[Kabar-indonesia] 17 Biz/Econ Reports: New rules on debt for SOEs; BCA; Mandiri; Maybank; Indofood

[Joyo at aol.com]

17 articles compiled and selected by Joyo Indonesia 
News Service:

- Indonesian govt to issue new rules on
  debts to state companies - report

- Indonesia's BCA optimistic of at least
  US$444.4 mln profit this yr
      
- Stock alert - Indonesia's Bank Mandiri higher on
  prospects for NPLs reduction 

- Malaysia's top bank reports higher full-year
  profits, to expand in Indonesia

- Indonesia's Excelcomindo plans to launch
  3G mobile service by year-end

- Indonesia's Indosat ex-president a candidate
  for Excelcomindo president

- Indonesia's Indofood up 6 pct on palm oil
  unit listing

- Indonesian machinery industry may grow
  by 8.5 pct this year

- Indonesia July cement consumption 2.79 mln tons
  vs 2.63 mln in June

- Indonesia's Semen Gresik July cement sales
  1.43 mln tons vs 1.49 mln in June

- Swiss cement giant Holcim posts profit rise,
  divests South African unit

- Indonesia's Ramayana sets US33.3 mln
  net profit target for 2006

- Indonesia's Modern Photo, creditor sign
  debt/equity deal for 21.5 mln usd debt

- Weak Indonesian rupiah supports crude
  palm oil

- Indonesia Rubber-Prices seen falling on
  weak demand, supplies

- Japan To Help Rubber Indus Improve Quality
  In SE Asia

- Asian Cocoa:Indonesia,Malaysia Prices
  Dn On Weak Futures

-----------

Indonesian govt to issue new rules on debts to state
companies - report

JAKARTA, August 24 (XFN-ASIA) - The Ministry of
Finance will soon issue revised rules for the handling
of debt owed to state companies, the Jakarta Post
reported, quoting Finance Minister Sri Mulyani
Indrawati.

The newspaper said the change is meant to speed up the
restructuring of the non-performing loans (NPLs) of
state banks.

At present, the NPLs of state banks are in treated the
same way as debts owed to the state, so that state
banks are not allowed to offer any debt haircuts or
auction off assets held as collateral for the loans.

Indrawati was quoted as saying that the new rules mean
that the writing-off of debts owed to state companies
or to companies owned by regional governments will no
longer require the approval of the minister of
finance.

Similarly, NPLs or receivables can be dealt with by
the companies concerned themselves.

In the event of a state bank being unable to
restructure its NPLs, it will be able to consider
other options allowed by law, such as bankruptcy
litigation or the auctioning of collateral.

----------------------------------------------------

Indonesia's BCA optimistic of at least US$444.4 mln
profit this yr

JAKARTA, August 24 (Asia Pulse/Antara) - Publicly
listed Bank Central Asia (BCA) (JSX:BBCA) said it is
set to earn at least Rp4 trillion (US$444.4 million)
in net profit this year.

Bank vice president Jahja Setiaatmadja said that in
the first half of this year the country's third
largest lender chalked up Rp2 trillion in net profit.

"We hope that the second semester will see at least
the same amount of net profit," Setiaatmadja said
yesterday.

He said, however, that the bank will be strict in
observing prudential banking in launching credit
expansion.

Setiaatmadja said the bank is processing investment
credit of Rp7 trillion to finance governement
infrastructure projects.

Earlier he said the bank had lowered its credit
expansion target from Rp10 trillion to Rp5.5 trillion
this year as the condition of the country's macro
economy had not recovered.

Last year, BCA issued Rp14 trillion in new credits, an
increase of 13 per cent from the previous year.

By the end of June, its outstanding credits totaled
Rp52.87 trillion, down from Rp54.13 trillion at the
end of 2005.

------------------------------------------------------

Stock alert - Indonesia's Bank Mandiri higher on
prospects for NPLs reduction

JAKARTA, August 24 (XFN-ASIA) - PT Bank Mandiri was
higher on follow-through buying amid hopes that it
will be able to sharply reduce the level of its
non-performing loans (NPLs) following proposed changes
to regulations on state firms' disposal of bad debts,
dealers said.

Bank Mandiri was up 50 rupiah at 2,200.

News reports say the Ministry of Finance will soon
alter its regulations to allow state banks to
restructure their NPLs in the same way that private
banks do, including offering haircuts on the sale of
soured loans, and by auctioning off land or assets
held as collateral for bad loans without going through
a long process of bureacratic approval first.

----------------------------------------------------

Malaysia's top bank reports higher full-year profits,
to expand in Indonesia

KUALA LUMPUR, August 24 (AP) -- Malaysia's top lender
Malayan Banking said Thursday its net profit rose 12
percent on-year for the financial year ended June 30,
2006, after earnings jumped in the final quarter due
to lower loan loss provisions and unveiled plans to
expand its network in Indonesia.

The bank, widely known as Maybank, said it earned
855.4 million ringgit (US$233 million, euro194
million) for the final quarter to June, up 51 percent
on-year, bringing its net profit for the full year to
2.8 billion ringgit (US$763 million, euro636 million).

Analysts said its performance surpassed market
expectations.

Maybank Chief Executive Amirsham A. Aziz said loans
growth grew 8.2 percent but the group's net
non-performing loans or loans that have not been
serviced for more than six month improved to 3.84
percent at end-June 2006 from 4.93 percent a year
earlier.

He said the new fiscal year will be challenging but
the group will boost its overseas operations, which
accounted for 14 percent of earnings.

"We are allocating 50 million ringgit (US$13.6
million; euro11 million) to expand in Indonesia. We
have two branches there and hope to increase the
network by another four by end of June 2007," he
added.

-----------------------------------------------------

Indonesia's Excelcomindo plans to launch 3G mobile
service by year-end

JAKARTA, August 24 (XFN-ASIA) - Indonesia's third
largest cellular operator PT Excelcomindo Pratama, a
60 pct-owned unit of Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM), plans
to launch 3G-based services in the country by
year-end, TM International CEO Yusof Annuar Yaacob
said.

"We expect Excelcomindo to launch 3G mobile services
towards the end of this year. We want to make sure
that we're comfortable with the test results before we
formally launch the service," Yaacob said at a media
briefing here on the sidelines of the ASEAN 100
Leadership Forum 2006.

He said the company has conducted initial testing with
a video call connecting Bali, Jakarta and Malaysia,
which worked well. Formal testing will be done next
week.

Initially the 3G-based service will be available in
six major cities in the country, he said.

Yaacob added that about 10 pct of total capital
expenditure for this year, amounting to 600-700 mln
usd, will be spent to develop the 3G service.

He said Excelcomindo currently has a subcriber base of
9.2 mln, nearly half of TM group's total subscribers
of some 24 mln both in Malaysia and overseas.

Yaacob added the company was "pleased" with the
progress of its international operations.

Excelcomindo has invested more than 1.3 bln usd in the
past five years in the communication business across
Asia to enhance the value of its investments as well
as boost returns, he said.

"Over the last five years, the Sri Lankan subsidiary
Dialog Telekom has moved to the number 1 spot, whilst
the Bangladesh subsidiary TMIB has captured the number
2 position. Both the Indonesian (XL brand) as well as
the Cambodian operations (Hello brand) are in the
number 3 position," he said.

When asked whether TM is considering to increase its
stake in Excelcomindo, Yaacob said: "We're comfortable
with the current stake ownership. We have no plan yet
to raise our stake in the company."

----------------------------------------------------

Indonesia's Indosat ex-president a candidate for
Excelcomindo president

JAKARTA, August 24 (XFN-ASIA) - TM International chief
executive Yusof Annuar Yaacob says that Hasnul
Suhaimi, the former president of PT Indosat, may be
appointed president of PT Excelcomindo, a 60-pct owned
unit of Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM).

The post of president of Excelcomindo has been vacant
since Manuel de Faria resigned a few months ago for
personal reasons.

"He is one of the candidates for the post," Yaacob
said, referring to Suhaimi.

Excelcomindo is scheduled to hold an extraordinary
general meeting on Sept 1.

---------------------------------------------------

Indonesia's Indofood up 6 pct on palm oil unit listing

JAKARTA, August 24 (Reuters) - Shares of the world's
largest instant noodle maker, PT Indofood Sukses
Makmur Tbk , jumped more than 6 percent on Thursday on
news it would list its palm oil unit in Singapore.

The company was traded at 1,170 rupiah ($0.129) at
0421 GMT, while the overall Jakarta bourse was down
0.3 percent. Earlier, the shareprice hit 1,180 rupiah.

Indofood is listing its oil palm plantations in
Singapore by selling the business to a tiny listed
holding company for S$392.7 million ($250 million).

The noodle giant is injecting the business, which also
includes its edible oils and fats refining operation,
to Singapore's ISG Asia , which will be renamed
Indofood Agri Resources Ltd.

--------------------------------------------------

Indonesian machinery industry may grow by 8.5 pct this
year

JAKARTA, August 24 (Asia Pulse/Antara) - Indonesia's
machinery industry is predicted to grow by 8.5 per
cent by the end of this year, higher than 7.67 per
cent recorded last year, a government official said
here on Wednesday.

The director general of metal, machinery, textile and
multifarious industries, Ansari Bukhari, said at the
opening of the "International Metalworking Technology
and Machine Tools Exhibition and Conference" here
Wednesday said many investors in the machinery
industry were expected to come to Indonesia in the
second semester this year.

He said the government is constantly improving the
quality of national products and the urging investors
to use domestically-made machinery.

He said the government recently issued a regulation to
promote the use of domestically-made machinery.

He said in 2005 machinery industry grew by 7.67 per
cent, higher than the growth of industrial sector
which was recorded at 5.85 per cent.

He admitted that the domestically built machinery were
still inferior to foreign products in terms of
quality.

He said exports of machinery increased in the past
five years. "In 2001 the exports reached US$1,288
billion and increased to US$1,931 billion in 2005," he
said.

He said many machinery industries in the regions had
contributed significantly to the growth of the
country's machinery exports, especially with their
production of farming equipment and machinery.

"African countries prefer Indonesian products because
they are cheaper than those from Europe or Japan," he
said.

He said the export growth however was also followed by
increasing imports of components reaching an average
of 10 per cent a year.

He said "in 2005 the imports reached US$7.1 billion
while in 2001 they were only worth US$4.24 billion."

---------------------------------------------------------

Indonesia July cement consumption 2.79 mln tons vs
2.63 mln in June

JAKARTA, August 24 (XFN-ASIA) - Domestic cement
consumption rose to 2.79 mln tons in July from 2.63
mln in June, but was unchanged from a year ago, data
from the Indonesian Cement Association (ASI) showed.

It said industry-wide cement exports declined to
734,678 tons in July from 769,919 in June but were up
22 pct from 601,088 in July last year.

The report said in the first seven months to July,
domestic cement consumption contracted 2.8 pct
year-on-year to 17.34 mln tons while exports grew 8.1
pct to 4.08 mln tons.

---------------------------------------------------------

Indonesia's Semen Gresik July cement sales 1.43 mln
tons vs 1.49 mln in June

JAKARTA, August 24 (XFN-ASIA) - PT Semen Gresik sold
1.43 mln tons of cement in July, down from 1.49 mln in
June and 1.48 mln in the year ago month, data from the
Indonesian Cement Association (ASI) showed.

In the first seven months, Semen Gresik cement sales
fell 1.3 pct year-on-year to 8.93 mln tons with a
sharp fall in exports offsetting a mild gain in local
sales.

It said Semen Gresik sold 8.13 mln tons of cement in
the local market over the first seven months, up from
7.96 mln the year before.

Exports, however, dropped 27 pct to 797,010 tons.

---------------------------------------------------------

Swiss cement giant Holcim posts profit rise, divests
South African unit

ZURICH, August 24 (AFP) -- Swiss group Holcim, the
second-biggest cement maker in the world, announced a
44.0-percent increase in its first-half net profit on
Thursday and said that it planned to sell a
controlling stake in its South African subsidiary.

Net profit for the first six months of 2006 reached
1.09 billion Swiss francs (696 million euros, 873
million dollars), Holcim said in a statement.

Sales had increased by 38.0 percent to 10.98 billion
Swiss francs and first-half operating profit by 24.0
percent to 1.94 billion Swiss francs, said Holcim.

"Against the backdrop of favorable global economic
development, the construction industry produced a
solid performance in most regions," said Holcim.

The group has signed a conditional agreement to sell
85 percent of its 54-percent stake in Holcim South
Africa to the local AfriSam Consortium.

The deal would be worth 15.5 billion South African
rand (2.14 billion dollars, 1.7 billion euros), it
said.

Under the accord, Holcim would retain a 15 percent
share in the newly-founded company AfriSam, which
would itself hold a 54-percent stake in Holcim South
Africa.

Holcim said that it expected to conclude the deal in
2007.

For its first-half results, the group said that it
turned in a particularly strong performance in the
Asia-Pacific region, with market growth of almost 119
percent fueled by takeovers in India.

"The group companies in India -- ACC, Ambuja Cement
Eastern and Gujarat Ambuja Cements -- were able to
substantially expand sales volumes. The main stimulus
came from residential and industrial construction and
major infrastructure projects," Holcim said.

That helped offset weaker performances in Australia,
Indonesia, New Zealand and Thailand, said Holcim.

In China, the region's other powerhouse, Holcim said
that it was "making progress" in its efforts to
acquire a majority holding in Huaxin Cement.

It said that it expected the complex takeover process
to be completed this year.

Elsewhere, Holcim said that its North American market
grew by around 23 percent in the first half of 2006,
Europe by 21 percent, Latin America 18 percent and the
Africa-Middle East region by 11 percent.

Overall, the outlook for the rest of 2006 was good,
said Holcim.

"Despite greater uncertainty surrounding developments
in oil prices and interest rates and the unsettled
situation in the Middle East, Holcim expects a
favorable global construction cycle also in the second
half of the year," the group said.

Holcim said that its full-year performance was likely
to be boosted by the rapid integration of a string of
other companies that it has acquired during a takeover
spree.

Holcim has been boosting its international business
over the past year. Besides its acquisitions in India
and plans in China, it has also used takeovers to
strengthen its operations in Britain, the United Arab
Emirates and the United States.

The Holcim group, which operates in 70 countries, is
the second-biggest cement maker in the world after
Lafarge of France.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Indonesia's Ramayana sets US33.3 mln net profit target
for 2006

JAKARTA, August 24 (Asia Pulse/Antara) - Publicly
listed retailer PT Ramayana Lestari Sentosa targets to
chalk up Rp300 billion (US$33.3 million) in net profit
this year, the same as last year.

Its Finance Director Setiasa Kusuma said targeting
more than what the company recorded last year is
inappropriate under the present economic conditions
although the company has set aside Rp250 billion in
capital expenditure this year.

Consumers generally still suffer a decline in
purchasing power, Setiasa said, adding an increase in
net profit is expected only next year.

He said the capital expenditure will be used for
expansion to increase sales.

Its sales in the first half of this year rose 8.88 per
cent to Rp1.75 trillion from Rp1.6 trillion in the
same period last year.

------------------------------------------------------------

Indonesia's Modern Photo, creditor sign debt/equity
deal for 21.5 mln usd debt

JAKARTA, August 24 (XFN-ASIA) - PT Modern Photo said
it has signed a debt for equity conversion deal with
its creditor, Asialink Electronics Pte Ltd, Singapore
in order to settle its remaining 21.52 mln usd worth
of debt.

Modern Photo is the local distributor for Fuji Photo.

The agreement signed August 4, will only take effect
once shareholders approve the plan, with an
extraordinary shareholders meeting scheduled for
September 29.

Under the deal, Modern Photo will issue issue 373.5
mln new shares with a nominal value of 500 rupiah per
share to Asialink, representing 58.3 pct of the
company's enlarged capital.

The debt will be converted at the nominal price of 500
rupiah per share, not the market price. The rupiah
exchange rate has been set at 9,000 to the US dollar.

After the debt conversion exercise, PT Inti
PutraModern's stake in Modern Photo will decline to
17.15 pct from 41.15 pct previosly, PT Inti Linda
Sihaja's to 2.42 pct from 5.81 pct, and the public's
to 22.12 pct from 53.07 pct. Asialink will then hold
58.3 pct.

-------------------------------------------------------

Weak Indonesian rupiah supports crude palm oil

JAKARTA, August 24 (Reuters) - Indonesia palm oil
prices were mixed on Thursday with crude palm oil
gaining on a weakening rupiah and trading was
lacklustre as sellers mostly remained on the sidelines
awaiting clearer price leads.

At the state marketing centre's auction in Jakarta,
crude palm oil traded at 4,354 rupiah ($0.477) a kg,
up from 4,338 rupiah a kg on Wednesday.

In a local auction in North Sumatra's Medan, crude
palm oil was traded at 4,375 rupiah a kg, up from
4,350 rupiah a kg on Wednesday.

"Prices are higher because of of the rupiah. Overall
trading is quiet today. Some sellers have sold their
stocks in previous days and some prefer to wait until
next week for price leads," said a trader in Medan,
the provincial capital of North Sumatra and a key port
for palm oil exports.

On Thursday, the Indonesian rupiah <IDR=> weakened
almost 0.9 percent to 9,160 to a dollar, its lowest
level in about a month.

A weakening rupiah against the dollar makes the
commodity -- traded in dollars -- more expensive in
local currency terms.

"Also, buyers aren't aggressive at the moment," the
Medan trader said.

But ample supplies kept a lid on cooking oil prices.
In Jakarta, cooking oil was traded at 5,015 rupiah a
kg, down from 5,025 rupiah a kg on Wednesday.

"There are still ample supplies of cooking oil in the
market, so the market is a bit bearish," said a trader
in Jakarta.

On the exports front, a few deals were noted overnight
for September shipment at $445 a tonne, free on board
Belawan. But details on the quantity and destinations
were not available.

On Thursday, sellers offered September shipments at
$445 a tonne, free on board Belawan. Bids were seen at
$440 a tonne without any deals reported.

"Export demand is a bit quiet lately because major
buyers like China, Pakistan and India rushed in to buy
palm oil when prices rallied in July," said another
trader in Medan.

Global palm oil prices surged in July after Malaysia
and Indonesia pledged to allocate 40 percent of their
output for bio-diesel production.

Malaysia and Indonesia are the world's top palm oil
producers and exporters.

------------------------------------------------------------

Indonesia Rubber-Prices seen falling on weak demand,
supplies

JAKARTA, August 24 (Reuters) - Indonesian rubber
prices have softened in the past weeks and are
expected to ease further in the next few weeks on weak
demand.

Prices of raw material in North and South Sumatra have
eased to between 17,100 and 17,400 rupiah
($1.87-$1.90) a kg this week, from 17,800-18,000
rupiah a kg last week.

"Demand has been sluggish in the past week as buyers
are waiting for prices to drop further before making
fresh purchases," a trader said in Medan, the
provincial capital of North Sumatra.

"But global rubber prices have also eased in the past
week and that also have affected local prices," he
said.

Tokyo rubber futures, which set the trend for global
rubber prices, have dropped in the past weeks with the
benchmark January 2007 contract <0#JRU:> closing at
250.6 yen a kg on Wednesday, down from 255.7 yen a kg
last week.

Slow demand from China, the world's biggest rubber
consumer, has also contributed to the sluggish trade
in the physical market, traders said.

"There are other buyers in the market but not as big
as China. China has not been buying rubber for some
time, maybe they expect prices to drop further," a
Jakarta trader said.

Sluggish demand will likely keep a lid on rubber
prices despite ongoing wintering in southern Sumatra,
traders said.

Wintering occurs in the warmest month of the year when
rubber trees shed their leaves and latex output slows.
In southern Sumatra, wintering runs from July to
September.

"No one is complaining about supply as demand is also
slow with fewer buyers in the market," said the
Jakarta trader, adding buyers expect prices to drop to
90 U.S. cents a pound in the next weeks.

Deals were noted for Indonesia's tyre-grade SIR20 at
94.5 U.S. cents per pound ($2.12 a kg) overnight, free
on board Belawan for October shipment, marginally
unchanged from last week.

On Thursday, SIR20 was offered at between 95 and 95.5
U.S. cents, free on board Belawan, for October
shipment.

Wintering in southern Sumatra is unlikely to disrupt
supply as the approaching Muslim fasting month of
Ramadan and Eid Fitr in September-October have
prompted tappers in other rubber-growing areas to tap
more rubber to get cash, said the Medan trader.

Muslims make up 80 percent of Indonesia's 220 million
population.

Indonesia is world's second largest natural rubber
producer and exporter after Thailand, with exports
were seen hitting 2.3 million tonnes this year, up
from 2.02 million tonnes in 2005.

---------------------------------------------------------

Japan To Help Rubber Indus Improve Quality In SE Asia

SINGAPORE, August 24 (Dow Jones)--Japan late Wednesday
unveiled a three-year program to help the expanding
natural rubber industries in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar
and Vietnam improve their quality control and testing
standards.

Capacity-building projects will be carried out
bilaterally so that these countries can capitalize on
the demand for natural rubber, according to a press
statement from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and
Industry.

No funding for the project was announced at the press
briefing Wednesday held on the sidelines of the
Japan-Association of Southeast Asian Economic
Ministers meeting in Kuala Lumpur, though the program
is to begin this year.

Details on the plan will be further filled in after a
survey of each country's rubber industry's needs in
improving the quality of rubber later this year.

Except for Vietnam, the three other Southeast Asian
countries are small rubber producers who are expecting
a big jump in plantation acreage over the next couple
of years, much of it driven by demand from neighboring
China.

Vietnam is already the world's sixth-largest producer,
with output in 2006 likely to reach 600,000 metric
tons, up 20% on year, said Tran Thi Thuy Hoa,
secretary general at the Vietnam Rubber Association.

With rubber prices having hit historic highs earlier
this year and demand from tire manufacturers and glove
makers forecast to remain strong for the next decade,
these countries are eager to boost production, as all
four are located in tropical Southeast Asia, the
world's dominant rubber-growing region.

Neighboring countries Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia
account for 77% of world rubber output, while to the
north in China is the world's largest rubber consumer.

Chinese investors are actively exploring opportunities
to buy or lease land in these countries, either on
their own or through joint venture opportunities.

In April, state-owned Hainan State Farms leased 67,000
hectares in Cambodia to produce rubber. The company
said at the time it was seeking another 140,000
hectares for rubber plantations in Asia and Africa.

Laos, meanwhile, expects rubber acreage to increase to
182,000 hectares by 2010 from just 11,788 hectares
today.

A trader in Singapore said the potential in these
countries was large, but except for Vietnam, they
lacked the capital needed to invest in high-producing
rubber clones and fertilizers.

"Probably (Japan) can help by planting new hybrids,
(financing) seedlings and fertilizers," he said.
"They'll have to see which clones are suitable for the
soil and weather."

However, improving quality will be made difficult by
their low production levels.

"In Myanmar (production) is so scattered and the
volume is small, so by the time it's all collected and
stored in a warehouse, the first lots would already be
moldy."

He said increasing production would make it more
financially feasible to pay inspectors to monitor
quality.

The cost of the program likely wouldn't be much, he
said, but it would help Japan's rubber consumers be
assured of a stable supply at a reasonable price.

Hoa, who said VRA had not yet been directly contacted
by the Japanese government, was "very interested" in
finding out more details about the program.

"We have many customers from Japan and we'd like to
increase our exports there and expand cooperation for
rubber manufacturing."

She hopes the project will help expand Vietnam expand
plantations not only domestically but in Laos and
Cambodia where Vietnamese companies have already begun
investing.

----------------------------------------------------------

Asian Cocoa:Indonesia, Malaysia Prices Dn On Weak
Futures

JAKARTA, August 24 (Dow Jones)--Asian physical cocoa
prices were lower in the week to Thursday, tracking
early-week futures weakness in overseas markets,
traders said.

Cocoa futures on the New York Board of Trade finished
in the black Wednesday, well off four-month lows seen
earlier in the session, as speculative buying and a
weaker U.S. currency were supportive features of the
market.

The most-active December contract settled up $13 at
$1,534/ton Wednesday. Second most-active March settled
up $13 at $1,575.

However, December settled well below key moving
averages, including the 10-day, 40-day and 100-day,
after finishing down Monday and Tuesday, as early-week
greenback strengthening weighed on the market.

The December contract on the London International
Financial Futures and Options Exchange finished up
GBP5 at GBP860/ton after hitting contract lows
Tuesday, while March settled up GBP6 at GBP879/ton.

Offers for Malaysia's SMC 1B cocoa beans were quoted
down MYR300 from last week at MYR5,200/ton.

Offers for Indonesia's Sulawesi fair-average quality
cocoa beans were quoted at IDR11,750 a kilogram, down
from IDR11,800/kg Wednesday last week, but up from
IDR11,400/kg yesterday.

Indonesian cocoa markets were closed last Thursday as
the country celebrated its 61st year of independence
with a long weekend.

Indonesian cocoa prices had begun to bounce back as
they tend to closely follow trends in Nybot futures,
said a trader in Singapore.

However, Malaysian cocoa physical prices are more
strongly affected by Liffe prices, and were yet to
rally, she said.

Trade remained slow as industry participants awaited
the start of the mid-crop in Indonesia, an Indonesian
trader said.

"It's not yet the (busy) season."

In other news, Earth Satellite's Cropcast said in a
report Wednesday that a wetter than normal weather
forecast in Indonesia for the next three months is
expected to slow late cocoa harvesting.

However, traders did not consider this prediction
accurate, and said the mid-crop harvest would likely
begin next month.

Central, south and southeast provinces of Sulawesi
account for 75% of Indonesia's total cocoa output.

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Joyo Indonesia News Service
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