PGN plans $200M Euro bond issue
Thursday, June 26 2003 - 02:19 AM WIB
The bond issue would mark the latest from Indonesia amid growing appetite from investors for the country's high-yielding debt.
"We plan to issue Euro bonds worth $200 million in August. We are optimistic about the bond because the market prospects are good," PGN's director for general affairs, Sutikno, told reporters.
Sutikno said the bonds would finance around 240 km (150 miles) of gas pipeline from South Sumatra province to West Java and 380 km (238 miles) of pipeline from central Sumatra to North Sumatra province.
Both would be sections of a larger pipeline network being built. He gave no other details on the bond issue.
Sutikno said the firm was still on track to hold an initial public offering of 20-25 percent of its shares in early November. "We are working out who the underwriter will be," he said.
PGN has already obtained $415 million in soft loans from Japan to finance part of the South Sumatra-West Java pipeline.
He said the bond and the IPO would complete the financing needed to build the pipeline networks.
PGN has said it would pipe about 600 million cubic feet of gas per day from South Sumatra to West Java in 2006 to supply power stations.
It was unclear when the pipeline from central Sumatra to North Sumatra would start transporting gas.(*)