Kaltim Prima borrows $385m

Kaltim Prima borrows $385m

SINGAPORE: PT Kaltim Prima Coal, Indonesia's biggest coal exporter, borrowed US$385 million from banks, the maximum it sought in a syndicated loan to pay debt, Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB), which arranged the credit, said.

Banks signed up to lend $686 million during syndication of the credit allowing Kaltim to borrow the most it wanted, Jeremy Brest, a director in CSFB's structured finance department said.

The Jakarta-based company last month put on hold a plan to sell $375 million of bonds because of fluctuations in Asian bond prices. Kaltim Prima is borrowing to pay debt incurred by Bumi Resources to fund the purchase of the company and other loans, according to a document linked to the sale.

Kaltim is paying 4 percentage points more than the London interbank offered rate, a benchmark for corporate borrowing. Three- month Libor was last fixed at 1.91875 percent. The 2.5- year loan is repayable in 10 quarterly installments.

CSFB agreed to extend the loan regardless of demand. -- Bloomberg