JAKARTA. A study by Moody's Investor Services showed that of the 47 companies in South Asia and Southeast Asia that were vulnerable to exchange rate depreciation, four of them were Indonesian companies.
The four companies are PT MNC Investama Tbk (BHIT), PT Gajah Tunggal Tbk (GJTL), Lippo Karawaci Tbk (LPKR) and PT Alam Sutera Realty Tbk (ASRI). Moody's ratings for them are BBB-, BB-, BBB stable, and BB-.
Annalisa Di Chiara, Moody's Vice President & Senior Credit Officer said that more than 65% of the debt of the four companies was in US dollars. "Meanwhile, their income is in the local currency, so there is a mismatch," Di Chiara added.
Those companies can indeed deal with exchange rate depreciation by hedging. However, the risk may become bigger if the rupiah depreciates to more than Rp 15,000 per US dollar. "The risk is in ASRI and LPKR," said Di Chiara. (AM/AR)