Berau aims to conclude debt restructuring before 2016

By Thomas R. Sembiring

The new management of IDX-listed coal miner PT Berau Coal Energy Tbk hopes to be able to conclude the restructuring of the company?s debts later this year.

?The (debt) restructuring hopefully can be concluded before January next year,? said Fuganto Widjaja, the new President Director of Berau after the Indonesian well-diversified Sinar Mas Group becomes the new indirect controlling owner of the coal miner, on the sidelines of a shareholders meeting Wednesday.

Sinar Mas has recently acquired LSE-listed Asia Resources Minerals Plc (ARMS), which owns 84.74 percent stake of Berau.

Fuganto said that Hong-Based fund manager Argyle Street Management is helping a team of auditors in assessing Berau?s operation and its ability in repaying the debts.

After the audit process is completed, Berau?s new management will decide on the debt restructuring scheme. He acknowledged that there is possibility of also using the restructuring scheme proposed by the previous management team.

Berau has a total of US$950 million of debts in the form of bonds, of which $450 million had actually matured in July, and another $500 million will mature March 2017. The previous management team has proposed to issue new bonds to replace the maturing ones.

Elsewhere, Fuganto said that he would for now retain his post as President Director of IDX-listed coal miner PT Golden Energy Mines Tbk (GEMS), which is also controlled by the Sinar Mas Group.

He added that businesses under the Sinar Mas Group will be run to create synergies.

Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak