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.