JAKARTA: Publicly listed financial services company Bakrie
JAKARTA: Publicly listed financial services company Bakrie Finance Corporation (BFC) gained the approval on Wednesday of most of its creditors for the restructuring of its debts worth Rp 1.46 trillion (about US$158 million).
Company spokesman Lalu Mara Satriawangsa said in a statement on Wednesday that 97.4 percent of its creditors, representing total debts of Rp 1.42 trillion, voted to approve the debt restructuring proposal presented by the company to the Central Jakarta Commercial Court.
Under the debt restructuring deal, the company is to transfer all its assets to a special purpose vehicle, Lalu said.
The assets include insurance firms PT Asuransi Ikrar Lloyd and PT Asuransi Jiwa Bakrie, securities firm PT Bintang Sekuritas Indonesia, and financial services company PT Swadinamika Bakrie Finance.
Lalu said by gaining approval for the debt restructuring proposal, BFC had now completed the restructuring of debt totaling Rp 2.2 trillion. -- JP -JP
Davao-Manado flight launched
MANILA: President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo inaugurated on Wednesday the start of a regular weekly Philippines-Indonesia flight serving areas that Southeast Asian leaders have been trying to jointly develop.
Arroyo banged a ceremonial gong at an international airport in the southern port city of Davao to launch the maiden Air Philippines flight from that trading and tourism hub to Manado, Indonesia.
The service will complement Philippine cargo flights to Manado launched by another local company, Aboitiz One, in January, a government statement said.
The two countries, along with Brunei and Malaysia, started promoting economic growth in 1994 in neighboring provinces comprising the Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines- East Asean Growth Area, or BIMP-EAGA.
The area has been lagging economically, burdened by security problems from Muslim extremist guerrillas, pirates and smugglers. -- Dow Jones
KPMG to acquire Andersen
NEW YORK: KPMG Consulting is close to acquiring embattled Arthur Andersen's US consulting arm and part of the overseas consulting business for more than US$250 million, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.
A deal could be announced within next week, accelerating the breakup of Anderson following its involvement in the accounting scandal of energy trading giant Enron, sources familiar with the negotiations told the daily.
The talks, however, may not result in agreement and Andersen's pending legal problems could prevent or delay any deal, the daily said. -- AFP
SIA cancels flights to Katmandu
SINGAPORE: Singapore Airlines said Wednesday it will indefinitely suspend flights to Nepal's capital, Katmandu.
The national airline said in a news release that it will stop its three flights a week to Katmandu starting May 31.
The suspension was due to the "uncertain global operating environment" for airlines, and there are no plans as to when the flights will resume, a Singapore Airlines spokeswoman said on condition of anonymity. She did not give further details.
Violence has recently escalated in Nepal, a popular tourist destination, where Maoist rebels have been fighting since 1996 to overthrow the Himalayan kingdom's constitutional monarchy and impose communist rule.
Katmandu was recently rocked by explosions which killed two people and wounded eight, and were believed to have been set off by the guerrillas. -- AP