Pramindo loan closes

Pramindo loan closes

HONG KONG (Reuter): Syndication for PT Pramindo Ikat
Nusantara's US$350 million loan has closed, said arranger Chase
Manhattan Bank Asia.

The facility was oversubscribed to US$485 million but will not
be increased.

Pramindo is a consortium including Indonesia's Astra Group and
France's Cable et Radio. Proceeds of the loan will be used to
finance the group's telecommunications venture in Indonesia.

Pramindo last year won a tender to install some 460,000 phone
lines in Indonesia's Sumatra. It is one of several companies that
won tenders to install two million telephone lines in Indonesia.

The loan facility features an eight year maturity with
tranches for direct loans and for guarantees related to the
project.

Arrangers are Banque Nationale de Paris, Chase Manhattan Bank
Asia, Fuji Bank and Societe Generale.

Co-arrangers are Paribas Asia, Hypobank, Keppel Bank, Credit
Lyonnais, LTCB Merchant Bank Singapore, Mitsubishi Bank, Toronto
Dominion Southeast Asia and WestLb.

Eighteen other banks also joined in the syndication.