RI eyes countertrade with Vietnam

RI eyes countertrade with Vietnam

JAKARTA: Indonesia hopes to strike a countertrade deal with
Vietnam for investments in Vietnam's fertilizer industry in
return for rice and sugar imports, a senior government official
told reporters Wednesday.

Widjanarko Puspoyo, director of Indonesian state-owned company
Perum Bulog, said the government is looking to sign a US$75
million to $100 million deal under which Indonesia will invest in
fertilizer projects in Vietnam due to the lower costs of
liquefied natural gas in the country. LNG is a raw material used
in the manufacture of fertilizers. Indonesia will in turn import
rice and sugar of equal value.

Quantities of rice and sugar imports aren't available pending
talks between heads of the two countries. Indonesian President
Megawati Soekarnoputri is scheduled to visit Hanoi next week.

However, Widjanarko hopes the delivery of rice and sugar will
commence at the end of this year or early 2004. -- Dow Jones