Chandra Asri needs the government?s help to secure naphtha supply

PT Chandra Asri Petrochemical Centre (CAPC) has asked the government?s help in the negotiation of naphtha supply from state-owned oil and gas company Pertamina, Bisnis Indonesia reported on Monday.

"We have a number of problems in the imports of naphtha from the Middle East. We therefore needs the government?s help so that we will be able to get naphtha supply from Pertamina as soon as possible," Chandra Asri?s president Loeki S. Putra said in a press conference in the weekend.

During the press conference, which was also attended by Coordinating Minister for Economy Dorodjatun Kuntjoro Jakti and the company?s chief commissioner Maiziar Rahman, Loeki said that the company needed a long-term naphtha supply from Pertamina in order to lessen its dependence on imported products.

"Pertamina?s commitment is needed to ensure that the company will be able to operate normally," he said as quoted by the newspaper as saying.

Meanwhile Dorodjatun said that the key of the success of Chandra Asri laid on its ability to obtain its raw materials including naphtha from local sources. "The company should be able to get naphtha from domestic sources to improve its competitiveness," the minister added.

The government, through the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA), has successfully restructured the company?s massive foreign debts. If the company suffers a financial problem, it will also bring a serious impact on the country?s banking industry, Dorodjatun said. (*)