Hermes finally approves loans to Aneka Tambang

German financial institution IKB Hermes has finally approved the state owned general mining company PT Aneka Tambang?s debt proposal worth between US$350 million and US$360 million to finance the company?s third ferro nickel refinery plant, Bisnis Indonesia reported on Monday.

"We have received the approval from IKB Hermes to provide export credit for the third ferro nickel plant (FeNi III). The written approval had not reached us," the company?s president director Deddy Aditya Sumanegara was quoted as saying.

Although the debt approval had been made, it had exceeded the May 28 deadline, he said, adding that the German creditor earlier pledged to provide the export credit before the end of March.

The tender for the construction of the new plant was in fact won by Japanese firm Mitsui, but the company later pulled out from the project after it failed to obtain financial support. The Japanese position was then replaced by German?s Tessag which had successfully obtained financial backup from IKB Hermes.

Deddy said that Antam had prepared a contingency plan such as by securing loans from domestic banks if the company failed to receive the export credit from IKB Hermes. Antam has, for example, will use its own funds worth US$70 million, and to issue bonds worth $60 million to finance the new refinery plant, as well as to seeking credits worth about US$75 million from Bank Mandiri. (*)