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BNI and 4 Bank Syndicate Funds Rp 4 Trillion for the Palapa Ring East Package Project

Jakarta | March 27, 2017 PT Bank Negara Indonesia (Persero) Tbk (BNI), as the Mandated Lead Arranger and Bookrunner, along with four other banks, has disbursed a syndicated loan worth over IDR 4 trillion to finance the construction of the Palapa Ring East Package Fiber Optic Network Project. The financing was disbursed to PT Palapa Timur Telematika (PTT), the project's business entity. The four other banks participating in the financing syndication are ICBC Indonesia, Bank Papua, Bank Malukumalut, and Bank Sulsebar.

The signing of the Syndicated Loan Agreement between the syndicated banks and PT PTT took place in Jakarta on Monday (March 27, 2017). Present at the event were BNI Director Iwan Putrama, PT PTT President Director Leon M. Kakisina, and the board of directors of the syndicated banks.

Iwan Putrama stated that BNI's support for this Syndicated Loan represents a tangible contribution to accelerating infrastructure project development, including supporting the national fiber optic network infrastructure. Broadband access in these non-commercial areas will be widely available to the public, further uniting Indonesia. "BNI is supporting the Palapa Ring East Package project, having previously supported the financing of the Palapa Ring Central Package Project. The hope is that each strategic infrastructure project can accelerate its development process, including the construction of fiber optic networks throughout Indonesia, which is the backbone of equitable broadband network distribution," he said. In this syndicated loan agreement, BNI acts as the Mandated Lead Arranger (MLA) and Bookrunner, as well as the Facility Agent, Guarantee Agent, and Escrow Agent, with a loan value of more than IDR 2.6 trillion. On March 29, 2017, the Ministry of Communication & Informatics (Keminfo) will hand over the effective certificate for the Palapa Ring East Package Public Private Partnership (PPP) project to PT PTT. The Palapa Ring Project This is one of the government's strategic projects and is included in the Masterplan for National Broadband (Indonesia Broadband Plan 2014-2019). This project is the construction of a national fiber optic backbone network connecting all regions of Indonesia, ensuring widespread public broadband access. The project is divided into three packages: the Palapa Ring West, Central, and East Packages.



News source: bni.co.id