United Tractors reschedules debt

JAKARTA (JP): Publicly listed PT United Tractors (UT), a distributor of heavy equipment, has gained approval from its foreign and domestic creditors to restructure its debts.

The company said here on Monday that the debts, comprising US$278 million owed to 26 foreign banks and Rp 147 billion (about $17.3 million) to local banks, would be repaid into two stages under the debt restructuring agreement signed recently with the creditors.

In the first tranche of the debt settlement agreement, the heavy equipment distributor will repay $94.3 million of the total foreign debts and Rp 49.78 billion of the local debts in full at the end of 2002, while the interest payments will be made on a quarterly basis.

In the second tranche, the company will repay the remaining $184.20 million of its foreign debts and the remaining Rp 97.22 billion of its local debts by Dec. 2004. The company is also allowed to extend the term for another three years, if it is unable to settle the payment at the end 0f 2004.

United Tractors said that payment of the principal debt in the second tranche would be made every six months while interest payments would be every three months.

The company, which is 50.0 percent owned by publicly-listed PT Astra International, is required to pay an up front payment of $5 million and RP 2.64 billion by the restructuring agreement. (10)