JAKARTA. A syndicate of banks has granted a facility to PT Smartfren Telecom Tbk (FREN) with a credit limit of IDR 7.2 trillion. The loan will be disbursed gradually, and the majority of it will be used to pay debts of its subsidiary, PT Smart Telecom (Smartel).

James Wewengkang, Corporate Secretary of Smartfren Telecom, listed financial institutions that are included in the syndicate. They are PT Bank Central Asia Tbk. (BBCA), PT Sarana Multi Infrastruktur (SMI), PT Bank Mega Tbk. (MEGA), PT Allo Bank Indonesia Tbk. (BBHI), PT Bank Mayapada International Tbk. (MAYA), PT Bank Permata Tbk. (BNLI), PT Bank CIMB Niaga Tbk. (BNGA), PT Indonesia Infrastructure Finance (IIF), PT Bank Ina Perdana, and PT Bank Pembangunan Daerah Papua. The syndicate credit facility agreement was signed on February 1, 2023.

According to Wewengkang in the official disclosure yesterday (2/2), the facility will be disbursed in three stages. The first one is worth IDR 5.2 trillion, which will be used to refinance Smartel’s debt owed to the Shenzen Branch of China Development Bank. The second one, amounting to IDR 1.5 trillion, and the third stage of IDR 500 billion, will be spent on FREN and/or Smartel’s capital goods.

The tenor of this facility is seven years, with an interest rate of 3-month JIBOR plus a certain margin. Wewengkang then reaffirmed that the transaction is not an affiliate transaction as mentioned in the Financial Services Authority Regulation (POJK) No.42/POJK.04/2020 regarding Affiliate Transaction and Conflict of Interests. (AM/ZH)