BDN launches Eurobond valued at US$165 million

JAKARTA (JP): PT Bank Dagang Negara (BDN), Indonesia's fourth largest state-owned bank, has launched a seven-year floating rate note (FRN) Eurobond of US$165 million with the Hong Kong-based J.P. Morgan Securities Asia Ltd. acting as the lead manager.

"This is a ground breaking transaction for Indonesian issuers. Borrowers are diversifying their sources of funding," Adam Howard, the head of Capital Market Asia for J.P. Morgan, said in a statement made available to The Jakarta Post yesterday.

The floating rate note has a coupon of six-month London Inter- Bank Offered Rate (LIBOR) plus 120 basis points and an offer price of 99.362 to give a yield of six-month LIBOR plus 135 basis points.

The issue, which matures on Sept. 7, 2001, is listed in Hong Kong, Singapore and Luxembourg in denominations of $1,000, whose deal will be closed on Sept. 7 and is puttable in 1999.

"This issue is the largest in size and longest in tenor of any financing undertaken by a bank in Indonesia," Howard said, adding that issuers throughout the Asia-Pacific region have been using the bond markets with increasing frequency.

The statement said the co-leaders of the deal are Chemical Securities Asia, HSBC Markets, Kidder Peabody International, KDB Asia, Korea First Bank, Merrill Lynch HK Securities, Paribas Capital Markets and Salomon Brothers Hong Kong.

Meanwhile, the co-managers are ANZ Grindlays Bank, Chase Manhattan Asia, Commercial Bank of Korea, Fuji International Finance Hong Kong, Hua Nan Commercial Bank Hong Kong, Kexim Bank of the United Kingdom, LTCB Asia, Nikko Securities Co. Asia and Societe Generale Asia.

J.P. Morgan, one of the oldest financial institutions in the world, offers various services, including financial advice, underwriting and money lending, to governments as well as multi- national corporations. (09)