Indonesia corp bond issuance seen up a third-agency

JAKARTA, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Indonesian corporate bond issuances may rise to as much as 15 trillion rupiah ($1.3 billion) this year, or up about a third on 2008, helped by falling interest rates and as banks provide fewer loans, the president of local rating agency Pefindo said on Monday.
A growing number of Indonesian companies have expressed interest in issuing bonds to finance maturing debt and fund investment.
"We think the amount may be around 10 to 15 trillion rupiah. Some of the issuers are banks, but issuers from non-financial institutions are increasing," Kahlil Rowter, president director of PT Pemeringkat Efek Indonesia (Pefindo), told Reuters.
Corporate bond issuance last year was estimated at about 11 trillion rupiah, Rowter said, adding that bonds issued this year were likely to be mainly five-year maturity, although some could be shorter depending on the liabilities of the issuers.
Indonesia's central bank cut interest rate by 50 basis points to 8.25 percent last week and indicated it could lower them further to support growth.
Bank Indonesia has cut rates for three consecutive months from 9.5 percent in December.
The central bank had also forecast growth in bank lending will slow to 18-20 percent this year, down from an estimated 30 percent in 2008, given a squeeze on credit triggered by the global economic crisis.
Last month, construction firm PT Waskita karya said it aimed to raise 500 billion rupiah on the bond market in the second half of 2009 to increase working capital.
Indonesian home lender PT Bank Tabungan Negara (BTN) also said it aimed to issue 1.5 trillion rupiah in 10-year bonds in 2009 to refinance maturing debt and boost lending.