Court rejects bankruptcy claim against Aster

Court rejects bankruptcy claim against Aster

JAKARTA (JP): The Jakarta Commercial Court has rejected the
bankruptcy claim filed by two Singaporean banks against local
plastic packaging company PT Aster Dharma Industri, saying that
the claim was premature.

"The bankruptcy claim is premature because the liquidation of
Aster Dharma's subsidiary by the Singapore Court is not yet
completed," the judge said at the court hearing on Tuesday.

According to the plaintiff's lawyer, Aster Dharma failed to
exercise its guarantee in taking over the matured debt of its
Singaporean-based subsidiary Dtron Singapore Pte. Ltd. that is
now under liquidation in Singapore.

Rahmat Bastian of Dermawan & Co. law firm said he was not
pleased with the commercial court's decision, because the judge
did not consider the nature of the "unconditional basis" in the
guarantee agreement between Aster Dharma and the creditors.

"When Aster Dharma's subsidiary Dtron could not pay its
matured debt, the guarantor -- losing all its privileges --
unconditionally becomes liable for the debt," he said.

Dtron Singapore Pte. Ltd. was declared bankrupt on Dec. 11 and
was later liquidated under order from the High Court of Singapore
after failing to pay some US$3.8 million in principal loans which
matured in early February 1998.

The value of Dtrons's assets following the December
liquidation could not cover the amount of debts owed, according
to the pre-liquidation appraisal by the liquidator in Singapore.

Dtron's debts, under the debt agreement with its creditors,
are guaranteed by its Jakarta-based parent company Aster Dharma,
which is listed on the Jakarta Stock Exchange.

Rahmat said the $3.8 million debt consists of $1.98 million
owed to the Overseas-Chinese Banking Corporation Ltd. (OCBC) and
$1.82 million to the Industrial & Commercial Bank Ltd. (ICB).

Dtron is majority-owned by Aster Dharmas, a subsidiary of PT
Dharmala Inti Utama, which operates in the plastic packaging
industry.(udi)