TPP needs $900m in fresh fund

TPP needs $900m in fresh fund

SINGAPORE (Dow Jones): Indonesia's Trans Pacific Petrochemical
Indotama, which is majority owned by the Tirtamas Group, will
require US$900 million to complete the construction of its
stalled petrochemical complex in East Java, a Tirtamas official
told Dow Jones Newswires Friday.

"We're currently negotiating with several groups of foreign
investors, with our Japanese partners showing keen interest," he
said. He declined to name the parties involved in the
negotiations.

Construction on the integrated olefins/aromatics project was
halted in late 1997 in the wake of the Asian financial crisis,
when the project was 45 percent complete.

TPPI is a joint venture between Tirtamas, which holds 65
percent through subsidiaries Trans Pacific Petrochemical and
Tirtamas Majutama; Tuban Petrochemical, a Siam Cement PCL
subsidiary, with 20 percent; and Japan's Itochu Corp. and Nissho
Iwai Corp., and Koch Industries Inc. of the U.S., each with 5
percent.