Moody's rates Inco with stable outlook

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