PT Great River ties up with Malaysian firm

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia's garment producer PT Great River International (GRI) and Malaysian Anakku Baby Products Sdn. Bhd. agreed here yesterday to establish a baby wear factory in Purwakarta, West Java.

Great River said the two companies would invest about US$5 million in the joint factory, which would produce about six million items of baby and children's' clothing.

The agreement was signed by GRI's president Sunjoto Tanudjaja and Anakku's chief executive officer Jimmy Ng, and witnessed by the Ministry of Trade and Industry's Director General for Multifarious Industries, D. Soepardy Harun Al-rasjid and Investment Coordinating Board deputy chairman R. Iskandar.

Sunjoto said GRI would own 60 percent in the plant and Malaysia's Anakku 40 percent.

He said GRI's joint venture agreement with Anakku was one of the company's expansion plans this year.

Sunjoto said GRI would also build another baby product factory in Purwakarta with $5 million investment.

"Total investment for the two plants was $10 million," he said during the signing ceremony yesterday.

Sunjoto said the two plants were expected to produce 12 million pieces of baby clothing by the end of 1998.

He said the two plants would be located in Great River's industrial compound in Purwakarta, West Java.

The factories will export to Singapore, Malaysia and other countries in the Asia-Pacific region and the Middle East.

Sunjoto said the company's expansion plans were expected to boost the company's performance in the international market.

Great River International, set up in 1976, has acquired several licenses to produce and distribute international fashion brands like Arrow and Mickey Unlimited, Mickey Stuff for Kids, Disney Babies and Mickey & Co. of Walt Disney.

Anakku Baby Products Sdn. Bhd. is a subsidiary of Malaysia's Perak Corporation Berhad which deals with tourism, engineering, manufacturing and property business in Malaysia.

Sunjoto said the current rupiah depreciation against the U.S. dollar did not have any significant impact on the company's performance as about 50 percent of the company's products were for the export market. (aly)