No news on Timor car?

Wed, 03 Dec 1997, 00:00 WIB | Source: JP

Have I missed something, I wonder? As I recall it, when the
IMF bailout package war first mooted, one of the predictions was
that certain non-essential projects should be postponed or
altogether abandoned. One of these was the ill-starred Timor car
project and the proposed bank loan of US$670 (?) million to build
a factory for its construction in Indonesia.

This idea was vehemently opposed by the government -- "over
our dead bodies" was the burden of their protests. As we all
know, the bailout went ahead, but what happened about the Timor?
I don't remember reading any reports on that subject -- did it
survive, or was it quietly buried, or at least frozen? Did the
IMF relent, or did the protesters back down? It would be
interesting to know.

JAMES RICHARDS

Jakarta

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