Comexindo asks for time to negotiate with creditors

Comexindo asks for time to negotiate with creditors

JAKARTA (JP): Trading company PT Tirtamas Comexindo has asked
the Jakarta Commercial Court to delay the bankruptcy suit filed
against it in order to allow it to negotiate with its creditors.

In a statement sent to the court on Thursday, Tirtamas
Comexindo president Hashim Djojohadikusumo said his company would
likely be able to repay its debts if given ample time to
negotiate with its creditors.

The Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) --
representing the now defunct Bank Tamara -- filed a bankruptcy
suit against Tirtamas Comexindo in late December for its failure
to repay Rp 38 billion in matured loans to the closed bank.

Tirtamas Comexindo also has outstanding debts totaling Rp 1.5
trillion with a number of other local and foreign banks.

The company, which initially labeled IBRA's bankruptcy suit as
abrupt and unexpected, has petitioned the court for a suspension
of payment, or a PKPU.

According to the 1998 Law on Bankruptcy, a company facing a
bankruptcy suit can temporarily stop the suit by filing a PKPU
request with the court.

If the request is approved, the company is given a maximum of
270 days to negotiate a debt restructuring deal with all of its
creditors.

However, the reprieve can be ended at any time by a majority
vote of the creditors if the borrower fails to show it has the
ability and good faith to settle its debts, said insolvency
lawyer Andrey Sitanggang from RAN law firm.

If the PKPU period ends without a debt restructuring deal in
place, the borrower is automatically declared bankrupt.
Furthermore, by being declared bankrupt through the PKPU process,
the borrower loses its right to appeal to the Supreme Court,
Andrey said.

"One way of proving the borrower has good faith is by repaying
some portion of the loan principal to the creditors ahead of the
debt restructuring negotiations," Andrey told The Jakarta Post.

Bank Tamara and other local private banks closed by the
government have been placed under IBRA's supervision as part of
the country's bank restructuring program.

A number of these other local banks under IBRA also have loan
exposure to Tirtamas Comexindo, a business unit of the Tirtamas
Group owned by the Djojohadikusumo family.

IBRA officials have expressed pessimism in recovering assets
from this company because the agency mostly only get personal
guarantees from Hashim. One guarantee is nine million shares of
PT Semen Cibinong.

In a separate case, the Jakarta Commercial Court earlier this
week dismissed IBRA's bankruptcy suit against PT West Kalindo
Pulp Papermill, owned by prominent businessmen Thee Ning Khong
and Hasan Basuki.

IBRA was representing state Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI) in the
suit.

The court dismissed IBRA's bankruptcy suit on the grounds that
the agency had not proved the borrower had at least two
creditors. Also, the court ruled that West Kalindo proved it had
reached a debt restructuring agreement with BRI.

"There is no matured debt if a debt restructuring agreement
has been reached between the two parties," the court verdict
said.

The 1998 Law on Bankruptcy stipulates that for a party to be
declared bankrupt, the plaintiff must prove that the claimed
party has one matured debt and at least two creditors.

IBRA filed the bankruptcy suits against Tirtamas Comexindo and
West Kalindo late December, arguing that they were uncooperative
in settling their debt to the agency. (udi)