More foreign firms quit Indonesian operations<\/p>\n
TOKYO (Reuters): More foreign companies said they had decided
\nto halt their operations in Indonesia and were taking steps to
\nprotect employees and clients from the violence there.<\/p>\n
Among the top Japanese firms affected are Toyota Motor Corp,
\nHitachi Ltd, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) and Bank of Tokyo-
\nMitsubishi Ltd (BTM).<\/p>\n
Other foreign companies, which temporarily closed their
\nIndonesian offices included Swedish telecoms group Ericsson,
\nInternational courier company Federal Express Corp,
\nTaiwan food giant President Enterprises.<\/p>\n
Travel agencies such as Japan Travel Bureau, the nation's
\nlargest, have canceled tours to Indonesia, which has been the
\nscene of riots over President Soeharto's leadership since earlier
\nthis week.<\/p>\n
At least 165 people, most believed to be looters, were killed
\nin a Jakarta shopping mall fire set by other rioters, witnesses
\nand officials said on Friday. Rioters set the mall on fire on
\nThursday but the bodies were not discovered until Friday morning.<\/p>\n
Japan's biggest carmaker, Toyota, said it had stopped
\nproduction at two factories it jointly set up with Indonesia's
\nAstra International as of Thursday.<\/p>\n
Mitsubishi Motors Corp and Daihatsu Motor Co Ltd also said
\nthey had halted operations at their plants in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
None of their plants were damaged by the rioters, the
\nautomakers said.<\/p>\n
They had decided to halt production as workers could not come
\nto factories and supplies from parts makers were hard to come by
\ndue to the closure of some roads in Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Electronics giant Hitachi said it halted operations at its two
\nIndonesian factories on Friday to ensure the safety of workers,
\nfollowing up on action taken on Thursday when it told family
\nmembers of its Japanese employees in Indonesia to evacuate
\noutside of the country.<\/p>\n
Japanese trading firms Marubeni Corp and Nissho Iwai Corp said
\nthey would postpone petrochemical projects in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi said it closed its Jakarta branch on
\nFriday and advised its workers to stay home.<\/p>\n
Nippon Steel Corp and household products company Kao Corp said
\non Thursday they had told their employees to stop making business
\ntrips to Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Swedish telecoms group Ericsson said yesterday it also closed
\nits office in Jakarta on Thursday that employs some 500 people
\nand is preparing to evacuate about 19 staff and their families.<\/p>\n
Ericsson has no production units in Indonesia and its office
\nthere deals with sales and service.<\/p>\n
International courier company Federal Express Corp said it had
\nclosed its office in Jakarta because of security concerns.<\/p>\n
The company's chief economist Ting Ho said the firm had
\nevacuated about 10 staff to Singapore as the firm could no longer
\nguarantee safe deliveries in or out of Jakarta as traffic using
\nthe city's airport road has been attacked.<\/p>\n
Taiwan food giant President Enterprises also said yesterday it
\nhad suspended operations of a joint-venture instant noodle plant
\nin Indonesia and evacuated its workers.<\/p>\n
General Motors Corp, British Aerospace Plc and City
\nDevelopments Ltd have also closed their offices in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
GM International said the Bekasi plant outside Jakarta, which
\nmakes Opel Blazers for the Indonesian market, had halted
\noperations as of Thursday.<\/p>\n
CDL Hotels unit Republic Hotels and Resorts had closed the
\nMillenium Sirih Jakarta "due to the civil unrest in the city.<\/p>",
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