Dharmala and British corp. sign $20m loan accord

JAKARTA (JP): Under an agreement signed yesterday, the British finance institution Commonwealth Development Corporation provided a loan of US$20 million to PT BBL Dharmala Finance, a publicly listed leasing company.

Under the agreement, signed by the Dharmala Group's chairman Suhargo Gondokusumo and the development corporation's chairman Peter Leslie, Dharmala Finance will disperse the funds in loans to small and medium-scale entrepreneurs for acquiring plant machinery and building materials.

Gondokusumo said the five-year loan contract will enable his company to improve its services and extend the maturity of its loans to more than five years.

Dharmala Finance director Tjan Soen Eng said the development corporation has become the third overseas firm extending loans to his company after International Finance Corporation of the United States, the Philippines-based Asian Development Bank and the Asian Finance and Investment Corporation.

Leslie said his company, established by the British government in 1948 to assist lesser developing countries, has been active in extending financial assistance to Indonesia since 1971.

The development corporation lendings have so far reached $250 million in a wide range of fields, including manufacturing, agricultural, shipping and tourism.

Both Leslie and Tjan refused to disclose the rate of the development corporation's loan for Dharmala Finance, but said it is a competitive one.

Tjan said Dharmala's assets currently reached Rp 320 billion ($146.31 million), comprising Rp 124 billion from its equity, Rp 178 billion derived from bonds issuance and loans and Rp 18 billion from payable dividends.

Dharmala Finance is a multi-finance firm operating in consumer finance and factoring, focusing on small and medium-scale businesses. Leasing is the company's major activity.

The company is 23 percent owned by Bangkok Bank, 51 percent by PT Dharmala Sakti Sejahtera, one of Dharmala Group's subsidiary, while the remainder is owned by the investing public. Dharmala's profit last year reached Rp 10.53 billion, 31 percent higher than 1992's Rp 7.79 billion.(icn)