IFC's RI debtors in trouble

IFC's RI debtors in trouble

WASHINGTON (Bloomberg): Sixty percent of the 42 companies in
Indonesia that have borrowed money from the International Finance
Corp, the World Bank's private lending arm, are in financial
difficulty, the Asian Wall Street Journal reported Friday,
quoting executives of the Washington-based lender.

Of the 20 percent of IFC's Indonesian borrowers that are
experiencing serious difficulties, there is a ``high likelihood''
that the IFC will never be repaid, said Rashad Kaldany, director
of IFC's South Asia and Southeast Asia department.

The IFC's total portfolio in Indonesia amounts to $1 billion
of equity investments and loans, including about $500 million
lent by commercial banks under the IFC's name.

The IFC's fiscal 1998 profit fell to $246 million from $432
million a year earlier as the lender increased its provisions for
losses from loans to troubled emerging markets.