European bankers still need more RI debt info: BNP

European bankers still need more RI debt info: BNP

PARIS (Dow Jones): After the first European stop of the
Indonesian debt plan roadshow, European bankers are still trying
to gather more information on the plan, said Thierry Desjardins,
senior vice president, debt restructuring at Banque Nationale de
Paris.

BNP is the coordinating bank for French banks for the plan.
Representatives from the Indonesian central bank, including
Governor Sjahrial Sabirin, were in Paris July 9 as part of an
international roadshow which began in New York July 8, during
which the Indonesian delegation will present plans for the
restructuring of Indonesian bank and corporate debt.

On Friday the host city is Frankfurt, followed by Tokyo on
July 13, Seoul July 14 and Singapore July 15.

"All of the questions asked were extremely technical, which
shows the participants still need to deepen their understanding,"
Desjardins said.

He added that there were no questions on assessing the plan as
a whole, "which makes it difficult to assess the bankers'
reception to the plan."

Other European bankers attending the Paris leg of roadshow
said they have misgivings about the major corporate-debt portion
of the restructuring plan.

"The corporate debt part remains problematic... and my overall
impression is very guarded," said Marc Bailly, senior loan
officer for Belgium's Generale de Banque.

Bankers representing French, U.K., Belgium, Danish, and
Italian creditor banks said they were largely well-disposed to
the trade finance and debt exchange portions of the plan, noting
they are similar to the one approved for South Korea earlier this
year.

The corporate debt restructuring portion of the plan covers
$64 billion in loans, with the rest of the $80-billion plan made
up by trade and other debt financing.

Two Paris-based bankers, who spoke on condition of anonymity,
espoused very negative views.

"We had a very hard time understanding the presentation...and
I don't see how INDRA can work if the rupiah is at 10,000-to-the-
dollar at the end of the year," one said.

The Indonesian Debt Restructuring Agency (INDRA) will be set
up Aug. 1. Under the INDRA plan, the Indonesian central bank will
provide foreign exchange risk protection to Indonesian
corporations which agree with their creditors to restructure
their external debt for a period of eight years, with a three-
year grace period during which no principal will be repaid.

"They were missing slides and teaching materials which would
have made this a lot clearer...It's not clear to me that all the
banks here will sign up for the accord," said the other Paris-
based banker.

Even bankers who were largely positive, such as Rodney Bass,
group financial risk controller at HSBC in London, wanted further
details. "I think there is still work that needs to be done on
administrative issues," he said.