RI rating kept by debt relief

RI rating kept by debt relief

HONG KONG (Dow Jones): The possibility of Indonesia seeking
more debt relief from international creditors is one factor
keeping its sovereign rating at triple-C-plus, according to a
report by ratings agency Standard & Poor's Corp.

In a report published in the latest issue of CreditWeek, the
ratings agency says the duration of Indonesia's program with the
International Monetary Fund, and potential extensions of that
program, "may leave scope" for another round of Paris Club talks.

Last September, Indonesia agreed with the Paris Club, an
informal group of representatives of 17 creditor governments, to
reschedule an estimated US$1.2 billion of official development
aid and US$3.0 billion of non-ODA principal repayments into
extended repayment schedules starting in 2002 and ending in 2019.

The report also says Pakistan's rescheduling process, now
underway, may be similar to that of Indonesia. Pakistan's
rescheduling is expected to result in a default this year on some
or all of its US$617.85 million in Eurobonds and floating-rate
notes, rated double-C.