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)