Bintan resort area `peaceful'

Bintan resort area `peaceful'

SINGAPORE (Dow Jones): The situation at Indonesia's Bintan Industrial Estate, which has been the target of protests by local villagers, was peaceful Thursday, said estate manager SembCorp Industries Ltd.

SembCorp said 150 security personnel were guarding the estate, which houses 27 factories producing electronics, textiles and other goods, and that the estate was operating normally.

Only one tenant has shut down operations and evacuated its staff, but will resume operations soon, SembCorp said. Its statement didn't name the tenant.

Local villagers on the Indonesian island of Bintan, 55 kilometers from Singapore, have been protesting to demand compensation for land they said they were pressured to sell at low prices in 1991 to make way for the estate and a holiday resort.

On Saturday, villagers stormed a plant that supplies power to the industrial estate and later threatened to occupy the estate itself.

Bintan Beach International Resort, a popular holiday destination for Singaporeans, was also open for business, although it received only 264 visitors, compared with 580 visitors on a normal weekday, SembCorp. said.