BII to channel Rp 1.08t credit for mining sector

By Hiski Darmayana

IDX-listed PT Bank Internasional Indonesia Tbk (BII) plans to disburse Rp 1.08 trillion worth of lending for the mining sector in the country in 2014.

?Credit for the mining sector, coal and minerals, will be about 3 percent of the total corporate lending next year,? Managing Director of BII, Frans Rahardja Alimhamzah told Petromindo.com Monday, adding that the bank?s corporate loans next year was expected to increase by 20 percent to Rp 33.6 trillion.

He said that corporate loans for this year is estimated at Rp 28 trillion, about three percent of which are allocated for the mining sector.

Frans said that lending to the mining sector is relatively small due to the risk created by the current weak price of mining commodities. One of the mining projects financed by BII is the coal mining project owned by PT Exploitasi Energi Indonesia.

Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak