Paiton looks for underwriters

JAKARTA (JP): PT Paiton Energy Company, a Japanese-American- Indonesian consortium awarded a contract to set up two power units in Paiton, East Java, has appointed Chase Manhattan Bank N.A. of the United States and Industrial Bank of Japan to coordinate loans for its project.

Paiton Energy will establish two coal-fired units, with a combined capacity of 1,230 megawatts, under build-own-and-operate based contract with the government.

The State Electricity Company has operated two units at the Paiton power station with a combined capacity of 800 MW.

A spokesman for Paiton Energy said here yesterday that the consortium, sponsored by Mission Energy Company and General Electric Capital Corporation, both of the United States, Mitsui Co. Ltd. of Japan and PT Batu Hitam Perkasa of Indonesia, needs underwriters to finance the US$2.3 billion electricity generating units.

The loans, to be generated by the banks, will be used to finance the construction, start-up and operation of the two units.

The spokesman said Paiton Energy has also appointed six other financial institutions -- BA Asia Limited, Barclay Bank PLC, Credit Lyonnais, Fuji Bank Limited, Sakura Bank Limited and Union Bank of Switzerland -- to lead arrangements to find underwriters. (02)