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hipping company PT Humpuss Intermoda Transportasi (HITS) won shareholder approval on Monday for a new debt settlement with Athens Investment Fund SA, one of its creditors.

HITS, a subsidiary of Humpuss Group, in which the youngest son of late former president Soeharto, Hutomo '€œTommy'€ Mandala Putra, is a major shareholder, reached an agreement on Dec. 4 to repay its US$141-million debt to Athens through debt-for-asset and debt-for-equity swaps.

HITS president director Theo Lekatompessy told reporters that 95 percent of the debt would be paid with assets belonging to its subsidiary, Singapore-based Humpuss Sea Transport Pte. Ltd. (HST), while the remaining 5 percent would be paid with HITS shares. '€œThis is a new day for us and we are ready for growth,'€ he said, adding that the settlement was a big relief for the company.

He said that the company faced tough times when HST failed to pay for ships it leased in 2007-2008, leading to one of its creditors filing a legal appeal at the Singapore High Court. Without the firm'€™s knowledge the creditor handed over its authority to Athens, he said.

'€œWith the agreed debt settlement, we will be able to meet our potential and expand our market,'€ he said.

Theo said that the company would invest $650 million next year, of which 52.3 percent would be for liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipping projects, 39.23 percent for offshore projects, 5.4 percent for oil-shipping projects and the remaining 3 percent for a new cement-transportation business. '€œSome of the total investment will be in 19 new tankers and other vessels,'€ he said.

He said that his company was aiming for around 30 percent growth in revenue next year, up from this year'€™s target of Rp 804 billion ($66.07 million).

Theo said that he was upbeat that HITS could achieve this target as the US dollar, in which most of its clients pay for the company'€™s shipping services, would still be strong next year. '€œIn addition, we will gain more revenue from several delayed shipping projects and our new cement-shipping service,'€ he said, adding that the domestic cement industry had been growing.

Head of research at MNC Securities, Edwin Sebayang, said that it was about time that HITS gained a stronger position. '€œThe company is quite big and it is in a niche market. The company itself never takes any project with a profit margin of less than 14 percent,'€ he said. (koi)