PT Astra International taps Asian dollar mart for US$160m

PT Astra International taps Asian dollar mart for US$160m

JAKARTA (JP): Four Singapore-based Japanese banks have
arranged a US$160 million revolving credit facility for PT Astra
International, a major Indonesian assembler and distributor of
vehicles, heavy equipment and machinery.

The three-year syndicated loan is the largest tapped by Astra
in the Singapore-based Asian dollar market, in which it has
raised funds many times in previous years, the Singapore-based
Business Times daily reported on Saturday.

The four arrangers of the latest deal, signed in Singapore
last week, are DKB Merchant Bank (Singapore) and the Singapore
branches of Fuji Bank, Sanwa Bank and Tokai Bank.

The facility is one of the largest loans raised in the Asian
dollar market this year.

With interest of 1.125 percent above the Singapore Interbank
Offered Rate (Sibor), it attracted 26 lending banks, including
the four arrangers, from Asia, Europe and North America.

These banks took part in the deal as lead managers and
managers. Of the 26 banks, 22 are Singapore-based banks,
including DBS Bank, which was lead manager, OCBC, which was a
manager. The other Singapore-based banks are foreign banks with
branches in Singapore.

A statement from the arrangers said: "Even though the facility
was aggressively priced, response from the banks was
overwhelming, reflecting the lenders' strong appetite for prime
Indonesian corporate names.

"The syndication closed successfully, with a huge
oversubscription. In total, 26 banks, including the arrangers,
committed close to $250 million. The quantum of the loan was
therefore increased from $100 million proposed originally to $160
million."

Astra, with group sales of $2.8 billion and assets of more
than $3.5 billion last year, is one of the biggest listed
companies in Indonesia. The major brands it handles include
Toyota, Daihatsu and Isuzu cars, Honda motorcycles and Komatsu
construction machinery.