German firms venturing RI

German firms venturing RI

FRANKFURT (DPA): German firms are taking advantage of bargain prices to invest in Indonesia, with investments in the first half of 1998 already having surpassed those for all of last year, German Economics Minister Guenter Rexrodt said Wednesday.

At a forum on German-Indonesian business relations, Rexrodt said, first-half investments by German firms in Indonesia reached 131 million marks from the financially-hit Asian country.

Rexrodt promised that Bonn would not shut off its official Hermes export insurance backing for German firms doing business with Indonesia.

Indonesian Industry and Trade Minister Rahardi Ramelan promised that his country would move more quickly to effect economic reforms.

He said Jakarta would reform the legal system and introduce anti-cartel legislation, nor would there be restrictions on trade.