CMNP moves to clean up loan furor
JAKARTA (JP): Publicly listed toll road operator PT Citra Marga Nusaphala Persada (CMNP) Tbk announced on Thursday the formal transfer of a US$70 million loan it secured from a Brunei firm to its parent company PT Citra Lamtoro Gung Persada.
CMNP director Teddy Kharsadi said he hoped the controversy over the loan from the Brunei Investment Agency, which was extended in 1988, would be put to rest to allow trading in his company's shares to resume on the Jakarta Stock Exchange.
Trading was suspended in August because of irregularities in the company's annual report concerning the loan facility.
"The legal documentation should be completed on Sept. 13 before the next shareholders meeting on Sept. 28," Teddy said.
Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana, daughter of former president Soeharto, is president of CMNP and owner of Citra Lamtoro Gung Persada.
CMNP operates the Cawang-Tanjung Priok and Priok-Jembatan Tiga toll roads in Jakarta, several toll roads in East Java and one in Manila.
"The company did not use any part of the loan," Teddy said.
The facility, a personal loan from Brunei ruler Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah to Hardiyanti, was extended on easy terms: a zero interest rate, no collateral and a 25-year repayment period inclusive of a seven-year grace period.
Teddy said the loan was transferred from CMNP to Citra Lamtoro Gung in 1988, the same year the loan was acquired, but the transaction was not recorded in their respective books.
The Brunei agency wrote to CMNP last December demanding repayment, which it said should have started in 1995. The agency withdrew its claim last May and said that further dealings regarding the loan would be taken up with Citra Lamtoro Gung.
Prasetio Utomo, a public accountant firm hired to audit CMNP, refrained from ruling on its financial health until the matter of the Brunei loan was resolved.
Teddy said the loan was originally intended to finance the construction of the Cawang-Tanjung Priok toll road in 1988. CMNP subsequently found alternative financing, allowing it to transfer the loan to its parent company.
CMNP is owned by Yayasan Purna Bhakti Pertiwi (22.01 percent), PT Jasa Marga (17.79 percent), PT Krakatau Steel (8.90 percent), PT Indocement Tunggal Prakarsa (8.80 percent), PT Citra Lamtoro Gung Persada (4.40 percent), PT Bhaskara Duniajaya (1.81 percent), cooperatives (0.49 percent) and the public (35.80 percent).
Teddy also said that seven toll operators and the Indonesian Toll Association (ATI) had met with House of Representatives Commission IV, with supervision including transportation, to discuss the proposal to raise toll rates.
The commission agreed in principle to the increase but a final decision must await a plenary meeting of the House. The Indonesian Consumer Agency has objected to the proposal.
The hike is necessary to compensate for the 10 percent drop in revenue in 1998 because of fewer motorists using toll roads, Teddy said.
The extra revenue is necessary to help pay for maintenance, which in turn will ensure the safety of motorists, he said. The toll for the Jakarta-Merak toll road has not been increased in the last eight years, he added.
He also proposed higher increases in tolls for heavy vehicles because they were more damaging to roads than cars. (02)