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.