Risjad Brasali issues convertible bonds

Risjad Brasali issues convertible bonds

JAKARTA (JP): PT Risjad Brasali Styrindo -- producer of
acrylonitrile butadine styrene (ABS), styrene acrylonitrile (SAN)
and expandable polystyrene (EPS) -- issued mandatory convertible
bonds worth US$25 million yesterday.

The bonds will have a coupon rate of one percent per annum and
will mature in 2002.

"Of the funds generated from the bond issuance, $8 million
will be used to finance the company's expansion, while the
remaining $17 million will be allocated for the payment of the
existing loan," the company's general manager, Prawiranegara
Sugito, said after yesterday's signing ceremony at the Mercantile
Athletic Club here.

Executives from five multinational corporations -- HSBC
Private Equity Fund L.P., Wardley Asia Pacific Investment
Limited, Peregrine Indonesia Fund Limited, Soros Capital
Indonesia Limited and Search Direct Investment Limited -- signed
the agreements to subscribe the bonds at the ceremony.

The bonds can be converted to Risjad Brasali Styrindo shares
when it goes public in 1999.

The shares of the company are now 50 percent owned by
businessman Ibrahim Risjad and the rest by the Brasali Group.

Risjad Brasali Styrindo, located in Serang, West Java, has an
annual production capacity of 20,000 tons of SAN, 15,000 tons of
EPS and 13,000 tons of ABS.

"The production capacity of ABS will be raised to 18,000 tons
per annum to meet increasing demand," said Prawiranegara..

He said his company procures styrene as a feedstock from PT
Styrene Mono Indonesia.

ABS and SAN are used in the manufacturing of heat and chemical
resistant plastic components for electronics, household
appliances, automotive components and certain grades of pipes,
while EPS is used to produce packaging and building materials as
well as cold storage insulation.

Seventy percent of the company's production is marketed
domestically, while the rest is exported to Hong Kong.(kod)