CSFB to underwrite PGN bond

CSFB to underwrite PGN bond

JAKARTA: Indonesia's state-owned gas distribution company PT Perusahaan Gas Negara, or PGN, has confirmed that it's chosen Credit Suisse First Boston to underwrite its proposed US$250 million 10-year bond.

"We chose CSFB as the underwriter as it met all requirements we demanded," PGN's Finance Director Djoko Darmono told reporters over the weekend.

The unsecured bonds will be listed in Singapore in August, offering a coupon rate of 7 percent, he added.

"We want to issue the bond as soon as possible while market sentiment remains positive and we don't want to lose this momentum," he said.

A banker familiar with the deal told Dow Jones Newswires last Wednesday that PGN had chosen CSFB to underwrite the bond.

PGN plans to sell the bonds to help raise funds for its South Sumatra-West Java gas pipeline project.

PGN also plans to issue an another $250 million bond, probably early next year, to help finance a second gas pipeline project, which will be used to transport natural gas from South Sumatra to North Sumatra, company officials said earlier this month.--Dow Jones