Pertamina seeking loans worth $550 million from local banks

State-owned oil and gas company Pertamina expects to raise loans worth about US$550 million from a number of foreign and local banks to help finance its growing crude oil imports, Petromindo.Com reported on Saturday.

"We hope will be able to get the approval from the commissioners next week so that we can proceed with the plan," the company's financial director Alfred H.Rohimone said in Jakarta on Friday.

He refused to unveil the names of the banks which would provide the loans but sources said that the state-owned oil and gas company were negotiating the loan proposal with United Overseas Bank and BNP Paribas and Sumitomo Mitsubishi Corp. Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB) is acting as the arranger.

Alfred said that Pertamina should seek another alternative because the subsidy provided by the government was far from enough to pay the crude to finance the crude oil imports, estimated to reach US$1.2 billion a month.

He said that the Rp 4 trillion in subsidy funds disbursed by the government recently had enabled the company to increase the national fuel stocks. At present, the fuel stocks are enough for 20 days, much longer than 18 days earlier.(dino)