China offers $2bn loan to Indonesia for infrastructure investments

The Indonesian trade minister said Saturday that China agreed to lend two billion dollars for investment in Indonesia's infrastructure, reported AFP.

Beijing will give Jakarta $1.8 billion worth of preferential export buyer's credits as well as a concessional loan of $263 million, said the minister, Mari Pangestu, after a meeting with China's Minister of Commerce Chen Deming.

She said Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao would sign the agreement during a visit to Indonesia this month.

Indonesia plans to spend $140 billion in the next five years to improve its poor infrastructure and help it reach an economic growth target of seven percent. The government has said it would aim to attract $90 billion of that total from private investors.

In a related story, the Antara news agency reported that Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao will visit Indonesia, on April 23-24, 2010

"(Chinese Trade Minister Chen Deming) has reconfirmed the visit of the Chinese Premier on April 23-24, to Indonesia, and we are now preparing the agenda," Antara quoted Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Hatta Rajasa as saying Monday.

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