Negotiations between Indonesia and foreign businesses over the rescheduling of Indonesian firms' massive foreign debts is expected to bear some fruit, the head of Japan's banking industry said Tuesday.
Satoru Kishi, chairman of the Japan Federation of Bankers Associations, told a regular news conference that he believes the new government of President Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie is committed to carrying out economic reforms with the help of such institutions as the International Monetary Fund.
Talks between international bankers and Indonesia had been scheduled to take place in Frankfurt beginning Tuesday, but were postponed due to the recent social and political unrest in the Southeast Asian nation. "Negotiations will resume (in Germany) as soon as things calm down, and (given the Indonesian government's position) I feel there will be some degree of progress once the talks are restarted," Kishi said.