PLN plans to issue Rp. 1 trillion bonds
Tuesday, January 14 2003 - 08:38 AM WIB
The government has approved PLN's plan to build the badly needed plant but said the firm would have to find the funds by itself. The move is to help avoid an energy crisis in 2004 in densely populated Java and Bali islands.
"We expect to issue about one trillion rupiah in bonds in June to finance a new power plant," PLN president director Eddie Widiono told reporters.
"PLN needs more than 900 billion rupiah in bonds not only to finance the power plant but also for the firm's cash," he said.
He gave no details on the issue's terms.
Widiono had said before that the firm would issue Rp. 900 billion worth of bonds.
PLN's bottom line was battered by a sharp fall in the rupiah since late 1997 when the Asian economic crisis hit Indonesia, as most of the utility's costs are dollar-denominated.
Indonesia's annual power demand is estimated to be growing by around 10 percent a year, one of the most robust power markets in Southeast Asia.
PLN has said electricity capacity across the Java and Bali was around 18,000 MW in 2001 and that would be unchanged in 2002. (*)