Belgian Bekaert defends investment in Indonesia

Belgian Bekaert defends investment in Indonesia

BRUSSELS (Reuter): Belgian steel wire and cord maker Bekaert
NV denied on Monday a charge it was trading jobs in Europe
against those in Indonesia.

"We are investing in Indonesia not for low labor costs but
because the local market for steel cord is developing quickly and
if we want a stake in this market we have to produce locally,"
Bekaert spokesman Willy Snaet said.

"There is a surplus of capacity in Europe. There is no
question of us importing back into Europe from Indonesia," Snaet
added.

Bekaert was used on Monday by Nobel Peace Prize co-holder Jose
Ramos-Horta as an example of a western company investing in
Indonesia while shedding jobs at home.

Horta was in Brussels to promote calls for democracy for East
Timor, the former Portuguese colony annexed by Indonesia in 1976.

Bekaert said earlier this year it plans to shed around 350
jobs in Belgium as part of a restructuring of its European steel
wire and cord operations.

Snaet said the aim was to reduce numbers through early
retirement. However, no agreement had yet been reached with
unions on terms.

He added the Belgian company's global works council would be
presented next Monday with a plan concerning its French
operations, but declined to comment on newspaper reports that
this involved job cuts.

Last July the company announced plans to invest more than
US$50 million in a steel cord plant near Jakarta, which is due to
start production this year.