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.