PT Prima Comexindo selected for jet deal
PT Prima Comexindo selected for jet deal
JAKARTA (JP): The government will assign PT Prima Comexindo, a
trading house owned by businessman Hashim Djojohadikusumo, to
export palm oil, coffee and rubber to Russia as part of the
countertrade deal for jet fighters and helicopters.
The director general of international trade at the Ministry of
Industry and Trade Djoko Moeljono said here yesterday the planned
appointment of Prima Comexindo was based on its strong network in
the Eastern Europe region.
"There is no other Indonesian trading firm which has as
extensive network in that region as Prima Comexindo does," Djoko
told journalists after accompanying the minister of industry and
trade in a meeting with 18 new ambassadors to be posted in
various countries.
Prima Comexindo has long assisted Indonesia's trade with
Russia. It is one of few Southeast Asian trading firms which have
representative offices in that country.
The company has also pioneered trade with several newly
independent countries, including Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and
Turkmenistan -- all Soviet Union former states.
It has overcome the difficulties of account payments with
Uzbekistan businesspeople by forging countertrade agreements,
under which Indonesian tea is exported in return for Uzbeki
cotton. It is currently building a cotton-spinning factory in the
country, with investment of almost US$30 million.
In Turkmenistan, the company has existing deals for assembly
line facilities and imports about 500,000 tons of cotton annually
to Indonesia.
Prima Comexindo, along with Indonesia's international
telecommunications operator PT Indosat and Kazakhstan state-owned
telecommunications firm Jarykh Ltd., has formed a joint venture
company in Kazakhstan, named Inkatel, to provide small aperture
terminal telecommunications services in the Central Asian
republic.
But Djoko refused to disclose the value of the countertrade
between Indonesia's agriculture produce and Russia's Sukhoi-30K
jet fighters and MI-17-IV helicopters, saying "it is still being
negotiated".
Sources said the deal would cost up to $600 million, with 10
percent of it to be paid in cash and the rest to be paid through
a countertrade deal.
Indonesia opted to buy 12 Sukhoi-30K jet fighters from Russia
after the government decided to cancel an order for nine F-16
fighters from the United States.
Minister of Trade and Industry Tunky Ariwibowo said earlier
that countertrade was becoming popular in bilateral trade.
Citing an example, Tunky said Malaysia pursued a countertrade
policy when it bought MiG-29 fighters from Russia. It paid the
fighters with palm oil.
Indonesia has also pursued a countertrade deal with Thailand,
whereby Indonesia will sell two Indonesian-made CN-235 aircraft
and buy 110,000 tons of Thailand's glutinous rice in return.
(rid)
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