Pefindo rates 81 Indonesian companies
Pefindo rates 81 Indonesian companies
JAKARTA (JP): The first credit rating agency in Indonesia, PT Pefindo, said that as of Feb. 29, it had accepted applications for ratings from 81 companies intending to issue debt instruments.
Pefindo's president, Farid Haryanto, announced after the company's annual shareholders meeting yesterday that the applications involved a total issue of Rp 7.1 trillion (US$3.03 billion) worth of bonds and commercial papers.
The applicants included 19 property companies wanting to raise Rp 1.9 trillion, 20 financial institutions (Rp 1.5 trillion), 10 pulp and paper companies (Rp 704 billion), five textile and garment producers (Rp 370 billion), five plywood companies (Rp 100 billion), 10 manufacturing companies (Rp 678 billion) and others (Rp 1.7 trillion).
"We have completed the financial analyses on 52 companies and are now working on the remaining 29 companies," Farid said.
The state-owned Bank Tabungan Negara is the best bond issuer rated by Pefindo so far. The bank got an A rating while state-run electricity company PT PLN got A- for its fourth bond issue.
Bank Internasional Indonesia, Modern Bank, Mulia Land and Bank Mashill all earned BBB+ and PT Kawasan Industri Jababeka received BBB.
Farid said that five commercial paper issuers, including Jababeka, BBL Finance and a state-owned property developer, got A3 rating.
"A3 is the highest level that Indonesian companies have reached so far," he said.
The highest rate for commercial paper given by Pefindo, according to Farid, is A1.
Losses
Pefindo, which was established in 1994 by six state-run banks, the Jakarta Stock Exchange and Surabaya Stock Exchange, 80 securities companies and 36 pension funds, is still losing money.
During the two years of its operations, it posted total losses of Rp 1.3 billion (US$556,268).
"We told the shareholders that we had to spend much money for technical assistance and human resources development," Farid said.
He said that Pefindo's income still relies entirely on rating fees.
He said that major rating agencies like Standard & Poors of the United States get only 30 percent of its total income from rating fees and 70 percent from information distribution.
Pefindo's revenues from its rating service rose to Rp 3.8 billion last year from only Rp 497 million in 1994.
The company's operational expenses rose by 133 percent to Rp 5.6 billion. (08)