Tutut sues 11 banks for loan delay

JAKARTA (JP): The eldest daughter of former president Soeharto Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana, also known as Mbak Tutut, is demanding that 11 local banks pay her company US$55 million in compensation due to a delay in the disbursement of loans.

"The disbursement failure has incurred some losses to PT Citra Samudera Terminal Peti Kemas," said the company's lawyer Gousta Veriza on Tuesday after the third hearing of the company's suit against the banks at the South Jakarta District Court.

The trial was postponed until May 23 to allow verification of the evidence.

PT Citra Samudera Terminal Peti Kemas, owned by Tutut, won in early 1997 a contract to carry out part of the expansion work of state port operator PT Pelindo III's terminal in Surabaya, East Java.

Later in the year, the 11 banks agreed to extend a syndicated loan of $75.5 million to Citra Samudera to finance the project.

Some $2.9 million of the loan facility was disbursed during the early part of construction.

The next loan disbursement to the company was put on hold in January 1998 due to the unstable monetary condition, during which the rupiah fluctuated wildly against the U.S. dollar.

The bank syndication was led by Bank Niaga. The other member banks were Bank Internasional Indonesia, Bank Bumi Daya, Bank Bank Pembangunan Indonesia, Bank Pelita, Bank Danamon, Bank Bukopin, Bank Panin, Bank Rama, Bank Universal and Bank Tiara.

Citra Samudera claimed the delay inflicted the company with $3.5 million in losses and the cancellation of the project.

In addition, Citra Samudera claimed it also lost a future income opportunity of some $51 million by not completing the project.

Citra Samudera filed the legal suit in mid-1999.

The trial did not start until now due to the difficulty of notifying the 11 defendants, as many of them are no longer in business.(udi)