Guthrie confirms bond postponed

Guthrie confirms bond postponed

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian plantations group Kumpulan Guthrie
Bhd. confirmed Friday its earlier plan to tap the global capital
market via a US$245 million Islamic bond, or Sukuk, program has
been postponed indefinitely, a company spokesperson said.

The $245 million Sukuk, part of a $395 million program
launched late-2001, was initially planned for mid-2003, the
spokesperson told Dow Jones Newswires on condition of anonymity.

The remaining $150 million of the program had been issued in
December 2001.

She cited adverse global economic conditions for the
postponement of the $245 million issue.

The bond issue is aimed at replacing pricey rupiah-denominated
borrowings used initially to finance Guthrie's 1.5 billion
ringgit purchase in 2000 of massive tracts of oil palm land in
Indonesia.

Due to the postponement of the $245 million Sukuk issue,
Guthrie is now using ringgit-denominated Islamic borrowings to
finance the Indonesian estates, which are collectively known as
Minamas Plantation Group, the spokesperson added. -- Dow Jones