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