Financial bodies bring Dharmala Agrifood to court
Financial bodies bring Dharmala Agrifood to court
JAKARTA (JP): Three financial institutions -- publicly listed
Bank Niaga, ING Indonesia Bank and International Finance
Corporation (IFC) -- have jointly filed a bankruptcy petition
against PT Dharmala Agrifood at the Jakarta Commercial Court for
the latter's failure to repay debts.
According to the court data, the three financial institutions
are seeking the repayment of their loans worth Rp 16.04 billion
and US$51.7 million.
Dharmala Agrifood had obtained loans worth Rp 16.04 billion
from Bank Niaga, US$16.7 million from ING Indonesia Bank and
US$35 million from IFC, a subsidiary of the World Bank Group
respectively.
The loans fell due on May 6, Feb. 12 and Sept.30 this year but
Dharmala Agrifood was not able to make any payment.
The plaintiff's lawyer, Kartini Mulyadi of Kartini Mulyadi law
firm, demanded the court declare the company bankrupt.
A lawyer representing PT Dharmala Agrifood, Hotman Paris
Hutapea of Makarim and Taira said, however, that he was ready to
defend his client in court.
"We will just have to wait and see. I will defend my client
and talks are underway with the creditors to settle the debts,"
he told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.
Dharmala Agrifood, listed on the Jakarta Stock Exchange, is
63.16 percent owned by PT Centra Ekacitra and 36.84 percent by
the public. The company produces animal feed with a production
capacity of 480,000 tons a year.
The company, a member of the diversified Dharmala Group,
recorded a net loss of Rp 167.9 billion last year compared to a
net profit of Rp 18.02 billion in 1996.
Ometraco
In another development, the Jakarta commercial court might
declare a multifinance firm PT Ometraco Multi Artha (OMA), a
subsidiary of the publicly listed PT Ometraco Corporation,
bankrupt on Friday after it failed to clinch a debt settlement
agreement with its creditors.
Presiding judge Haryono, who chaired the hearing of the
Ometraco bankruptcy case on Thursday, said that the court had
learned that a majority of OMA's creditors had rejected its debt
restructuring proposal.
"The court will announce its verdict tomorrow." he said.
According to the existing law, if creditors reject a debtor's
rescheduling proposal, the court will declare the debtor
bankrupt.
The plaintiff's lawyers said that around 83 percent or 28
creditors had rejected the debt proposal.
"Since most creditors have rejected the debt rescheduling
proposal, the court must declare the company bankrupt," Kitty
Sugondo Kramadibrata of Kramadibrata, Karim, Sani, Manihuruk
said. (aly)