PEFINDO  upgraded its ratings on both corporate and IDR 500 billion Bond I/2000 (due in March 2005) of PT Astra Agro Lestari Tbk. (AALI or the Company) to "_idA+" from "_idA".  The rating upgrade reflects the improvements of palm oil business, AALI's increased plantation and mill productivity as well as strengthening financial profile, which is still constrained by AALI's limited product diversity.  AALI is one of the largest integrated palm oil plantation companies in Indonesia.  The Company is the holding company of agribusiness division PT Astra International Indonesia (ASII), which holds 63.9% ownership AALI engages in plantation of a number of commodities (palm oil, rubber, cocoa, and tea) and produces a number of products including crude palm oil (CPO), crude palm kernel (CPK), rubber, cocoa and tea. The Company owns approximately 244,725 hectares (ha) of land bank, consisting of 190,699 ha palm oil plantation, rubber (8,854 ha), cocoa (2,882 ha) and tea (3,213 ha) located in Sumatera, Kalimantan, Java and Sulawesi. In 2003, the Company recorded total revenue of IDR2.54 trillion coming from crude palm oil & derivatives (94.0%), rubber (4.2%), tea (1.2%) and cocoa (0.6%)

Rating Period: February 18, 2004 – January 1, 2005
Contact Analyst: Salyadi Saputra
salyadi.saputra@pefindo.co.id

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