February 21, 2007

Indonesia's CP Prima secures new loan of US$200 million

Publicly listed shrimp farming company PT Central Proteinaprima (CPP)  said it has obtained a new loan US$200 million from a syndicate of local and foreign banks.

CPP Director Erwin Sutanto said the bank loan will be used to repay an earlier debt incurred in May last year. It launched its IPO in June.

Early this year, it acquired US shrimp broodstock company Shrimp Improvement Systems (SIS), LLC, the largest shrimp and broodstock company in the US as part of efforts to become the largest shrimp company in the world. CPP believed SIS's expertise in cultivating disease resistant shrimp species would help it gain more market share.

CPP is the largest shrimp producer in Indonesia, with more than US$500 million in sales turnover each year.

The five-year loan, which carries an annual interest rate of 3.5 per cent above LIBOR (London Interbank Offered Rate), will allow the company to be more focused in its business operations, Erwin said.

oreign banks involved in the syndicate are Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp., Barkclays Capital, Chintrust Commercial Bank Ltd., China Development Industrial Bank, Commonwealth Bank of Australia and DZ Bank AG.