Moody's says Indonesia's Berau on review for possible downgrade

JAKARTA, Jan 23 (Reuters) - Moody's Investors Service said on Friday that Indonesian coal miner PT Berau Coal Energy Tbk was on review for a possible downgrade, just two days after Standard & Poor's Ratings Services cut the company's credit rating.

Moody's said Berau's proposal to extend the payment of its $450 million notes due July 2015 to February 2017 is likely a "distressed exchange".

While Berau would have a two-year window for its refinancing effort, "a weak coal price environment is expected to exert pressure on the company's operating performance and liquidity profile making a second, larger refinancing in 2017 equally as challenging," said Brian Grieser, senior analyst at Moody's.

Berau and its parent, London-listed Asia Resource Minerals (LSE: ARMS.L - news) Plc, are also trying to enforce a Singapore court ruling against a former executive.

In late December, Asia Resource Minerals said a Singapore tribunal had ruled that former Berau head Rosan Roeslani has to repay the company $173 million, plus interest and legal costs.

The ruling is enforceable in over 150 countries, according to Asia Resource Minerals, and follow-on legal action is being taken in jurisdictions where Roeslani's assets are held.

The assets include a Singapore company - Recapital Investments Pte Ltd - that is nearly fully owned by Roeslani, two chateaus in France and Luxembourg, property in California and other assets in Indonesia, Asia Resource Minerals has said.

Roeslani has not responded to a request for comment on the ruling or the claims against his holdings.

Asia Resource Minerals owned nearly 85 percent of Berau as of Sept. 30, according to Thomson Reuters data. (Reporting by Eveline Danubrata; Additional reporting by Fransiska Nangoy; Editing by Tom Hogue)