Texmaco's unit sued for $13 million loans

Texmaco's unit sued for $13 million loans

Bloomberg, Jakarta

Calyon, a unit of Credit Agricole SA, and a Swedish state-owned lender have sued a unit owned by the Texmaco Group to recover US$13 million from the company.

Calyon and Sweden's Exportkreditnamnden filed the case against PT Wismakarya Prasetya in the South Jakarta District court, said Shiv Dave, commissioner of PT Emerging Indonesian Business, which is advising the two companies.

Wismakarya generates electricity for Texmaco group companies, including PT Polysindo Eka Perkasa, which was declared bankrupt by Indonesia's Supreme Court in February.

Calyon and Exportkreditnamnden "tried to reach a settlement through a consensual approach but they haven't been successful," said Dave.

The two European companies lent money to Wismakarya Prasetya in 1997, which stopped paying interest on the debt in 1998, Calyon and Exportkreditnamnden said in a statement issued by Emerging Indonesian.

Wismakarya's parent Texmaco Group, which was Indonesia's largest textile maker until the 1997 Asian financial crisis, was declared in default last year after failing to keep to an agreement on Rp 29 trillion ($3.4 billion) of rearranged debt.

Texmaco founder Marimutu Sinivasan couldn't be immediately reached for comment.