Inco gets $421.25m loan

Inco gets $421.25m loan

JAKARTA (JP): PT International Nickel Indonesia (Inco)
announced yesterday that it has received commitments from a group
of international lenders totaling US$421.25 million to finance
its expansion program and refinance its debts.

The company said in a statement that $340 million of the loan
will be used to help finance a $580 million expansion project to
increase its annual capacity by 50 percent to 150 million pounds
of nickel in matte. The remaining $81.25 million will be drawn to
refinance its debts.

The $340 million of expansion financing consists of $200
million from a group of banks led by the Export Development
Corporation (EDC) of Canada and $140 million from the Export-
Import Bank of Japan. The $81.25 million refinancing facility
will be provided by the EDC-led group of banks. (rid)