REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA - Several foreign banks including Standard Chartered Bank, Deutsche Bank, and World Bank member International Finance Corporation (IFC) will extend 250 million USD to the Indonesia Infrastructure Finance (IIF).
At a press conference on Thursday, the President Director of the IIF, Sukatmo Padmosukarso, announced that the funds from the banks would be used to increase access to long-term financing of infrastructure development in Indonesia to boost economic growth and provide more employment.
"This is the first time that such a funding program with a long-term due time has been implemented in the midst of volatile world market," Sukatmo noted.
He added that the funds would be channeled to infrastructure, road development, toll road, telecommunication tower, hydro-power, coal-fired power plants, and airport and seaport projects.
Since its establishment in 2010, the IFC has channeled 204 million USD and hopefully will increase it to 377 million USD at the end of 2014.
"The funding program is to support companies and also helps our funding basis," he said.
He said that 14 banks haD participated in the funding program, including four from Japan, four from Korea, two from the Philippines, and others.
"The banks are coordinated by Standard Chartered and Deutsche Banks, each equally contributing around 40 million USD, including Korean Exchange Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Bank, and others," he noted.
Apart from banks, the funds have also poured in from IFC member countries, each contributing around 52.5 million USD. Sukatmo explained that the tenure will be five to 15 years, but he would take efforts to make their absorption as quickly as possible within one or one-and-a-half years so that the benefit of the funding "can be stretched more."