Steady Safe to settle debts before April<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Transportation company PT Steady Safe announced
\non Monday that it would settle its US$265 million debt with the
\nliquidator of Peregrine Fixed Income Limited (PFIL) before April.<\/p>\n
\"Steady Safe and the liquidators of PFIL have agreed in
\nprinciple on how to settle the debt,\" Steady Safe vice president
\nShadik Wahono said during the company's public expose at the
\nJakarta Stock Exchange office.<\/p>\n
He said the debt settlement would be conducted through an
\nownership transfer of Steady Safe assets to the liquidator or
\nthrough a cash payment, which would be provided by the
\nprospective new investors interested in Steady Safe equity.<\/p>\n
Steady Safe, which operates metered taxis and a public bus
\nservice, used the financing facility of PFIL in 1997 to enter a
\npassenger ferry business and invest in toll road operator Citra
\nMarga Nusaphala Persada.<\/p>\n
The provision was originally given as a bridging loan which
\nwas to be repaid when Steady Safe completed its plan to issue
\nrights shares on the Jakarta Stock Exchange and bonds in foreign
\nmarkets.<\/p>\n
The bridging loan amounted to $150 million, and was on top of
\nanother PFIL loan amounting to $100 million for the refinancing
\nof Steady Safe's syndicated debts. The total debt outstanding was
\nthen $250 million.<\/p>\n
But then Steady Safe defaulted on the loan, sending PFIL into
\nbankruptcy and liquidation in January 1998.
\nPricewaterhouseCoopers-Hong Kong was appointed by the court as
\nPFIL's liquidator.<\/p>\n
Shadik said the Hong Kong-based liquidator was currently doing
\na due diligence process for the valuation of Steady Safe assets.<\/p>\n
The liquidator also needed to identify which assets of Steady
\nSafe were acquired or financed using PFIL funds, Shadik said.<\/p>\n
\"Various Steady Safe assets which were acquired using PFIL
\nfunds shall be transferred to PFIL in exchange for Steady Safe
\noutstanding debts,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Shadik said if the above plan is fulfilled, Steady Safe would
\nhave a substantial book gain on its balance sheet, thus freeing
\nthe company from negative equity.<\/p>\n
Steady Safe is facing a risk of being delisted because of the
\n\"disclaimer\" opinion of the independent auditor due to the
\ncompany's huge negative equity.<\/p>\n
Steady Safe, with total assets of Rp 877 billion ($122
\nmillion), recorded a negative equity of Rp 1.35 trillion at the
\nend of 1999. This compares to total assets of Rp 926 billion and
\nan equity of minus Rp 1.57 trillion the previous year. (udi)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/steady-safe-to-settle-debts-before-april-1447893297",
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