ACeS signs $250m loan

JAKARTA (JP): PT Asia Cellular Satellite (ACeS) has secured a US$250 million loan from a consortium of Indonesian financial institutions.

The loan was coordinated by PT Danareksa and arranged by six financial institutions. They were PT Bank Danamon, Bank International Indonesia, Pan Indonesia Bank, Danareksa Finance, Bank Niaga and Bank PDFCI.

PT Pasifik Satelit Nusantara is the primary sponsor and one third owner of ACeS, which is developing a satellite-based, hand- held digital mobile telecommunications system to provide telephone and data services to Asia Pacific subscribers.

ACeS shareholders have also committed to providing equity and subordinated debt financing of up to $420 million to partly finance the building of its satellite.

The ACeS Garuda satellite is scheduled to be launched in September 1998 on a Proton D-1-e rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Its commercial operations will commence in early 1999. (bnt)