Indonesia Refinery Restart Shows Long Road From 1998 Asia Crisis
- Petrochemical plant progress stalled during 1998 Asian crisis
- Company switched debt into stocks, bonds in 2014 restructuring
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Just as rating companies see rising risks for defaults in Asia, one Indonesian refiner may finally be emerging from the shadow of 1998’s currency collapse.
PT Trans-Pacific Petrochemical Indotama, a project that stalled during the Asian crisis, resumed operations last quarter and is now running at about 70 percent of its capacity to produce gasoline, said President Director K. Denni Wisnuwardani. The earnings are being used to pay operating expenses but not creditors, as a 2014 restructuring of $1.88 billion in debt allows for repayment when new bonds mature, said Chief Financial Officer Basya Himawan.