Berlian needs $170m to buy vessels

Berlian needs $170m to buy vessels

JAKARTA: Publicly-listed shipping company PT Berlian Laju Tanker
said it needs US$150 million to $170 million to purchase eight
new ships.

The company said Friday that it would borrow around $90
million from banks in Germany and the Netherlands, while the
remainder would come from bond issuance and internal cash flow.

In its audited 2002 financial report, Berlian's net profit
dropped to Rp 106 billion ($11.91 million) from Rp 112 billion in
2001, while total sales increased to Rp 915 billion from Rp 879
billion.

The decline in net profit was due to higher operational costs
and low freight rates.

The company also announced a dividend of Rp 12.5 per share for
the year.

Berlian is Indonesia's largest sea transportation carrier for
liquefied goods such as oil, LNG and petrochemicals. -- JP