BSP reschedules $76m debt

JAKARTA (JP): Publicly listed PT Bakrie Sumatra Plantation (BSP) said here on Thursday it had signed an agreement with foreign creditors on the restructuring of its US$76 million debt.

Under the restructuring deal, Bakrie could extend its payment of the principal debt for three years, with an interest rate of 3.5 percentage points above the Singapore Inter-Bank Offered Rates (SIBOR), the company's spokesman Lalu Mara Satriawangsa said in a statement.

The debt consists of $73 million in syndicated loans managed by Credit Suisse First Boston and $3 million trade financing provided by Credit Lyonnais.

Mara said that BSP, under the agreement, would pay the principal debt in quarterly installments over the next three years.

Bakrie & Brothers said on Wednesday it had appealed for the suspension of the payment of its $1.09 billion foreign debt to the Jakarta Commercial Court.

Mara said that the suspension of the debt payment would be needed to allow the company to further negotiate the debt restructuring proposal under the court's supervision, and to obtain a legal background for the debt deal.(bkm)