Australian firm may invest in Bogasari

MELBOURNE (Bloomberg): AWB Ltd., the monopoly exporter of Australian wheat, is interested in investing in PT Bogasari Flour Mills, Indonesia's largest flour miller, Chairman Trevor Flugge said.

"It is of some interest," Flugge said of the chance to invest in Bogasari, which is majority owned by PT Indofood Sukses Makmur.

"We've had discussions" about taking a stake in Bogasari, he said, but no action has been taken. Flugge added that he was still not certain what if any parts of Bogasari are for sale, or what type of investment AWB might make there.

Indonesia is the second largest customer for Australia wheat after Iran. In the year ending Sept. 30, 1997, Indonesia bought almost 2.4 million metric tons of wheat.

AWB Ltd., formerly known as the Australian Wheat Board, already has joint venture stakes in flour mills in Egypt and Vietnam, which serve as important "listening posts" for those markets, Flugge said.

Trade with Indonesia, which almost came to a halt earlier this year as the Indonesian rupiah plunged to an all-time low when the country sank into economic and political chaos, is slowly returning to normal, Flugge said.

"There is a commercial trade still going on in Indonesia," he said. "That commercial trade, we believe, will probably return to normal within a relatively short time. That might be 12 months ... there's certainly even indications now that it could be even soon than that."