Chase to arrange $2.5b in local syndicated loans
Chase to arrange $2.5b in local syndicated loans
JAKARTA (JP): Chase Manhattan Bank plans to arrange about
US$2.5 billion in syndicated loans for Indonesia in the first
quarter of this year, its executives said yesterday.
Senior country officer for Indonesia, Morgan T. McGrath, said
these loans would go mostly to telecommunications, mining, oil
and gas and chemical projects.
The bank is involved in a $1.1 billion syndicated loan that
was formalized earlier this week for state-owned oil and gas
company Pertamina.
McGrath said that, by the end of March, the bank would also
close a transaction for the development a gas field in South
Sumatra.
On finance for telecommunications, the bank plans to be
involved in a $400-million syndicated loan for PT Exelcomindo's
global system for mobile communications project and a $200-
million loan for PT Ratelindo.
"When you add these up, during the first quarter we will close
almost as much as we did (for the whole of) last year," McGrath
said.
In 1996, Chase arranged or lead-managed more than $2.5 billion
worth of finance facilities for private corporations, financial
institutions, government bodies and state enterprises.
Among these were a $500 million standby loan facility with
Bank Indonesia for the Indonesian government, a $150 million
refinancing facility and a $200 million bond issue for PT HM
Sampoerna, a Rp 250 billion ($107 million) revolving credit
facility for PT Astra Sedaya Finance, a $350 million project loan
for PT Pramindo Ikat and a $614.85 million limited resource
financing facility for PT Ariawest International.
"Most important is the growth of the telecommunications
industry in Indonesia and the continued need for large amounts of
financing in that industry. That trend, we think, will make
telecommunications the most active industry for debt-raising for
1997 for Chase," he said.
Visiting managing director and group head of Chase Manhattan's
Global Syndicated Finance, Peter Gleysteen, said yesterday that
more than $1 trillion was raised through bank syndications
worldwide.
"From this $1 trillion, Chase Manhattan arranged more than
one-third," he told reporters.
Gleysteen, who is based in New York, said that Indonesia's
government and private enterprises should be able to raise more
funds from the international syndicated loan market.
"Chase Manhattan sees Indonesia as a strategic priority
because... Indonesia has very strong and very long-term
fundamentals of economic growth which will need assistance from
financial institutions," he said.
The Asia-Pacific managing director of Global Syndicated
Finance, Elizabeth C. Chow, said worldwide syndicated loan market
grew 13 percent last year.
Syndicated loan growth in Asia was 60 percent, although it
represented less than 10 percent of the worldwide volume.
She predicted there would be $100 billion worth of syndicated
loans in Asia this year: of which 15 percent, or $15 billion,
would be for Indonesian borrowers.
She said Indonesia was the third largest borrower after
Australia, with 25 percent of Asia's syndicated loans, and Hong
Kong, with 20 percent.
"With the combination of high economic growth, large
companies' increasing access to the bank market... we see 1997 as
being a very active year in Indonesia in the syndicated loan
market," Chow said. (pwn)