Sunson reschedules $36.7m loan

Sunson reschedules $36.7m loan

JAKARTA (JP): Publicly listed PT Sunson Textile Manufacturer
Tbk secured on Monday a three-year extension period for the
maturity of a US$36.7 million syndicated loan.

The loan, signed in 1995 and carrying an interest rate of 3
percent over the Singapore Interbank Offered Rate (SIBOR), was
due to mature this year.

It was first extended in 1998 at the peak of the economic
crisis.

"We have injected the loans into our working capital," Sunson
president Purnawan Suriadi following the signing of the loan
rescheduling agreement.

The picture shows Sunson's chief commissioner Sundjono Suriadi
(left, photo above) exchanges a document on the loan agreement
with the vice president of The Chase Manhattan Manochere Alamgir.

Chase Manhattan Bank acted as the head of the informal
steering committee to renegotiate the syndicated loan.

The other institutions involved were American Express Bank,
Rabobank Duta Indonesia, Standard Chartered Bank, The Sanwa Bank,
PT Bank Societe Generale Indonesia, Sumitomo Bank, NV De
Indonesische Overzeese Bank, PT Bank Dai-Ichi Kangyo Indonesia,
PT United Overseas Bank Bali and the Indonesian Bank
Restructuring Agency representing Bank Bira after it was taken
over by the agency.

The loan constituted 80 percent of Sunson's remaining debt of
about $47 million, Purnawan said.

Alamgir said he was satisfied with Sunson's financial
performance in generating profit and surviving the economic
crisis.

"The company has managed to direct sales from the domestic
market to foreign markets," Alamgir said of the committee's
decision to extend the loan.

American Express Bank senior director Espen Lund said the
terms of the loan were unchanged because the basic risks related
to the crisis were basically over.

"Sunson is a very well managed company and we have much hope
in its future," Lund said. (03/udi)