nGroup's subsidiary, PT Multipolar Corporation.<\/p>\n
Multipolar, under the proposal, would obtain a 50.1 percent
\nstake in Matahari Putra Prima, including a 45 percent interest
\nnow held by Matahari's founder, Hari Darmawan.<\/p>\n
The agency said the involvement of Lippo group and Multipolar,
\nwhich operates several foreign retail franchises in Indonesia
\nincluding WalMart and J.C. Penny, would widen Matahari's retail
\nfocus and increase its efficiency in inventory management and
\nprocurement of store sites.<\/p>\n
\"The association with Multipolar would benefit Matahari in
\nterms of reduced competition in retail industry and increased
\nscale of retail operations all of which could lead to a rating
\nupgrade,\" Standard and Poor said.<\/p>\n
It said the ratings could be downgraded if the financial risk
\nof the combined groups outweighed Matahari's potentially improved
\nbusiness position or indicated a deteriorating financial
\nperformance.<\/p>\n
It said the financial strength of Matahari's new structure was
\nnot yet clear, in terms of Multipolar's and Lippo's
\ncreditworthiness, the ownership of Multipolar by Matahari
\nexecutives, the ultimate financing of Multipolar's investment in
\nMatahari and the support provided to operations and finance.<\/p>\n
The acquisition depended on a meeting of Multipolar
\nshareholders on Jan. 30, the rating agency said.<\/p>\n
The agency said it would seek to clarify business and
\nfinancial issues arising from the transaction to resolve the
\nCreditWatch listing after the meeting.<\/p>\n
For the first six months of 1996, Matahari booked a net profit
\nof Rp 29 billion, up from Rp 21 billion for the same period in
\n1995, the company earlier reported.<\/p>\n
Its net sales was also rose to Rp 935 billion from Rp 670
\nbillion in the same period.<\/p>\n
Matahari currently operates 70 stores in 29 cities. (04)<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/s-p-puts-matahari-on-creditwatch-listing-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }