ICBC provides $160 million loan to PT China Sonangol Media Investment for 'Indonesia 1' Twin Towers Construction Project

On July 31, 2015, ICBC Indonesia signed a $160 million syndicated loan agreement with PT China Sonangol Media Investment (CSMI) — a special purpose vehicle and joint venture of Surya Paloh’s Media Group and PT China Sonangol Land — for the 'Indonesia 1' Twin Towers Construction Project. ICBC Limited and ICBC Indonesia are the members of the lending syndicate. The borrowing terms of the loan are unknown. The purpose of the project is to construct 'Indonesia 1' Twin Towers on Jalan M.H. Thamrin (Jalan Thamrin) — a major thoroughfare — in Central Jakarta. The project site occupies area of 18,925 m2 and a height of 303 meters. The champagne-colored skyscraper will consist of two towers, South and North. The South Tower is an office building while the North Tower is a multi functional building that includes offices, retail space, and service apartments. The 73-story North Tower will include 181 premium service apartments that will be operated by Pan Pacific Serviced Suites. China Construction Eighth Engineering Division Co. Ltd. and PT Acset Indonusa Tbk (ACST) are jointly responsible for project implementation. A foundation stone laying ceremony took place on May 23, 2015. Then, a project commencement ceremony took place on August 29, 2019. The project was originally expected to reach completion in 2021. However, it has encountered various delays and problems. Construction was halted in April 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Then, in December 2020, ACST submitted a request for Postponement of Debt Payment Obligations (PKPU), for PT China Sonangol Media Investment (CSMI), to the Central Jakarta Commercial Court. The purpose of this request was to obtain certainty of payment for construction work that had already been carried out. The request was granted on January 13, 2021. As of August 2021, the towers were still under construction.

Additional details

1. This project is also known as the Indonesia 1 Tower Building Project. 2. China Sonangol, founded on September 23, 2005, is 30 percent owned by Sonangol (Angola’s state-owned oil company) and 70 percent by New Bright International Development, a company that is part of a Hong Kong-based web of companies nicknamed “the Queensway Group” after its former address in Queensway district, Hong Kong

Number of official sources

5

Number of total sources

17