Pertamina nominated underwriter: Creditor bank shortlisted

as published in Bisnis Indonesia daily newspaper

Monday, 11/01/2010 00:00 WIB

Pertamina nominated underwriter: Creditor bank shortlisted

JAKARTA: PT Pertamina nominated some overseas investment banks in the shortlisted underwriters to handle global bond issuance worth US$1-1.5 billion in quarter III/2010.

Some informed executives said as from 10 overseas investment banks invited in selection, Royal Bank of Scotland Plc (RBS), ANZ, BNP Paribas, Citi, Credit Suisse, HSBC, and Standard Chartered Bank passed the shortlist and go to the next selection.

The company has set the shortlisted underwriter candidate.

Vice President Director of Pertamina Omar Sjawaldy Anwar refuted to provide detail explanation to Bisnis.

He conceded the shortlisted securities companies to handle the global bond issuance.

"I cannot talk the details as it is in black period. The point is that the Pertamina bond issuance is underway and there are shortlisted securities companies as from 20 firms expressing their interests on bond issuance," he said yesterday.

Bond issuance scheme is executed to cover next year capital expenditure worth IDR39 trillion.

The IDR10 trillion global bond issuance is to complete some fund raising worth US$2.5 billion.

Pertamina capital expenditure focuses on the upstream development of oil and gas such as field acquisition, development, and reserves rise.

The government this year targets to tap IDR20 trillion dividend shared by Pertamina or rose IDR2.2 trillion as from IDR17.8 trillion this year.

An investment banker added the shortlisted overseas investment bank once helped Pertamina seek loans.

"I think Pertamina appreciated the shortlisted investment bank as they had provided loans in the past," he said.

July 2009 Pertamina got US$400 million and IDR3 trillion loan facilities. The loan was oversubscribed up to US$650 million and IDR4 trillion.

PT Bank Mandiri Tbk and Citi at the time served as the banks coordinating both loan facilities here.

The US$400 million loan providers here include Citibank N.A, ANZ Panin Bank, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, BNP Paribas, BRI, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, BCA, Overseas-Chinese Banking Corporation Ltd, Bank Mizuho Indonesia, and Bank Pan Indonesia, HSBC, Chinatrust Commerical Bank Co Ltd, Calyon, CIMB Bank, Natixis, and Qatar National Bank.

The IDR3 trillion loans for Pertamina were generated from Bank Mandiri, PT Bank Negara Indonesia Tbk, PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia Tbk, and PT Bank Central Asia Tbk.

Corporate bond analyst of PT Trimegah Securities Tbk Octavianus Bramantya said the global bond issuance scheme of Pertmina will be absorbed by global market players upon noting the highly interested foreign investors in the Indonesia capital market.

This is reflected from the incoming overseas investors to the Indonesia stock market since last year and last week.

The overseas investors interests here relatively equals to that of last year. Let alone, Pertamina is deemed business entity with 100 percent shares possessed by the government.

With government ownership, Pertamina bond will be as lucrative as global bonds of PLN that are almost hunted by investors.

"The bond coupon would not be higher than 1-1.5 percent as from the government global bonds yield at secondary market," he said to Bisnis yesterday.

The company will easily provide coupon to the investors as the rating is quite the same as the government global bond rating at the level BB-. (Bisnis/mmh/wiw/iaa)