Sample Stories for Troubled Company Reporter - Asia Pacific

PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara seeks bids to build and upgrade transmission lines to connect existing and planned power plants, Bloomberg News reports.

The company plans to spend IDR6 trillion on the project, Bloomberg relates.

According to the report, the Indonesian government ordered the company to add 10,000 megawatts coal-fired capacity by 2009 to meet rising demand with cheaper electricity, while the private sector was asked to bring in another 10,000 megawatts of capacity by 2010.

Bloomberg notes that Listrik Negara needs to spend IDR18 trillion to expand and accommodate the additional capacity by 2010.  The funds will come from the company's budget, the state budget, export credits, and loans, the report adds.

                    About Perusahaan Listrik

Indonesian state utility firm PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara -- http://www.pln.co.id/ -- transmits and distributes electricity to around 30 million customers, roughly 60% of Indonesia's population.  The Indonesian Government decided to end PLN's power supply monopoly to attract independents to build more capacity for sale directly to consumers, as many areas of the country are experiencing power shortages.

PLN posted a IDR4.92-trillion net loss in 2005, against a net loss of IDR2.02 trillion in 2004.

The Troubled Company Reporter - Asia Pacific reported on Feb. 6, 2007, that Moody's Investors Service changed the outlook to positive from stable for the B1 corporate family rating and senior unsecured bond rating of PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara.

The rating action follows Moody's decision to change the outlook of Indonesia's B1 foreign and local currency government bond ratings to positive from stable.

Standard & Poor's Ratings Services also assigned its 'BB-' foreign currency rating and 'BB' local currency rating to PLN. The outlook on the ratings is stable.  At the same time, Standard & Poor's assigned its 'BB-' issue rating to the proposed U.S. dollar senior unsecured notes issued by PLN's wholly owned subsidiary, Majapahit Holding B.V.