Indofood gets $125m loan

JAKARTA (JP): PT Indofood Sukses Makmur, a publicly-listed food manufacturing company, has secured a 5-year loan worth US$125 million from a syndication of foreign banks.

The company said in a statement yesterday that the proceeds from the loan facility will be used to finance the final phase of the flour milling capacity expansion of its subsidiary PT Bogasari from 2.4 million tons per annum at present to 3.5 million tons. The expansion will be completed in 1997.

"We believe that the demand for flour will remain strong in the domestic market," said the statement.

Indofood, which is controlled by Indonesia's largest conglomerate Salim Group, claims to be the world's largest manufacturer of instant noodles and Indonesia's largest maker of wheat flour -- the raw material for noodles.

The company -- which is controlled by Liem Sioe Liong, also known as Sudono Salim -- produces a wide range of instant noodles and has an estimated 90 percent share of Indonesia's instant noodle market.

The loan was arranged by Citicorp Investment Bank of Singapore, Commerzbank, Credit Lyonnais, Kredietbank, Korea Development Bank, NatWest Markets and Sakura Merchant Bank of Singapore.

According to the statement, 22 international banks participated in the loan facility, which was said to be oversubscribed by more than 100 percent. (13)