Indosatcom and U.S. firm tie up

Indosatcom and U.S. firm tie up

JAKARTA (JP): Indosatcom, a division of state-owned PT
Indosat, signed an agreement on Thursday to form a joint venture
with MeetChina.com, a San Francisco e-business portal company
with a huge operation in China, to start a portal service for
local small and medium enterprises.

"The new joint venture company will be in full operation by
the end of March 2001," said J. Kriswanto, president of PT
Indosatcom Adimarga, which runs two business portals,
www.dagang2000.com and www.ivbd.net.

The joint venture agreement was signed by Kriswanto and
MeetChina's president Len Cordiner in a ceremony attended by
secretary general of the ministry of transportation and
telcommunication Anwar Supriyadi and director general for
metal, machinery, electronics and multifarious industry Agus
Tjahjana.

MeetChina.com, which boasts the largest business-to-business
e-market site in China, is expanding its operations in Asia,
including Indonesia.

The new joint venture, to be capitalized at between US$1
million and $2 million, is expected to link some 3,000 Indonesian
small and medium companies to MeetChina.com's Internet portals.

It will have a complete range of facilities for exporters,
including online stores, negotiations, insurance and trade
financing, according to a statement by Indosatcom. (03)