CMNP moves to clean up loan furor

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)