VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Minister of SOEs Erick Thohir. (ANTARA)

Jakarta - State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) Minister Erick Thohir, on Wednesday, expressed a belief that global investors still perceived Indonesia as one of the lucrative countries to invest.

"In the wake of today's situation of an unstable global market, we can see several investors interested in the SOEs' global bond that might be a testament to the fact that Indonesia is still attractive for global investors," Thohir noted in a statement.

To this end, the minister has encouraged SOEs to employ creative approaches to seek funds, for which a cue can be taken from the issuance of the global bond as a sound example.

On Tuesday, May 5, PT Bank Mandiri’s US$500 million oversubscribed by nearly five times, as the demand touched US$2.4 billion. The global bond offered a coupon of 4.75 percent per year, higher than the government’s global bond coupon of 3.9 percent issued in early April. The five-year debt paper will mature in 2025.

The investors comprise some 66 percent from Asia, while another 34 percent are from European countries, the Middle East, Africa, and the United States.

Bank Mandiri earned a Baa2 rating with a Stable outlook from Moody's, BBB- with a Negative outlook from S&P, and BBB- with a Stable outlook from Fitch.

PT Hutama Karya had earlier successfully launched its US$600 million global bonds. The debt paper was oversubscribed by some six times. The global bond offered a coupon of 3.75 percent per year. Some 42 percent of the investors came from Asia; while 30 percent were from Europe, the Middle East, and Africa; and 28 percent from the United States. (ANTARA)