The Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) has signed a loan agreement on buyer credit, totalling around ¥2bn (US$19mn), with PT Pamapersada Nusantara (Pama).

The loan is co-financed with ANZ, Tokyo (agent bank) and Mizuho Corporate Bank. This is the first time JBIC has provided a loan on an Indonesian company’s credit.

The loan will finance the purchase of mining equipment from Komatsu by Pama, which is carrying out coal mining operations in Indonesia. The Indonesian government promotes the effective use of coal and other alternative energy resources to oil, in particular the construction of coal-fired power plants.

It has predicted an annual average increase of 7.2% in the country’s peak demand for power, in relation to economic growth. Meeting this growing demand for electricity is a major challenge and demand for coal is expected to increase.

At President Yudhoyano’s state visit to Japan in November 2006, the Japanese and Indonesian governments discussed making an effort to develop the Indonesian coal sector through the two countries “private firms.

The financial support provided by JBIC for the effective use of resources will help increase both Indonesia and Asia’s energy supply and so contribute to Japan’s .