Habibie's son heading trade delegation to Taiwan
Habibie's son heading trade delegation to Taiwan
TAIPEI (Dow Jones): Ilham Habibie, son of Indonesian President B.J. Habibie, is heading a delegation visiting Taiwan to discuss cooperation opportunities, especially in the aerospace industry, the Taipei trade office in Jakarta said Monday.
Ilham Habibie will meet with President Lee Teng-hui later Monday and will also visit Taiwan's state-run Aerospace Industrial Development Corp., said Lu Pao-sun, head of the Taipei Economic and Trade Office in Jakarta, which serves as Taipei's embassy in Indonesia in the absence of formal diplomatic ties.
Other members of the delegation are top-level business executives, including James Riady, head of the powerful Lippo Group, an official at the Indonesian trade office in Taipei said.
Officials from both trade offices said there are no plans to renegotiate terms of a rice deal reached earlier this year.
Taiwan previously agreed to sell Indonesia 200,000 tons of rice as a form of aid for the crisis-ridden country.
An official contacted at Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the shortage of rice in Indonesia is an issue Taiwan is trying to help resolve, but wouldn't divulge further details.
Some market players are speculating the Indonesian delegation is in town to review pricing terms for the rice deal.
Taiwan's foreign ministry said last month it was reviewing the deal in light of the Indonesian riots against ethnic Chinese in May. Taiwanese officials are believed to be tight-lipped about the whole deal because any form of aid to Indonesia may not sit well with Taiwanese citizens who were outraged by the riots.
The official at Indonesia's Taipei trade office said the delegation will also visit industrial sites in Taichung during their stay.
The government is in the process of privatizing Aerospace Industrial, or AIDC. It's expected to sign memoranda of understanding with various foreign companies later this year though details haven't been released.
Local reports say Canada's Bombardier Aerospace is interested in investing NT$5 billion for a 40 percent stake in the Taiwanese company. AIDC couldn't confirm the speculation.
Other companies reportedly interested are: Boeing Co., General Electric Co.'s GE Aircraft Engines unit, Litton Industries Inc. and AlliedSignal Inc. of the U.S.; Rolls-Royce PLC and British Aerospace PLC of England, Bombardier Inc.'s Bombardier Aerospace of Canada; and ST Engineering Ltd.'s Singapore Technologies Aerospace.