[Kabar-indonesia] 22 RI Biz/Econ Reports: Exports Likely to Slow; RGM's US$1.4B Debt; Bakrie Bros

[JoyoNews at aol.com]

22 Reports:

- Indonesia exports likely to slow next 
  yr amid slower global growth - report
- JP: Raja Garuda Mas Group (RGM) 
  negotiating deal with creditors on
  staggering US$1.4 billion debt
- US firm Indigo Partners eyeing stake 
  in Indonesia's Mandala Airlines - report
- Indonesia's Bakrie Brothers Jan-July 
  sales 2.56 trln rupiah vs 1.37 trln
- Bakrie Sumatera to price bond next 
  wk-source
- Indonesia proposes revenue target
- JP: Saudi Arabia seen as gateway 
  for SME exports to Middle East 
- Indonesia's rice supplies sufficient for 
  post-Ramadan festivals
- Indonesia's Bank Niaga says completed 
  sale of last stake in jv with Sumitomo
- Central Bank to Ease Related Party
   Loan Rules
- Stock alert - Indonesia's BNI shares 
  sharply higher on govt divestment talk
- Alcatel to build optic fiber networks for
   Indosat
- N Sumatra to be one of Indonesia's 
  electronic industry hub
- New deal to cut shipping times between
   Aust and Indonesia
- Indonesia seizes animal feed from
   Spain
- Singapore-listed United Fiber issues 
  61.49 mln new shares at 0.10 sgd
- Indonesia's United Tractors to pay 
  45 rupiah interim div on Nov 3
- Indonesia to form team to accelerate
   shipbuilding
- Indonesian crude palm oil up on rising
   demand
- Vietnam Rice-Prices rise after bagging
   Indonesian contract
- IRCo Confirms It Is Ready To Limit
   Rubber Exports

Indonesia exports likely to slow next 
yr amid slower global growth - report

JAKARTA, September 27 (XFN-ASIA) - Indonesia's export growth is 
expected to slow down next year due as global economic growth 
decelerates, particularly in the US, Bisnis Indonesia reported, citing 
Trade Minister Mari Elka Pangestu.

In the first seven months, exports to the US, one of Indonesia's main
export destinations, rose by a moderate 12.99 pct year-on-year to 6.1 bln
usd, she said.

She said the expected slower growth in exports to the US should be
compensated by growing demand from other Asian countries including China,
India and Russia.

Indonesia's exports to China in the first seven months this year reached
2.91 bln usd, 32.66 pct higher compared to the same period last year,
Pangestu said.

The trade ministry forecasts total exports this year will surpass the
100-bln-usd mark, compared to last year's 85.61 bln. For the first half of
this year, exports reached 55.77 bln usd.

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

The Jakarta Post
September 27, 2006

RGM negotiating deal with creditors on installment amounts 

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Raja Garuda Mas Group, the parent company of Riau Complex -- a massive 
integrated paper manufacturing plant in Riau -- is renegotiating the repayment 
terms for its staggering debt of US$1.4 billion with its creditors.

"We're close to reaching an agreement but there are still several items that 
need to be discussed," a group executive, Tjandra Putra, said as quoted by the 
www.tempointeraktif.com news portal. 

Tjandra said that as part of the negotiations, the group was willing to 
increase the size of its yearly installment payments, but he refrained from giving 
any figures. 

"However, we hope that the size of the installments will not be increased," 
he said. 

The pulp and paper company, owned by tycoon Sukanto Tanoto, owes the money to 
a syndicate of banks, including Bank Mandiri and Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI). 

The loan, which will mature in 2010, was mainly disbursed to seven of the 
group's subsidiaries: Rp 3.4 trillion to PT Riau Andalan Pulp & Paper, Rp 620.8 
billion to PT Riau Andalan Kertas, and Rp 1.4 trillion to PT Riau Prima Energi, 
with the remaining Rp 7.2 being divided among four other subsidiaries. 

At the moment, the group pays out $61 million in annual installments to the 
banks, covering both principal and interest payments. 

Tjandra said that the group had almost reached an agreement last week with 
Bank Mandiri and BNI. "But, apparently, Mandiri disagreed on several points." 

Tjandra said that Mandiri was looking for US$120 million for the main 
installments alone, excluding interest. 

He said that he hoped a deal would be reached soon, but he could not say 
exactly when this was likely to happen. 

BNI corporate secretary Intan Abdams Katoppo said negotiations were still 
underway and acknowledged that there were indications that the group was willing 
to increase its the size of its installments to above $110 million per year. 

"For BNI, $110 to $120 million in installments would be reasonable," she 
said. 

However, she stressed that any deal on the size of the installments would 
first have to be agreed to by Mandiri as the lead creditor in the syndicate. 

Mandiri corporate secretary Mansyur S. Nasution said that the negotiating 
process was intensifying. Even though he knew nothing about the likely size of 
the installments, he confirmed that a deal could be reached by the end of the 
month. 

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

US firm Indigo Partners eyeing stake in Indonesia's Mandala Airlines - report

JAKARTA, September 27 (XFN-ASIA) - US firm Indigo Partners LLC is
interested in buying a 49 pct stake in PT Mandala Airlines from Cardig
International Aviation, Bisnis Indonesia reported.

'Indigo is one of the companies interested in buying Mandala Airlines,'
Bisnis quoted Mandala Airlines' legal and communication bureau head
Alexius Wijoyo as saying.

Cardig had acquired 100 pct of Mandala Airlines last April from its
previous owners Yayasan Dharma Putra Kostrad, a foundation of the Kostrad
army strategic reserve command, and PT Dharma Kencana Sakti, a company
also related to Kostrad.

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

Indonesia's Bakrie Brothers Jan-July sales 2.56 trln rupiah vs 1.37 trln

JAKARTA, September 27 (XFN-ASIA) - Conglomerate PT Bakrie Brothers said
sales in the seven months to July rose 87 pct year-on-year to 2.56 trln
rupiah from 1.37 trln, driven by robust sales growth across all of its
units.

It said telecom unit sales, including those of Bakrie Telecom, grew 124
pct to 430 bln rupiah while infrastructure unit sales rose 103 pct to 1.57
trln.

Plantation unit sales, including those of PT Bakrie Sumatra Plantations,
grew 38 pct to 559 bln rupiah.

The infrastructure division's contribution to total sales rose 5 pct in
the term to 61 pct, making it the largest source of revenue for the group.
The plantation unit was 2nd largest with 22 pct, though its contribution
declined by 8 pct. The telecom division's contribution rose 3 pct to 17
pct over the seven months.

The company said revenue from project-based units "leapt 1.5 fold in the
first seven months to 1.41 trln rupiah, driven by Bakrie Pipe and Bakrie
Construction project-based sales."

"Consumer-driven subsidiaries also posted a robust 42 pct jump in sales to
1.15 trln rupiah, thanks primarily to Bakrie Telecom," it said.

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

Bakrie Sumatera to price bond next wk-source

JAKARTA, September 27 (Reuters) - Indonesian plantation company PT Bakrie
Sumatera Plantations Tbk (BSP) aims to price a $110 million bond issue
next week, a source close to the deal said on Wednesday.

The company is conducting roadshows with European, U.S. and Asian
investors which will conclude by the middle of next week, the source said.

On Tuesday, the company said in a statement that the proceeds will be used
to repay company debts and expand its business.

"The company has decided to issue senior secured notes through its unit,
BSP Finance B.V., a Netherlands-based company, worth $110 million, which
will be listed in Singapore Exchange Securities," Bakrie said in the
statement.

Bakrie Sumatera, a rubber-and-palm-oil producer, is controlled by the
family of Indonesia's chief social welfare minister Aburizal Bakrie
through PT Bakrie & Brothers Tbk .

Jefferies Group Inc. is the sole lead manager to the issue which has been
assigned a (P)B2 rating by Moody's Investor Service.

Moody's said the five-year senior secured bonds will be guaranteed by BSP
and all its existing subsidiaries.

The proceeds will be used to repay all existing debt of $63 million and
fund capital expenditure, and could include the cost of a new bio-diesel
plant and plantation acquisition in the next few years, Moody's said.

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

Indonesia proposes revenue target

JAKARTA , September 27 (Xinhua) -- Indonesian government has 
proposed revenue target of 23 billion U.S. dollars from oil and 9. 9 
billion dollars from gas to the House of Representatives, a legislator 
said Wednesday.

The proposed revenue target is included in the 2007 draft budget, said
Ramson Siagian, a member of the House's budget committee.

The projection is based on assumptions that national oil production
reaches 1.05 million barrels per day, global oil prices are estimated at
63 U.S. dollars per barrel and the rupiah conversion rate averages 9,300
rupiah against the dollar, he said.

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

Indonesia's Sept inflation rate predicted to increase by 0.5-1%

JAKARTA, September 27 (Asia Pulse/Antara) - The inflation rate in
September will undergo an increase of between 0.5 per cent and 1 per cent,
a securities executive said here Tuesday.

The main factor in the increase in the inflation rate was raises in the
prices of basic commodities in the current fasting month of Ramadhan,
Valbury Asia Securities executive Krisna Dwi Setiawan said.

He said, however, the rising prices of basic commodities would boost the
inflation rate by at least 0.5 per cent instead of 1 per cent.

The trend was a annual cycle and unavoidable as the Indonesian people's
consumption prior to the Ramadhan month and the Idul Fitri festivity was
high, he said adding that food and textiles were the main factor in the
increasing inflation rate.

The predicted inflation rate in September was higher than 0.33 per cent in
last August while calendar year inflation rate from January 2006 to August
2006 was recorded at 3.67 per cent and year on year inflation rate from
August 2005 to August 2006 was recorded at 14.90 per cent.

Krisna predicted that inflation rate would be recorded at 8 per cent late
this year and t inflation rate during the Ramadhan and the Idul Fitri
festivity would be 2 per cent.

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

Indonesia's rice supplies sufficient for post-Ramadan festivals

JAKARTA, September 27 (Asia Pulse/Antara) - The National Logistics 
Board (Bulog) said the nation's rice stock of 1.1 million tons is sufficient 
for the post-fasting month of Ramadhan festivities.

"The stock of 1.1 million tons has been distributed to 33 provinces,"
Bulog Chief Wijanarko Puspoyo said here on Tuesday.

He made the remarks before attending a working meeting with the House
Commission IV (on food affairs) at the Parliament building here on
Tuesday.

Wijanarko said that the 1.1 million tons of rice stock excluded imported
rice of 210 thousand tons.

The ministry of agriculture said last week that the supply of food for
national and religious days like the Ramadhan fasting month, Idul Fitri
and Christmas of 2006 and the New Year will be met from domestic sources.

Minister of Agriculture Anton Apriyantono said here Friday that based on
2006 forecasts, the availability of staple food was sufficient to
fulfilling people's needs during those days this year.

"Ahead of the holidays, we hope the people would not worry about scarcity
of food," he said in his speech read out by Kaman Nainggolan, chief of the
Food Security Agency during a plenary meeting.

Based on the calculation made by a team for food availability and
distribution monitoring from Sept 24 2006 till January 1, 2007, rice stood
at 34.83 million tons and consumption 30.89 million tons. It is predicted
there will be a surplus of 3.94 million tons.

Sugar consumption is predicted to reach 2.66 million tons while the
domestic stock stands at 3.43 million tons. So there will be a surplus of
775,792 tons.

This is also the case for cooking oil, chilli, onions and eggs, however
there is not surplus forecast for meat supplies.

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

The Jakarta Post
September 27, 2006

Saudi Arabia seen as gateway for SME exports to Middle East 

Indonesia is setting its sights on the Middle East as a prospective market 
for the products of its small and medium enterprises, with Saudi Arabia been 
mooted as the main gateway to the region.

Acknowledging the region's potential as an important export destination for 
SME products, State Minister for Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises 
Suryadharma Ali said Tuesday that Indonesia would open trading houses within 
the region to promote SME products. 

"Maybe we will use Mecca and Medina as the main gateways for SME product 
exports to the Middle East, Central Asia, South Asia and Eastern Europe," he said. 

Together with State Minister for Administrative Reform Taufik Effendi, 
Suryadharma has just returned from Saudi Arabia after attending a meeting of 
Indonesian ambassadors stationed in the Middle East, Central Asia, South Asia and 
Eastern Europe. 

The meeting was hosted by Indonesian ambassador to Saudi Arabia earlier in 
the month. 

"At the meeting, all the ambassadors and the representatives were 
enthusiastic and optimistic about helping to market SME products in the countries to 
which they are assigned," Suryadharma said. 

In order to realize the plan, Suryadharma promised to establish trading 
houses for all SME product exports. 

"In the 2007 state budget, around Rp 50 billion has been allocated to SMEs, 
which includes funding for the establishment of trading houses for SME 
products," he said. 

SME products with strong export potential included sarongs, garments, sandals 
and bags, he said. -- JP 

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

Indonesia's Bank Niaga says completed sale of last stake in jv with Sumitomo

JAKARTA, September 27 (XFN-ASIA) - PT Bank Niaga said it has completed the
sale of its remaining 0.71 pct stake in joint venture bank, PT Bank
Sumitomo Mitsui Indonesia, for a total of 10.16 bln rupiah,

Bank Niaga director Tay Un Soo, in a letter to the Jakarta Stock Exchange,
said the shares were sold to Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp of Japan, which
now holds 98.29 pct of the joint venture.

Previously Niaga said the sale of its holdings was the result of a
revision to the venture's strategic plan.

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

Central Bank to Ease Related Party Loan Rules

JAKARTA, September 27 (Dow Jones)--In an effort to boost private lending,
Bank Indonesia will ease regulations that limit loans banks can provide to
"related parties," Bisnis Indonesia reported Wednesday.

Related parties include borrowers with business or family ties to the
lender, loans to which are currently limited to 10%-20% of the bank's
equity capital, depending on the situation.

The report said the new regulation, which will loosen the definition of
"related parties," will likely be implemented by the end of the year.

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

Stock alert - Indonesia's BNI shares sharply higher on govt divestment talk

JAKARTA, September 27 (XFN-ASIA) - PT Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI) shares
were sharply higher in mid afternoon trade as investors speculate that the
government may divest some of its shares, dealers say.

At 2.57 pm, BNI stock was up up 290 rupiah, or 16.2 pct, at 2,080. The
composite index was up 16.663 points at 1,516.766.

Edwin Sebayang, an analyst with Evergreen Capital, said the sharp increase
was "driven by market speculation the government may divest (some of its)
shares in the bank."

As of August the government had a 99.12 pct stake.

Meanwhile another dealer said some of the stock's upside may also be due
to news the bank has given debtors an ultimate on settling bad loans in a
bid to try and reduce the level of its non-performing loans.

BNI has set a Sept 29 deadline for debtors to submit plans on reducing
their soured loans and those who fail to meet it will be required to
voluntarily sell collateral no later than Oct 4 in order to pay off bad
debt.

If they fail to meet the Oct 4 deadline they will be deemed
non-cooperative debtors and BNI will launch litigation proceedings against
them.

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

Alcatel to build optic fiber networks for Indosat

JAKARTA, September 27 (Asia Pulse/Antara) - PT Alcatel Indonesia has been
awarded a contract valued at US$40 million to build 1,000 kilometers of
optic fiber networks for the country's second largest telecommunications
company PT Indosat.

The networks that will links Java, Sulawesi and Kalimantan, will be built
by the end of this year.

The expansion of the networks will be needed to support Indosat's ambition
to continue to increase the number of its subscribers. This year it hopes
to list up to 4 million new subscribers.

The submarine cable will extend from Banyu Urip in East Java to Takesung
in South Kalimantan and to Aeng Batu Batu in South Sulawesi.

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

N Sumatra to be one of Indonesia's electronic industry hub

MEDAN, N. SUMATRA, September 27 (Asia Pulse/Antara) - North Sumatra
province will be one of Indonesia's electronics industry hubs, a spokesman
of the North Sumatra's industrial provincial administration office, T.
Azwar Aziz, said here on Tuesday.

He said one of the reasons that help make North Sumatra an electronics
industry center was the availability of highly-skilled workers in the
province as well the province's geographic proximity to overseas markets
such as Malaysia and Singapore.

"Preparations for the province to be a center of the electronics industry
is scheduled to be started next year. We are preparing various
infrastructures to support it," he said.

He said Malaysia's electronics industry has been relying on the available
supply of skilled workers from North Sumatra.

Meanwhile, PT National Gobel has confirmed that it is interested to make
North Sumatra a hub for the domestic electronics industry.

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

New deal to cut shipping times between Aust and Indonesia

Tara Ravens

DARWIN September 27 (AAP) -- Shipping times between Australia and
Indonesia will be cut by two weeks after a deal was struck between two
freight forwarders.

Instead of shipping cargo from Indonesia through Singapore to Sydney or
Melbourne, before heading elsewhere in Australia, the agreement between
Australian freight company, Northline, and Mitra Intertrans Forwarding
(MIF) will ship directly to Darwin, then overland to other Australian
destinations.
Northline chief operating officer Phillip Taylor said the agreement opened
up the $30 million market for end-to-end freight forwarding between
Australia and South-East Asia.

"Our focus will be on expediting the freight process between Indonesia and
Darwin, then using our national freight network to transport goods
throughout Australia," he said.

"It will reduce the shipping lead-times for the traditional east coast
ports from 20 to six days.

"In the supply chain world, the two-week speed boost has a value, and can
substantially reduce working capital invested in inventory.

"The average shipping time to Darwin is six days followed by distribution
to virtually any destination in Australia in a fraction of the normal
time."

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

Indonesia seizes animal feed from Spain

JAKARTA, September 27 (Reuters) - Indonesia has seized 181 containers of
bone meal from Spain that were labelled as chicken meal after tests showed
it was made of beef, an agriculture ministry official said on Wednesday.

Syukur Iwantoro, head of agricultural quarantine agency at the agriculture
ministry, told Reuters the consignment would be returned because of fears
of mad cow disease.

Jakarta only imports beef and beef products from Australia and New Zealand
after the government reimposed a temporary import ban in June 2005
following the discovery of mad cow disease in the United States and
European Union countries.

"In the import documents, it was registered as poultry meal, which is
legal," Iwantoro said.

"But after we ran some tests in the lab, we found out it was made from
beef, imports of which are illegal. Spain is one of the countries that is
not free of mad cow."

Iwantoro added that the meal would be sent back to Spain by the importer.

Indonesia plans to review its beef import policy to allow imports of beef
products from countries declared partially free of the bovine spongiform
encephalopathy (BSE) or mad cow in line with the World Organisation of
Animal Health's (OIE) guidelines to reduce dependency on Australia and New
Zealand.

Indonesia imports roughly 50,000 tonnes a year of beef and beef products
from the two countries.

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

Singapore-listed United Fiber issues 61.49 mln new shares at 0.10 sgd

SINGAPORE, September 27 (XFN-ASIA) - United Fiber System Ltd said it has
issued 61.49 mln new shares at 0.10 sgd each in order to return shares it
borrowed from Tektronix Industries Ltd to repay a loan note of 50 mln sgd
with Cornell Capital Partners Offshore, LP.

The newly issued shares, which represent 2.89 pct of United Fiber's
enlarged share capital, will be listed and quoted on the Singapore
Exchange Securities Trading Limited with effect from tomorrow.

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

Indonesia's United Tractors to pay 45 rupiah interim div on Nov 3

JAKARTA, September 27 (XFN-ASIA) - PT United Tractors, a unit of car
dealer PT Astra International, said it will pay an interim dividend of 45
rupiah per share on Nov 3 to shareholders on record as of October 18.

The company posted first half to June net profit of 538.41 bln rupiah,
down 3.6 pct from the year before.

At 2.29 pm, United Tractors was up 100 rupiah at 6,100. The composite
index was up 17.539 points at 1,517.416.

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

Indonesia to form team to accelerate shipbuilding

JAKARTA, September 27 (Asia Pulse/Antara) - The association of shipping
industry and the government have agreed to set up a shipbuilding
acceleration team in a bid to procure ships for the transport of three
main domestic commodities.

Ships are needed for inter island shipping of coal, crude palm oil (CPO)
and crude oil, secretary general of the Indonesian National Ship-owner's
Association (INSA) Sungkono Ali said.

The ships are to be built by local shipyards .

The team will be made up of officials of the industry ministry, the
technology application and study center (BPPT) , the transport ministry,
Bank Indonesia and electricity company (PLN) and coal mining association ,
association of ship building industry (Iperindo) and INSA.

The ultimate objective is to implement the cabotage principle , which bans
foreign ships from carrying domestic cargoes and imports by the
government.

Cabotage is already effective for the transport of a number of commodities
like rice and sugar.

Fund, however, remains the main problem faced by the country's shipping
industry and banks are still reluctant to provide the necessary credits as
recovery of loan in the shipping industry is slow , Sungkono said.

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

Indonesian crude palm oil up on rising demand

JAKARTA, September 27 (Reuters) - Indonesian crude palm oil prices were up
on Wednesday as refiners stocked up to meet increasing demand in the
Muslim holy month of Ramadan and the Eid al-Fitr festival.

At the state marketing centre's auction in Jakarta crude palm oil traded
higher at 4,139 rupiah ($0.450) per kg from 4,125 on Monday, with some
3,250 tonnes changing hands.

The centre did not hold an auction on Tuesday.

"Prices were higher as buyers are seeking more crude palm oil to meet
increased demand for cooking oil for Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr," a trader in
Jakarta said.

Indonesia is the world's most populous Muslim country. During the Muslim
fasting month of Ramadan more oil is used to cook for evening feasts when
followers break their fasts.

There was no auction in North Sumatra's Medan, the main port for palm oil
exports.

On the exports front, sellers offered October, November and December
shipments at $425 a tonne free on board Belawan port, with bids seen at
$417.5.

However, RBD palm olein prices were quoted marginally lower at between
4,600 and 4,640 rupiah per kg on profit-taking, traders said.

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

Vietnam Rice-Prices rise after bagging Indonesian contract

By Ho Binh Minh

HANOI, September 27 (Reuters) - Rice export prices firmed in Vietnam after
it won a tender to sell 210,000 tonnes of the grain to Indonesia even as
domestic stocks were thinning.

Last Friday, Indonesian state logistics agency Bulog signed deals to buy
15-percent broken rice from three companies in Vietnam, the world's
second-largest exporter of the grain.

"Stocks are thin so when news of Vietnam winning the tender came out,
prices started rising," a trader in Ho Chi Minh City said on Wednesday.

A Vietnam Food Association official said prices would firm by year-end but
Vietnam did not have large stocks left for deliveries in early 2007.

The country's next rice harvest comes from March.

The 5-percent broken rice rose to $270 a tonne this week, free on board at
Saigon Port, from $267-$268 last week.

The 15-percent broken rice also firmed to $260 a tonne, from $255-$257 a
tonne last Wednesday <RICE/ASIA1>.

Traders said Vietnamese exporters have received good prices in the deal
with Indonesia, selling the grain at more than $300 a tonne on
free-on-board basis.

But Vietnam has little grain left for export.

The food association official said Vietnam's rice export contracts
totalled 4.8 million tonnes, while the government has maintained the
annual export limit at 5 million tonnes.

The association, which oversees rice production and exports, has urged
exporters to watch stocks early next year while negotiating for any
deliveries during the first quarter.

EYE ON MIDDLE EAST

Meanwhile, prospects for export markets in 2007 looked promising, with the
Middle East seen as a key market, officials said.

Last week, Vietnamese food industry officials visited Dubai and signed an
agreement with the Emirates Holding group on Vietnamese rice sales to the
Middle East.

"There were no specific figures involved as it is a broad agreement," the
official from the food association told Reuters.

Vietnamese trade officials in Dubai said the deal would enable a stable
sale of the grain to Iraq, Iran and Africa.

Prior to the war in Iraq, the Middle Eastern country along with Iran were
among key buyers of Vietnamese rice.

But since the start of this year, Vietnam could only sell 160,000 tonnes
to Iraq via Turkey, trade officials said.

"We expected the rice going to Iraq this year would be between 180,000
tonnes and 200,000 tonnes," the food association officials said, without
giving any comparative figures.

The last vessel left Vietnam's key Saigon Port for Iraq was in early June,
with 23,000 tonnes of 5-percent broken rice.

This week one vessel was loading 13,300 tonnes at the port for Africa.
Four other vessels have left with a combined 52,700 tonnes for Africa and
Malaysia.

Vietnam's rice exports in the first nine months of this year would fall
8.8 percent compared with a year earlier to 4.1 million tonnes, state
media quoted a Trade Ministry report as saying.

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IRCo Confirms It Is Ready To Limit Rubber Exports

SINGAPORE, September 27 (Dow Jones)--The International Rubber Consortium
Ltd. confirmed Wednesday that its member countries of Thailand, Malaysia
and Indonesia are ready to impose limits on rubber exports.

Dr. Adisak Sreesunpagit, director general of Thailand's Department of
Agriculture and head of the Thai Directors of Board of IRCo, "reiterated
that the Thai government policy of supporting rubber market remains
unchanged," according to an IRCo press statement.

IRCo represents the world's three biggest rubber-producing countries -
Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia - and has a mandate to ensure natural
rubber prices are remunerative to smallholders, who number in the
millions.

IRCo falls under the International Tripartite Rubber Council, which
comprises government officials from Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia.

But the wording of the statement suggests IRCo has yet to impose limits.

If it did, it would be the first time IRCo has done so, and may give a
lift to physical rubber prices, which have fallen by 30%-40% since peaking
in mid-June.

An IRCo official said Wednesday that prices seem to have stabilized in the
past two days compared to two weeks ago.

Last week, IRCo announced after a widely-watched meeting that rubber
fundamentals remain strong, but that it is willing and ready to implement
its Agreed Export Tonnage Scheme, or AETS, when required.

IRCo won't disclose to the public the price level at which it will intervene.

IRCo's confirmation of its stance was in response to media reports that
implied IRCo has already begun limiting rubber exports to reduce supply
and support prices.

On the Tokyo Commodity Exchange Wednesday, rubber futures were trading
sharply higher on a technical correction, after a week of heavy losses.
The benchmark March RSS3 contract was up Y7.3 at Y218.5 a kilogram in the
afternoon.

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Joyo Indonesia News Service
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