Pertamina seeks US$2.5 billion loan as Indonesia dollar deals rise

[HONG KONG] Indonesia’s state-owned oil giant Pertamina is seeking a US$2.5 billion short-term loan, according to sources familiar with the matter, in what could be among the biggest US dollar deals in the nation this year.

The borrower has mandated Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group for the one-year loan that is being raised for working capital purposes, the sources said, asking not to be identified discussing private matters. The facility will be syndicated to the broader market at a later date, they said.

A spokesperson for Pertamina did not immediately respond to a text message seeking comments.

Pertamina’s planned borrowing would add to a spree of US dollar loans in Indonesia in the past year, and provide a test case of foreign lenders’ sentiment given the deadly protests in recent days. The nation’s markets are just recovering after the social unrest, which has subsided, sparked a sell-off in stocks and bonds.

Persistent, widespread unrest may undermine Indonesia’s sovereign credit standing through weaker economic growth and strained finances, Fitch Ratings said in a note on Wednesday (Sep 3).

The pipeline of potential deals has been building up. Pertamina’s shipping arm is seeking a separate loan of about US$700 million for the construction of vessels. Meanwhile, Indonesian sovereign wealth fund Danantara has appointed banks to coordinate a multi-currency borrowing of as much as US$10 billion, in what could be South-east Asia’s largest loan.

Challenges, however, remain for Pertamina as Indonesian authorities were investigating a US$17 billion graft case involving the oil giant. In July, eight suspects were detained and accused of alleged irregularities in oil purchases between 2018 and 2023, Bloomberg News reported earlier. BLOOMBERG