Hopewell in pact to sell power plant

Hong Kong-based Hopewell Holdings Ltd?s chairman Gordon Wu said on Thursday that the company has reached a provisional agreement with the Indonesian government to sell its interest in a stalled power station project, Reuters news agency reported.

Wu told reporters at a construction conference in Hong Kong that Hopewell would sell its 80-percent stake in the Janjung Jati B project to the Indonesian government, which would get a soft loan to finance the acquisition.

Wu declined to give further details but said the sale, which would finally resolve one of the nagging disputes concerning Hopewell?s infrastructure projects in Southeast Asia, would be a ?win-win loss? for the company.

?The only question now is whether the company will recover the investment in full, although management expects to get about US$200 million back,? Kim Eng Securities analyst Mark Po quoted by Reuters as saying.

The company made a provision of HK$4.4 billion (US$564 million) against the cost of its investment in the project in its 1997/1998 results.

Tanjung Jati B power station, once completed, will have a generating capacity of 1,320 megawatts and is located in Central Java, Indonesia. (*)