Hero reschedules $25m debt

JAKARTA (JP): Publicly listed PT Hero Supermarket announced on Wednesday the extension of the maturity of its US$25 million debt to June 2002.

Hero president and CEO Ipung Kurnia said in a statement that the company had negotiated the average interest rate cost of between 2.5 and 3 percentage points above the Singapore interbank offered rate (Sibor) after withholding tax.

This means Hero's average borrowing cost is between 15 percent and 16 percent a year after hedging, he said.

"We are comfortable with Hero's current level of debt of $25 million, which is 80 percent hedged," Ipung said.

The food retailer has 69 supermarkets and 63 specialty stores across Indonesia. (10)