Pertamina to get loan

Pertamina to get loan

TAIPEI (Reuter): Bank of Taiwan, Taiwan's largest state-run bank, said yesterday that it will likely be the lead underwriter for a US$1.2 billion syndicated loan to Pertamina, Indonesia's state oil firm for its plan to build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant.

"Pertamina has in principle agreed to let Bank of Taiwan be the lead underwriter of the US$1.2 billion syndicated loan," a Bank of Taiwan spokeswoman told Reuters.

The loan will be used by Pertamina to build its eighth LNG plant to be constructed for LNG exports to Taiwan's state-run Chinese Petroleum Corp (CPC) CHIP.CN, she said.

"Bank of Taiwan will invite local banks to jointly conduct the loan," she said.

CPC said last October that it would renew a 20-year contract to buy LNG from Indonesia.

Under the renewal, which will begin in 1998, CPC will buy 1.84 million tonnes a year of LNG from Pertamina.

CPC began importing 1.5 million tonnes of LNG per year from Indonesia in 1990, CPC said.

CPC said half of its LNG imports from Indonesia are used by the sate-run Taiwan Power Company for generating power. The other half is consumed by private households and CPC itself, it said.