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)