Thai Pokphand's RI units finish debt restructuring<\/p>\n
SINGAPORE (Dow Jones): The Indonesian businesses of Thailand's
\nCharoen Pokphand Group have completed the restructuring of their
\nsizable debts, with the biggest unit PT Charoen Pokphand
\nIndonesia (H.CPH) reaching agreement with its bankers Tuesday on
\nrescheduling $190 million in loans.<\/p>\n
Charoen Pokphand Indonesia, a poultry feed meal producer
\nthat's listed on the Jakarta Stock Exchange, signed an agreement
\nwith 26 creditors under which its loans and those to an
\naffiliated unit, chicken-breeder PT Charoen Pokphand Jaya Farm,
\nwill be repaid by year 2003. Under the agreement, interest will
\nbe 2.5 percentage points above the Singapore interbank offered
\nrate, or Sibor. The agreement doesn't call for creditors to take
\n\"haircuts\", or accept less than what they are owed. Creditors
\nwill receive 17.5 percent of what they are owed by Friday, and
\nanother 2.5 percent by Dec. 22.<\/p>\n
Tuesday's signing in Singapore marked the third and final
\nstage of debt-restructurings completed by Indonesian units of CP,
\nas the large Bangkok-based conglomerate is known. Last month, PT
\nSurya Hidup Satwa restructured a $32 million loan, and PT Central
\nProteina Prima signed an agreement to reschedule $131.5 million
\nin loans.<\/p>\n
In negotiations with Charoen Pokphand Indonesia, the lenders
\non the creditors' steering committee were Bank Brussels Lambert,
\nCitibank NA and American Express Bank. The creditors include
\nbanks from Japan, Europe and the U.S.<\/p>\n
At the signing ceremony, Joseph Kestemont, regional general
\nmanager for Bank Brussels Lambert said the restructuring resulted
\nfrom \"months of tough negotiations.\" He complimented Charoen
\nPokphand Indonesia for an \"unwavering commitment\" to reaching a
\ndeal and said lenders took a \"very practical approach.\"<\/p>\n
Eddy S. Zaoputra, managing director of Charoen Pokphand
\nIndonesia, said that there's been \"much good news\" for Indonesia
\nin recent days. Last week's election of a new president and vice-
\npresident can be a \"turning point\" for the economy and \"life the
\nnation out of its multidimensional crisis,\" he said.<\/p>\n
If economic and political conditions can be stable and the
\nrupiah can stabilize at Rp 6,500 to the dollar, or stronger,
\nCharoen Pokphand companies in Indonesia \"will grow fast,\"
\nZaoputra said. He said that CP companies in Indonesia will
\nconcentrate of developing food industries. He predicted that
\nCharoen Pokphand Indonesia revenue can reach IDR5 trillion a year
\nby 2005, compared with about Rp 2 trillion a year currently.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/thai-pokphands-ri-units-finish-debt-restructuring-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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