[Kabar-indonesia] 19 Biz/Econ Reports: BI Coy on Rate Moves; Bond Sales; Cemex; Debt Swaps

[JoyoNews at aol.com]

19 Reports:

- Bank Indonesia Coy On Future Rate 
  Moves, Sees Stronger IDR
- Indonesia Govt: Primary Retail Dealer
    Bond Sales On Aug 2
- Indonesia protests conditions set by
    creditors for debt swaps
- Indonesia govt confirms approving Cemex
    stake sale in Gresik to Rajawali
- Indonesia's Semen Gresik says not so 
  optimistic about achieving earnings targets
- Indonesia Telkom Hldrs Ok 55% Of 05 Net For
    Div Payment
- Indonesia's Indosat to recapture 30 pct of
    mobile market by year-end
- Indonesia United Tractors prepays
    10 mln usd debt
- Indonesia's Adhi karya to participate in
    toll road projects
- Indonesia's Adhi Karya posts higher net
    profit in 2005
- Indonesia's Ciputra Development affiliate to list
    on Singapore bourse - report
- Visitors To Singapore Rose 7.8% On Year
    In May - STB
- Indonesia's Lautan Luas establishes 
  chemicals JV in China
- Indonesia Press: South Korea To Develop
    Timber Plantation
- Indonesia Coffee-Prices higher on London
    coffee rally
- Indonesian palm oil producers set to coop with
    rival Malaysia
- Low bids spoil Indonesia Astra Agro
    CPO tender
- Indonesia palm oil prices mixed, soyoil
    helps olein
- Thailand spearheads ASEAN shrimp
    alliance

Bank Indonesia Coy On Future 
Rate Moves, Sees Stronger IDR

JAKARTA, 30 June (Dow Jones)--Bank Indonesia Deputy Governor Aslim
Tadjuddin on Friday dodged substantive comment on whether the central
bank will resume its long-anticipated benchmark rate cuts next week,
but said declining inflation will help boost the rupiah against the
U.S. dollar.

"In my opinion, there are only two options for the central bank's key
rate: to maintain it or to cut it....To raise it certainly is not an
option," Tadjuddin told reporters.

Those comments are merely a statement of the obvious as Indonesia is
currently on a monetary loosening cycle that began in May with a 25
basis points cut in the benchmark Bank Indonesia rate to 12.50%.

Bank Indonesia's Board of Governors will decide whether to adjust the
benchmark rate at its regular monthly monetary policy meeting on
Thursday.

That decision will likely hinge on inflation data for June, due on
Monday. On-year inflation rose to 15.60% in May from 15.40% in April
due to end-harvest-season food price increases. Analysts expect the
benchmark rate to decline in tandem with a decline in on-year
inflation to the single-digit level by the end of 2006. Both JPMorgan
and Citigroup predict the benchmark Bank Indonesia rate will ease to
11.50% by the end of 2006.

Bank Indonesia held its benchmark rate steady in June to help insulate
the rupiah from volatility powered by investor risk aversion toward
emerging markets that contributed to May's 5.5% decline in the value
of the rupiah to the dollar.

The rupiah has yet to recoup those losses.

Tadjuddin said indications from the U.S. Federal Reserve that it could
pause or end its interest rate tightening cycle sent positive signals
to the market and helped ease emerging market volatility.

The U.S. Fed made a widely-expected 25 basis point increase in its
target rate to 5.25% on Thursday but also issued a statement that was
more dovish than its previous comments.

"After the Fed rate increase, almost all global and regional
currencies strengthened," Tadjuddin said.

Tadjuddin said he expected the rupiah to continue to gain traction
against the greenback if the central bank successfully contains
inflationary pressure.

"If we can contain inflation in line with our target, and we can
increase our exports, room for the rupiah to strengthen against the
U.S. dollar is there," he said without providing any specific
forecasts for the rupiah's movements against the U.S. dollar.

Tadjuddin reiterated that Bank Indonesia expects inflation to ease to
below 8.0% on year by the end of this year.

Coordinating Minister for the Economy Boediono said separately Friday
that the country's macroeconomic fundamentals "remain sound" and
unaffected by the U.S. Fed rate hike.

The Indonesian government projects on-year economic growth at 6.20%
for 2006, outpacing the 5.6% expansion last year.

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Indonesia Govt: Primary Retail Dealer Bond Sales On Aug 2

JAKARTA, June 30 (Dow Jones)--Indonesia's government will launch
long-awaited primary retail bond dealer sales on August 2 with an IDR2
trillion, three-year offering, a Ministry of Finance official said
Friday.

The government has selected eight banks and three securities companies
to serve as the primary retail bond dealerships, Rahmat Waluyanpo,
director of debt management of the Ministry of Finance's state
treasury told reporters at a press briefing.

"We are confident (the bonds) will be sold out," Waluyanpo said. [
30-06-06 0455GMT ]

Analysts expect high demand for the bonds because the expected yield
of 12.0%-13.0% would be above current time deposit rates of
11.5%-12.0%.

The bank dealerships include Citigroup's (C) Citibank, Bank Mandiri
(BMRI.JK), Bank Pan Indonesia (PNBN.JK), Bank Bukopin, Bank Permata
(BNLI.JK), Bank Mega (MEGA.JK), and Bank Danamon Indonesia (BDMN.JK),
Waluyanpo said. The securities firm dealerships are Danareska
Securities, Valbury Asia Securities and Trimegah Securities (TRIM.JK).

The offering will mark the first time that Indonesia has directly
marketed bonds to individual investors and reflects the government's
efforts to develop a broader, deeper debt market.

The offering is also a sign that encouragement from supranational
agencies for emerging Asian economies to foster local bond markets is
starting to pay off.

The launch of the primary dealer system aims to boost liquidity in the
local bond market.

Waluyanpo said that the finance ministry has set a minimum purchase of
IDR5 million for the upcoming retail bond issuance and that earnings
from the bonds will be taxed at 20.0%.

That figure compares to a current system in which local bonds, both
corporate and government, go through agents which usually demand
minimum orders of no less than IDR500 million.

The government will proceed cautiously with the initial retail bond
issuance to individual investors, Waluyanpo said, indicating
authorities will watch for excessive speculation that could turn the
market volatile.

"The government will be very prudent in using these kind of bonds," he
said. "Investors shouldn't be nearsighted (when buying bonds)...as
fixed income bonds like this are long-term investments."

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Indonesia protests conditions set by creditors for debt swaps

JAKARTA, June 30 (Asia Pulse/Antara) - Finance Minister Sri Mulyani
said she has lodged a protest against conditions Indonesia's creditors
had set for debt swaps as they were too stringent.

"Until now, trying to obtain a debt swap has been difficult because
the amount available is small whereas we have to meet so many
conditions. This was what I once filed a protest against," Sri Mulyani
said here on Tuesday.

She said the government would try hard to obtain debt swaps as there
was great interest for giving this kind of economic assistance among
European countries.

"I told them if there was an intention to help Indonesia by lightening
its state budget burden through debt swaps, please don't impose too
many conditions on us. So far, conditions set by Germany for debt
swaps are different from those of Sweden and Italy as well as the
others," she said.

These different conditions would make the finance ministry, technical
departments and provincial governments more busy complying with
various requirements whereas the amount to be provided was relatively
small.

The government and international non governmental organizations, were
more interested in asking creditors for harmonization of requirements
in the granting of debt swaps, she said.

"If advanced countries wish to help developing countries most of which
have been trapped in foreign debt, the requirements should be
harmonized and simplified, so that Indonesia and other developing
countries can have easier access," she said.

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Indonesia govt confirms approving Cemex stake sale in Gresik to Rajawali

JAKARTA, June 30 (XFN-ASIA) - State Enterprises Minister Sugiharto
confirmed that the government has approved Cemex SA's deal to sell its
24.9 pct stake in state-run PT Semen Gresik to the Rajawali Group.

"I have signed the government's approval. The rest (of the details) to
be settled are just legal matters," he told reporters.

Daryoto Setyawan, managing director and chief of business development
at Rajawali Group, had earlier disclosed that the government had given
its go-signal to the stake sale.

The closing date of the deal is slated for July 3.

Cemex has agreed to sell its stake to Rajawali for 337 mln usd after a
prolonged dispute with the Indonesian government.

The dispute involved a failed option that should have entitled Cemex
the right to buy an additional 51 pct of Gresik from the government in
2001.

Due to this, Cemex in 2003 filed a 400-500 mln usd arbitration case
against Jakarta at the International Center for the Settlement of
Investment Disputes (ICSID) in Washington.

But with its imminent exit from Gresik, Cemex has agreed to cancel the
arbitration filing.

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Indonesia's Semen Gresik says not so 
optimistic about achieving earnings targets

JAKARTA, June 30 (XFN-ASIA) - Indonesia's largest cement maker PT
Semen Gresik said it is not so optimistic about achieving its earnings
targets for this year amid weak consumption in the domestic market,
finance director Cholil Hasan said.

"We have targeted that sales will exceed 8 trln rupiah this year. But
given the current conditions, we are not so optimistic about achieving
that target," he told reporters after the company's shareholders
meeting.

Semen Gresik posted net profit of 1.02 trln rupiah last year, up
sharply from 508.9 bln in the preceding year, on sales of 7.53 trln
against 5.06 trln.

Semen Gresik sold 16.34 mln tons cement this year, of which 14.28 mln
were sold in the local market.

After first-quarter nationwide cement consumption slumped, Semen
Gresik cut its forecast for nationwide cement sales to a slower growth
of 4.5 pct from the previous bullish projection of 6.0 pct.

The company had been aiming to keep its domestic market share of 45
pct this year.

But the decline in consumption continued until last month. Domestic
consumption in the five months to May shrank 3.0 pct year-on-year to
11.92 mln tons.

"Even if industrywide sales recover in the second half, there is no
growth for the full year. It will be flat or could even go lower,"
company president Dwi Sutjipto said.

Cholil said to address this drop in local sales, Semen Gresik may
raise the share of its cement exports to around 15 pct of total sales
from the initial plan of just 10-13 pct.

He also said that despite the weak demand, Semen Gresik is not
planning to cut cement prices, a stragegy that has been adopted by its
competitors.

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Indonesia Telkom Hldrs Ok 55% Of 05 Net For Div Payment

JAKARTA, June 30 (Dow Jones)--Shareholders of PT Telekomunikasi
Indonesia (TLKM.JK) approved Friday the company's plan to put aside
55% of its 2005 net profit for the dividend payment.

The nation's largest telecommunication company by assets and
subscribers will put aside around IDR4.4 trillion from its 2005 net
profit of IDR7.99 trillion for the dividend payment, a company's
statement issued at a shareholders meeting said.

The figure is equal to around IDR218 a share dividend for 2005.

The company said it will pay the dividend to shareholders registered
as of July 26.

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Indonesia's Indosat to recapture 30 pct of mobile market by year-end

JAKARTA, June 30 (XFN-ASIA) - Indonesia's second largest phone
operator PT Indosat is aiming to take its market share back above 30
pct by the end of this year, after it dropped to 27 pct in the first
quarter, company director Wahyu Wijayadi said.

"We hope to add 3-4 mln new subscribers this year," he told reporters
after a company shareholder meeting late yesterday.

Indosat's mobile subscriber base dropped by 10.7 pct or 1.5 mln people
to 13.0 mln at the end March.

The company also saw its average revenue per user (ARPU) falling 24.4
pct year-on-year to 58,836 rupiah in the first quarter, from 77,816
rupiah a year ago.

The company said it had anticipated such falls and attributed them to
the compulsory registration of prepaid card users and the company's
less aggressive marketing measures.

Indosat's outgoing president Hasnul Suhaimi previously said that the
firm had opted to consolidate, rather than aggressively look for new
customers in the first quarter.

Singapore Technologies Telemedia, thro

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Indonesia United Tractors prepays 10 mln usd debt

JAKARTA, June 30 (XFN-ASIA) - PT United Tractors, a unit of car dealer
PT Astra International, prepaid a 10 mln usd term loan today, reducing
its outstanding debt to 60 mln usd, corporate secretary Tjandrawati
Waas said.

Last October, United Tractors secured a 140 mln usd loan facility for
debt refinancing and as working capital. The debt consisted of a 70
mln usd term loan and a 70 mln revolving loan.

In a statement, Waas said that of the total loan facility, the company
has so far withdrawn 110 mln usd -- 40 mln usd from the revolving loan
and 70 mln usd from the term loan.

"We have made several payments before and after today's prepayment
(and so) the outstanding debt at the parent level is now 60 mln usd,"
she said.

Under the terms of the loan agreement, the repayment period is three
years with an option for this to be extended by two years.

United Tractors is a leading distributor of heavy equipment and
components and is the largest mining contractor in Indonesia. It holds
the exclusive distribution rights for Komatsu heavy equipment
throughout Indonesia.

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Indonesia's Adhi karya to participate in toll road projects

JAKARTA, June 30 (Asia Pulse/Antara) - State-owned construction
company PT Adhi Karya Tbk plans to participate in a number of toll
road development projects in cooperation with foreign investors, its
director for commerce and development, Mohammad Fauzan, said at a
shareholders` meeting here on Thursday.

He said investors from Malaysia and India had showed positive interest
in cooperation with Adhi Karya to implement tollroad projects. "We
will set up a consortium to bid for projects and are ready to put in
participation capital of around 35 percent," he said.

The Malaysian investor to be invited to cooperate was Road Builder
Holding Bhd, he said. He however was not yet able to name the Indian
investor.

Along with the Malaysian investor Adhi Karya recently took part in the
bidding for the 14.7-kilometer Cinere-Jagorawi toll road project worth
Rp1.714 trillion but was defeated by PT Translingkar Kita Jaya.

"Actually we did not lose but because our partner saw that the project
was risky, we withdrew," Fauzan said.

The government had not given certainty regarding the cost of land
clearance for the project that could double figures in the business
plan. "Although the government has agreed to finance 10 percent of the
cost hike, it remains uncertain," he said.

If the government had given certainty regarding the land clearance
problem, Adhi Karya would enthusiastically carry out the project, he
said.

He said the company was now preparing to participate in the bidding
process for a number of projects grouped in Batch II.

In Batch II there are 13 toll road sections to be put up for tender
including the Serpong-Cinere, Jagorawi-Cikampek, Cileunyi-Sumedang,
Medan-Binjai, Semarang-Demak and Manado-Bitung sections.

Adhi Karya`s president director, Saiful Imama, meanwhile said the
company planned to conduct a right issue to increase capital.

"We will conduct a right issue to invest in toll road projects and
cooperate with foreign investors," he said.

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Indonesia's Adhi Karya posts higher net profit in 2005

JAKARTA, June 30 (Asia Pulse/Antara) - The net profit of state
construction company PT Adhi Karya rose to Rp77.92 billion (US$8.65
million) in 2005 from Rp70.49 billion in the previous year.

Its net sales rose to Rp3.03 trillion from Rp2.76 trillion, its
President M. Saiful Imam said after a shareholders general meeting on
Thursday.

Saiful attributed the improvement in performance to success in market
expansion at home and abroad, referring to contracts it won in Middle
East.

The company has been awarded contracts to build Doha City Center
Expansion, Shangri-La Tower valued at US$46 million to be completed in
2007.

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Indonesia's Ciputra Development affiliate to list on Singapore bourse - report

JAKARTA, June 30 (XFN-ASIA) - PT Ciputra Development plans to float on
the Singapore Stock Exchange the shares of an affiliate currently
involved in a joint venture development project in Vietnam, the
company's finance director Tulus Santoso told Bisnis Indonesia.
The joint-venture firm, Citra Westlake City Development, is developing
Ciputra Hanoi International City, a town, located between the Hanoi
City Centre, Noi Bai International Airport and West Lake.

Santoso said that before the listing, Ciputra will acquire the
joint-venture firm, which has estimated assets of 6 trln rupiah.

He said PT Danareksa Sekuritas has been appointed to find ways of
generating the funds for the acquisition, estimated at up to 3 trln
rupiah.

The funding options could include a rights issue or a bond issue, he said.

"The listing of the (would-be) subsidiary firm on the Singapore bourse
is likely to be realised over the next one or two years though the
size of the IPO is yet to be determined," Santoso was reported as
saying after the company's annual shareholders meeting.

He did not reveal the size of the stake the Ciputra Group holds in the
joint venture but said the proceeds of the IPO would be used to
finance the company's overseas expansion.

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Visitors To Singapore Rose 7.8% On Year In May - STB

SINGAPORE, June 30 (Dow Jones)--Singapore had 765,000 visitors in May,
7.8% more than in the same period last year, the Singapore Tourism
Board said Friday.

The top visitor-generating country was Indonesia with 146,000 tourists
visiting the city-state, followed by India, the People's Republic of
China, Australia, and Malaysia.

Chinese tourists increased at the fastest pace, up 24.9% year-on-year.

Total visitor days in May were an estimated 2.6 million, up 6.7% from May 
2005.

Singapore hotels recorded S$117 million in revenue, up 18.8%, aided by
an 18.5% increase in the average room rate to S$158.

The average occupancy rate of hotels fell one percentage point to 82%.

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Indonesia's Lautan Luas establishes chemicals JV in China

JAKARTA, June 30 (Asia Pulse/Antara) - PT Lautan Luas Tbk (LTLS), a
private national company operating as producer and distributor of
chemical products, has established a joint venture company in China
through its subsidiary, Lautan Luas Singapore Pte.Ltd., in cooperation
with a local partner.

Director of Lautan Luas Herman Santoso reported to the chairman of
Bapepam (Capital Market Supervisory Board) here Thursday that the
purpose of establishing of a joint venture company in China is to
strengthen the manufacturing unit of Lautan Luas.

The joint venture company to be named Jiangsu Salt Industry Group,
Hongze Salt Chemical Industry Co.Ltd, is building a factory in Jiangsu
province with an investment of RMB200 million (US$25 million).

With its stockholders Province Salt Company (37 per cent), Yinzhu
Group(28 per cent), Lautan Luas Singapore Pte.Ltd (25 per cent) and
Yinzhu Connected Company (10 per cent), the new firm will produce 700
tons of sodium sulphate anhydrous and 300 tons of refined salt a year
with an investment of RMB359 million.

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Indonesia Press: South Korea To Develop Timber Plantation

JAKARTA, June 30 (Dow Jones)--The South Korean government plans to
develop a 500,000-hectare industrial timber plantation in Indonesia's
Central Kalimantan province, Investor Daily reported Friday, citing a
government official.

The Indonesian and South Korean governments will sign a memorandum of
understanding to formalize the plan July 18, Hadi S Pasaribu, Director
General of Forest Products Development at the Indonesian forestry
ministry, was quoted as saying. Development of the plantation will
begin no earlier than the end of 2006, the report said.

The value of the plantation development, to be funded by investments
from the private sectors of Indonesia and South Korea, was not yet
known, the report said.

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Indonesia Coffee - Prices higher on London coffee rally

JAKARTA, June 30 (Reuters) - Indonesia's robusta coffee prices have
risen in the past weeks, buoyed by a rally in London coffee futures,
despite increasing beans supply as the main crop harvest reached its
peak.

Prices of grade four robusta <COFFEE/ASIA1> in Lampung province in
Sumatra island, Indonesia's key coffee-growing belt, were quoted at
between 10,700 and 10,800 rupiah ($1.15 and $1.16) a kg.

Robusta coffee, which is used in the making of instant coffee, fetched
between 10,000 and 10,200 rupiah a kg early June.

London coffee futures settled off seven-week highs on fund buying on
Thursday with the benchmark September contract <LKDU6> finishing $5
stronger at $1,207 a tonne.

"The rally in coffee futures has driven prices up because normally
prices would fall when supplies are in abundance," said a trader in
Lampung, Indonesia's key port for robusta coffee exports.

Bean supplies from plantations to Lampung port averaged between 800
and 1,000 tonnes a day, up from an average of 500 tonnes in early
June.

But gains in prices have prompted middlemen to hold their stocks in
the hope that prices will rise further.

"Bean supplies are in abundance, but most of them are held by
middlemen hoping to fetch higher prices," said the second trader in
Lampung.

An increase in supply, however, has helped improve export demand,
which had been sluggish due to scarce bean supplies at the start of
the main crop harvest.

"In the past weeks, mostly local roasters were purchasing beans. But
now, everybody has come to the market, including exporters because
there are more beans now," said the first Lampung trader.

Indonesia's is the world's second-largest robusta producer after
Vietnam. Robusta coffee accounts for 85 percent of the country's
coffee output, which is estimated at 315,000 tonnes this year. The
rest is the more expensive arabica coffee.

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Indonesian palm oil producers set to coop with rival Malaysia

JAKARTA, June 30 Asia Pulse - Indonesian palm oil producers said they
are set to carry out a commitment with Malaysian counterparts to work
together to strengthen the position of palm oil.

Malaysia and Indonesia are the world's largest and second largest
producers of crude palm oil (CPO) respectively producing 15.2 million
tons and 14.7 million tons last year.

The association of palm oil companies (Gapkj) said cooperation between
the two countries, seen as rivals in the palm oil market, will be
focused on market intelligence, research, market expansion and joint
efforts to neutralize the impact of negative campaigns against palm
oil.

Agriculture Minister Anton Apriyantono and Malaysian Plantation and
Primary Commodity Minister Peter Chin signed a cooperation agreement
on vegetable oils in Kualalumpur earlier this week.

Gapki chairman Derom Bangun palm oil exports have often been hampered
by negative campaigns linked to environmental issues.

Bangun said the two countries will also cooperate in research to
diversify the uses of palm oil.

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Low bids spoil Indonesia Astra Agro CPO tender

JAKARTA, June 30 (Reuters) - Indonesia's biggest listed plantation
firm, PT Astra Agro Lestari Tbk , failed to sell 5,000 tonnes of crude
palm oil (CPO) at a tender on Friday due to low bids.

Astra Agro said in a statement it offered 1,500 tonnes of CPO at 3,795
rupiah ($0.405) per kg on a free on board basis Buluminung port in
East Kalimantan province on the Indonesian side of Borneo island.

The company offered 3,000 tonnes of high-grade Super CPO at 3,805
rupiah per kg ex-factory Riau and another 500 tonnes at 3,955 rupiah
ex-factory Medan.

On Thursday, Astra Agro sold 5,500 tonnes of CPO out of 7,750 tonnes
on offer, with prices ranging from 3,658 rupiah to 3,805 per kg.

Astra Agro is a subsidiary of the country's biggest automotive
distributor, PT Astra International Tbk .

Separately, the state's marketing centre did not hold any tender due
to thin CPO stocks.

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Indonesia palm oil prices mixed, soyoil helps olein

JAKARTA, June 30 (Reuters) - Indonesian palm oil prices were mixed on
Friday but cooking oil was well-supported by higher soyoil prices,
traders said.

RBD palm olein in Jakarta was quoted at around 4,325 rupiah ($0.462) a
kg, up from between 4,250 and 4,300 rupiah a kg on Thursday.

"Soyoil was up overnight and that helps olein today," said a trader in
Jakarta, adding some 450 tonnes of olein exchanged hands.

On Thursday, July <BON6> soyoil at the Chicago Board of Trade closed
0.37 cent higher at 25.64 cents per lb. In Friday's electronic
trading, the July contract was up by 0.11 cents at 25.75 cents per lb.

Palm oil and soyoil compete for exports and their prices often move in step.

The state marketing centre in Jakarta, which sells palm oil from state
plantations, did not hold a crude palm oil auction on Friday due to
thin stocks, centre director Bagas Angkasa said.

In North Sumatra's Medan, Indonesia's key port for palm oil exports,
crude palm oil inched down to 3,923 rupiah a kg, from 3,932 rupiah a
kg on Thursday, as the rupiah gained against the dollar.

The local currency stood at 9,262 rupiah per dollar late Friday versus
9,362 rupiah per dollar on Thursday.

Disappointing Malaysian palm oil figures also dampened trading
interest for CPO, traders said.

"If (Malaysia) exports were better, there may be a bit of light at the
end of the tunnel," said one trader in Medan.

Cargo surveyor Societe Generale de Surveillance said on Friday exports
of Malaysian oil palm products for June stood at 1,084,333 tonnes,
down 5.4 percent from the 1,146,610 tonnes in May.

On the export front, sellers offered July shipment at $392.5 a tonne
and buyers bid at $387.5 a tonne, but no deals were reported.

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Thailand spearheads ASEAN shrimp alliance

BANGKOK, June 30 (Asia Pulse/ TNA/OANA) - Thailand's Ministry of
Agriculture and Cooperatives is joining with neighbouring countries in
the region to form an ASEAN Shrimp Alliance to promote the sustainable
trade of the seafood product.

Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Khunying Sudarat Keyuraphan said
representatives of shrimp producers and traders from Cambodia,
Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, Philippines and Thailand met
here on Wednesday to form the ASEAN Shrimp Alliance to be a forum for
cooperation to harmonise ASEAN-wide quality standards and a
certification system.

Its purpose is to win recognition among consumers and buyers and to
strengthen the price of the product of the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations (ASEAN) on the world market.

Both ASEAN-region governmental and commercial sectors will take part
in the ASEAN Shrimp Alliance activities, according to Khunying
Sudarat.

In a first step toward establishing the new group, the first meeting
of the Alliance asked Thailand's Fisheries Department and the
Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Centre to study the scope, role,
mandate, possible technical cooperation, trade and industry agreements
within the framework of the Alliance.

The group will meet again on July to review its progress.

Fisheries Department director-general Jaranthada Karnasuta said the
ASEAN Shrimp Alliance website is under construction and would serve as
an information portal on academic, trade and regulatory information
for members.

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Joyo Indonesia News Service
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