Lotte Group, BSD agree to tie up

JAKARTA (JP): Property developer PT Bumi Serpong Damai (BSD) and the Lotte Group of Korea have agreed to jointly build a hotel and a shopping and recreation center in Bumi Serpong Damai, Tangerang, about 25 kilometers west of Jakarta.

PT BSD said yesterday the Korean retail company was undergoing a survey and expected to announce its total investment in BSD in early 1998.

The firm said the Lotte group was expected to build a hotel on 40 hectares and a shopping center on 325,000 square meters in Bumi Serpong Damai.

Construction is expected to be completed within 3.5 years starting in 1999.

BSD's president Budiarsa Sastrawinata said the presence of Lotte Group in BSD was expected to attract more investment from Korea.

In a later development, a center for small and medium German companies called German House, is to open in BSD next year.

The center is expected to become a one-stop service stop for the German companies.

Total investment for the center, due to be completed in October 1998, is about US$32 million.

The German Center in BSD will be the second of its kind in Asia after Singapore.

In Singapore, the German Center caters for around 130 German companies. (aly)