BII plans Rp 2 trillion bond

BII plans Rp 2 trillion bond

JAKARTA : Nationalized PT Bank Internasional Indonesia (BII) plans to back part of its proposed Rp 2 trillion bond with credit card receivables, a bank official said on Wednesday.

The bond is expected in the second half of 2003. Details of the asset-backed portion have yet to be finalized, BII spokesman Priyambodo told Dow Jones Newswires.

BII has named Triple-A Securities, Danareksa Securities and Credit Suisse First Boston as joint underwriters for the planned issue, Priyambodo added.

BII President Director Sigit Pramono said last month the planned bond is part of the bank's move to switch more of its financing into longer maturities.

If the deal goes through, the BII issue will be the first asset-backed bond by Indonesian issuers since the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis, and may encourage other local issuers to follow suit, analysts said. --Dow Jones