BHP concerned about RI staff

BHP concerned about RI staff

MELBOURNE (Dow Jones): Australia's Broken Hill Proprietary Co. (BHP) is more concerned about its staff in Indonesia than its financial exposure, following the anti-Australian sentiment emerging in the country.

"From a financial standpoint we don't have a tremendous amount of exposure, but we do have people in Indonesia and obviously we are concerned about the mood (in the country) and the trend of events," Chief Executive Paul Anderson told reporters at a briefing following the release of the company's first quarter profit.

BHP said Thursday it had evacuated 50 expatriate staff and their families from Kalimantan. The evacuations follow a demonstration in the port town of Balikpapan against Australia's involvement in the U.N. peacekeeping mission destined for Indonesia's troubled East Timor province.

The evacuation hasn't affected the operation of BHP's thermal coal mines at Senakin, Satui and Petangis.

"We're watching very closely other parts of the country,"