Bumi Price Fall Adds To Bakries’ Debt Woes

Indonesia’s influential Bakrie family is facing another debt crisis after creditors issued a default notice on a $437m loan, triggered by the collapse in the price of London-listed miner Bumi plc shares that had been used to guarantee the loan, the Financial Times reported. People familiar with the transaction say none of the 20 lenders in the syndicate led by Credit Suisse are likely to demand repayment even if the Bakries do not increase their collateral. But the last time the family was in a similar position, last year, on a $1.345bn loan to a similar group, they restructured by selling $1bn of their Bumi shares to Samin Tan, an Indonesian entrepreneur who is now the company’s chairman. Together with Mr Tan, the Bakrie family own 47.6 per cent of the company. The Bakrie Group is Indonesia’s most politically influential conglomerate, with interests in telecoms, infrastructure, plantations and energy as well as mining, but the coal assets are the jewel in its crown. It is by far Indonesia’s most leveraged business empire and several of the companies are undergoing restructuring. Read more. (Subscription required.)