PLN bags $1.62b loan for power station development

Over 20 banks provided for the syndicated loan facility.

Reuters reports that Indonesia's Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) secured a $1.62b syndicated loan facility from 20 international banks in its drive to contribute to the country's 35GW power station development programme.

According to an announcement, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd, Bank of China (Hong Kong) Ltd, Citigroup Global Markets Singapore Pte. Ltd., Mizuho Bank Ltd, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation Ltd, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp Singapore Branch, and United Overseas Bank Ltd were the lead arrangers an bookrunners.

The new loan facility follows the issuance of around $1.5b in seven, 10, and 30-year global bonds in US dollar and euro denominations by PLN in mid-October.

However, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation (OECD) noted that debt taken on by PLN and other Indonesian state-owned companies to finance infrastructure projects could expose them to cash flow constraints, “particularly if interest rates increase or projects are delayed." PLN reported a net loss of $1.24b (IDR18.48t) for the January-September period, compared to a profit of $206.03m (IDR3.04t) in the same period a year earlier.

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