L. Joseph
Press Release No. 96/34
Phone: (202) 473-7700
Fax: (202) 676-0365


WASHINGTON, D.C., Oct. 2, -- The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has signed an agreement to provide a long term loan of US$10 million to P.T. Panin Overseas Finance, a financial services company in Indonesia, which will use the proceeds to finance leases to small- and medium-sized businesses. IFC's financing package consists of a loan of US$6 million for its own account and a syndicated loan of US$4 million for the account of participating banks and financial institutions. P.T. Panin Overseas Finance is a public company with shares listed on the Jakarta Stock Exchange. It is affiliated with Panin Bank, the ninth largest private bank in Indonesia. The main business of P.T. Panin Overseas Finance is leasing, factoring, and consumer finance. IFC is a shareholder in the company, having recently invested US$1.9 million in the share capital. "Long-term leasing is an effective way to channel funds to small and medium enterprises," said Mr. Peter Cook, Director of IFC's Asia Department. "The financing package
will address the shortage of debt funding for Indonesian leasing and financing companies. It will provide medium-term funds which the company cannot obtain from other sources. IFC's involvement is expected to benefit over 40 Indonesian firms." IFC is a member of the World Bank Group and is the largest multilateral source of equity and loan financing for private sector projects in developing countries.