IBRA revokes lawsuit against A Latief after debt repayment
IBRA revokes lawsuit against A Latief after debt repayment
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) has
revoked its bankruptcy petition against trading firm PT A Latief
Corporation following the US$15 million debt repayment by the
latter to the agency.
"The debt repayment is proof of PT A Latief's good intentions
all through the process of debt negotiations over the past months
with its creditors," the company said in a statement on Tuesday.
IBRA took PT A Latief and two other debtors to commercial
court in late March for their alleged failure to repay debts to
the agency.
The other companies taken to court by the agency were crude
palm oil processor PT Sumi Asih, which owes the agency Rp 73.94
billion and $6.73 million, and PT Ometraco Corporation, which has
$53.18 million in unpaid debts.
PT A Latief said the delay in the debt repayment to IBRA was
not at all intentional.
The company said it initially owed a total $30 million debt to
syndicated banks consisting of Bank Niaga, Bank Internasional
Indonesia (BII), Bank Danamon and Bank Pelita.
The debts owed to Bank Niaga and BII, amounting to $17.5
million of the total syndicated loan, were repaid earlier, while
the remaining debts to the other two banks were pending due to
the need of further debt negotiations with IBRA because the two
banks -- Bank Pelita and Bank Danamon -- were respectively closed
and taken over by the government.
IBRA public relations officer Franklin Richard confirmed IBRA
had revoked its bankruptcy suit against PT A Latief on Tuesday
upon receiving $14.75 million in cash as a debt repayment from
the trading firm.
"IBRA has recovered 100 percent of the loan principal ($12.5
million) and over 50 percent of the overdue interest payments,"
Franklin said.
IBRA -- pressured to recover trillions of rupiah in
receivables derived from the debtors of the closed, taken over
and problem banks -- has taken legal action against these debtors
through, among others, the commercial court. (udi)