Moody's rates Inco with stable outlook

JAKARTA: Moody's Investor Service will assign a (P)Ba2 foreign currency rating to publicly-listed PT International Nickel Indonesia (Inco) with a stable outlook.

The rating reflects the company's solid record of profitable operations and strong debt protection measurements, said a statement released by Moody's on Wednesday.

The rating can only be raised or the outlook changed to positive if Indonesia's rating is raised, as Inco, a major nickel producer, operates in a single sector.

Inco, a local subsidiary of the world's second largest nickel company, Canada-based Inco Ltd., as of Sept. 30 last year had debts of US$115 million, which are secured by its cash collateral accounts and major contracts. Its revenues for the first nine months of 2004 amounted to $602 million. -- JP