PT Indah Kiat, PT Tjiwi Kimia stall APP's reports

JAKARTA (JP): Singapore-based Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) is unable to meet its July deadline for the publication of the company's financial report, due to problems at its Indonesian units PT Indah Kiat Pulp & Paper and PT Pabrik Kertas Tjiwi Kimia, a company spokesman said.

The spokesman for APP's parent company the Sinar Mas Group, Yan Partawijaya, said on Monday missing data from Indah Kiat and Tjiwi Kimia caused the delay.

"The auditor said they're missing data, but we're hoping to have the reports out sometime next month," Yan told The Jakarta Post.

He said APP's auditor told Sinar Mas about the likely delay in mid July, when it became apparent that some data was lacking.

"We've already informed the JSX (The Jakarta Stock Exchange) about this," he added.

Trading of the publicly listed Indah Kiat and Tjiwi Kimia had been suspended by the JSX, after the two failed to submit their reports on time.

The bourse gave them until yesterday to submit them.

Missing the deadline would have meant delisting, but on Monday the JSX retracted its threat.

Yan was unable to further specify the cause of the delay.

Indah Kiat has said it planned to write down the value of assets on its balance sheet before disclosing its financial report.

"Indah Kiat is revaluing its assets to reach fairer prices which reflect the current market situation," Indah Kiat's president Ganda Wijaya was quoted as saying by Bloomberg.

"The impact of the prolonged economic crisis has prompted a lowering of the company's assets value," he went on.

The plan comes amid questions over the existence of some US$199 million in deposits that the company kept at BII Cook Island.

The bank, a branch of the affiliated PT Bank Internasional Indonesia, has been closed down according to BII officials.

It remains unclear whether the money had been withdrawn, transferred to another bank, or already written off.

Wijaya, however, did say that the $199 million in deposits would not be included on Indah Kiat's 2001 balance sheet.

The same uncertainty has plagued investors of publicly listed PT Semen Cibinong, which has been unable to withdraw some $246 million in deposits at two banks on Cook Island and Vanuatu.

Semen Cibinong shareholders eventually decided to write off the deposits, but without clarity or guarantees over the existence of the money.

Meanwhile, APP's creditors must exercise more patience again following the delay of the company's financial reports.

APP creditors have been kept on the edge, since the company imposed in March a debt moratorium worth over US$13 billion.

As yet the creditors still await APP's debt restructuring proposal and data on its current financial condition. (bkm)