Antam considers bond issue for FeNi III project

The state-owned general mining company PT Aneka Tambang is considering a bond issue as a back up plan for the financing of its multi million dollar ferro nickel III expansion project (FeNi III).

The Neraca daily quoted Antam president Deddy A. Sumanagara as saying on Thursday that the contingency plan was needed because there was no full guarantee yet from Hermes, a German export credit agency, that it would finance the expansion project.

He said that Hermes was expected to make its final decision sometimes in the first quarter of next year. Consulting firm PricewaterHouseCoopers has been appointed to evaluate the project.

Report said earlier that Antam was expecting around US$120 million in loan to be arranged by Hermes.

The FeNi III project involves the construction of a third ferronickel smelter and associated power plant to more than double Antam's ferronickel capacity to 26,000 tons per year.(*)