Antam finance in $200m note issue

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

State-owned mining company PT Aneka Tambang (Antam) announced on Thursday that its Mauritius-based subsidiary, Antam Finance Ltd., had agreed to issue seven-year notes worth US$200 million, in a bid to fund the company's ferronickel expansion project.

The company said that the notes would carry a 7.37 percent coupon rate, with a yield to maturity of 7.87 percent.

The notes are payable semi-annually twice yearly? starting March 30, 2004, and have a maturity date of Sept. 30, 2010. However, four years after the date of issue, Antam will have the option to redeem the notes in whole or in part.

The notes are expected to be listed on the Mainboard or Main Board? of Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited.

Antam, which is listed in Jakarta and Sydney, is currently in the process of expanding its ferronickel factory under a project known as FeNi III.

With the expansion Antam expects to double its production of ferronickel to 26,000 tons per year from the current 11,000 tons. The project is also aimed at maintaining the company's competitive advantage as the world's lowest-cost nickel producer.

The project, which is scheduled for completion in 2006, is projected to cost Antam around $300 million.

Besides nickel, Antam also mines gold, bauxite, iron sand and silver. Its exploration area covers a total of 2.7 million hectares.

The government owns 65 percent of the shares in the company, while the remaining 35 percent are owned by the public.