Napan Group gets loan
JAKARTA (JP): A syndication of domestic banks led by Bank International Indonesia (BII) yesterday agreed to provide a loan of US$52.50 million to PT Megarimba Karyatama, an affiliate of the Napan Group, for the construction of a new compressed fiberboard plant in Sumatra.
The loan agreement was signed here by the president of Megarimba Karyatama, Sudwikatmono, and executives of the bank syndication, including BII, Bank Bali, Bank Bira, Modern Bank, Pan Indonesia Bank, Bank Dharmala, Bank Niaga, Ficorinvest Bank, Finconesia Bank, Tamara Bank, Bank Pacific and Bank PDFCI.
Sudwikatmono said the loan, which will have a maturity of eight years, will be used to finance the establishment of a fiberboard manufacturing plant on a 40-hectare area in Lampung, which will cost $70 million.
"Out of the costs, $17.5 million will be financed with the company's own equity," he said.
The coordinator of the plant construction, Edward Djumali, told The Jakarta Post that the interest rate on the loan will be set at two percentage points above the average of the costs of funds generated by the syndicated banks.
The planned plant, the first of its kind in the country, will process wooden wastes and fiberwoods of unused logs to become stiff sheets and boards, materials that can be used to make furniture and home appliances, Sudwikatmono said.
He said that Megarimba Karyatama will start to construct the plant in the first quarter of next year.
The plant, which will use German technology, will be capable of producing over 130,000 cubic meters of compressed fiberboard per year beginning in 1996.
"We plan to sell some 40 percent of the company's production on the domestic market and the other 60 percent on the international market," he said, adding that the company plans to export its products to Japan, China and other Asian countries.
Djumali said his company, in producing fiberboards, popularly known as medium density fiberboards (MDF), will rely on the supply of raw materials from a 40,000-hectare forestry estate owned by one of Napan Group's subsidiaries, PT London Sumatra, and the state own forestry company PT Perhutani V, which is committed to supplying materials from its 50-hectare estate in South Sumatra under a long-term agreement.
Set up in 1993, Megarimba Karyatama is owned by Sudwikatmono, Adry Pribadi, Deddy Kusuma, Wilson Pribadi, Eddy Suriatmadjaja and PT Murni Cipta Sentosa. (fhp)