RI expects 35% offset deal from Sukhoi purchase
RI expects 35% offset deal from Sukhoi purchase
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia expects an offset deal worth at least
35 percent of the cost of the Sukhoi jet fighters and military
helicopters it will purchase from Russia, a senior minister said
yesterday.
Under such an agreement, state-owned aircraft manufacturer PT
IPTN would produce several parts for the fighter planes, State
Minister of Research and Technology B.J. Habibie said.
"We want to manufacture the primary structure components as
we've done with Airbus, Boeing and F-16s," he said before meeting
with President Soeharto at his residence on Jl. Cendana, Central
Jakarta.
The Bandung-based company produced seven major components for
the General Dynamics-made F-16 after the country bought some of
the fighters in 1989.
Habibie said offset arrangements are commonly practiced in the
international aviation industry.
"The 35 percent demand is quite reasonable," Habibie claimed
without elaborating.
Habibie said it was Soeharto himself who determined the
percentage.
The government opted earlier this month to buy 12 Sukhoi-30K
jet fighters and eight MI-17-IV helicopters under a counter-
purchase deal.
The total cost of the purchase has not been announced yet, but
each Su-30K is estimated to cost US$34 million, $4 million more
than F-16s previously offered by the United States.
State Minister of National Development Planning Ginandjar
Kartasasmita and his entourage left for Moscow yesterday to
finalize terms of payment, a spare part guarantee, and the right
to manufacture components for the jet fighter.
Ginandjar said on Monday that the counter-purchase arrangement
would cover 80 percent of the transaction value, while the
remaining 20 percent would be paid in cash.
Some 20 commodities, such as palm oil, cement, textile
products, rubber and coffee, will be offered to Russia.
Director General of International Trade at the Indonesian
Ministry of Industry and Trade Djoko Moeljono has said that PT
Prima Comexindo, a trading house owned by Hashim Djojohadikusumo,
will be assigned the task of exporting palm oil, coffee and
rubber as part of the countertrade deal.
Meanwhile Gatra newsweekly in its Aug. 16 edition disclosed
that PT Dwipangga Sakti Prima would act as representative of
Russian state-owned company Roosvoorouzhenie in the counter-trade
process.
The Indonesian company is controlled by Soeharto's youngest
daughter Siti Hutami Endang Adiningsih.
Indonesia had intended to purchase U.S.-made F-16 jet
fighters. But continued pressure by the U.S. Congress about human
rights issues prompted Soeharto to cancel the intended
purchase. (prb)