BRI to finance PT DI’s aircraft for the Navy

JAKARTA: State bank PT Bank Indonesia will finance state airplane maker PT Dirgantara Indonesia (PT DI) in providing three CN-235 aircraft for the Indonesia Navy, worth US$80 million.

“The BRI branch in New York has won the tender to finance PT DI in the project,” PT DI president director Budi Santoso told reporters in Jakarta on Thursday.

He said that besides BRI, other banks including the BNI branch in Singapore, BPN (France), Credit Suisse (Switzerland) and Nord LB (Germany) had joined the tender.

Budi said the three aircraft are the first phase of Navy orders for its 2010-2014 strategic planning.

“We are still waiting for the signing of the agreement between the Government and BRI before the company starts the project,” he said.

PT DI recorded sales of Rp 771.63 billion (US$85.63 million) in 2009, returning profits of Rp 117.08 billion after losing Rp 84.34 billion in 2008. The company said this year’s sales will pass the Rp 1.29 trillion mark, and that it has allocated Rp 225.11 billion for 2010 capital expenditure, up from Rp7.3 billion in 2009. — JP