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)