OPIC, RI to negotiate payment terms in Nov.

US agency Overseas Private Investment Corp. (OPIC) and Indonesian officials have scheduled talks in November to negotiate terms for Indonesia to pay a US$290 million insurance claim for a power plant project, OPIC President and Chief Executive Officer George Munoz said.

"We have a schedule (to talk) in New York in a few weeks. We hope to have a serious dialog," Munoz told Reuters on Sunday. "We are confident enough to come to (a settlement)," said Munoz, who spoke here at a meeting with US mortgage executives at the annual Mortgage Bankers Association of America (MBA) to encourage them to help developing countries to develop their home finance markets.

OPIC is a US government agency that insures and offers financing for private US investments in developing countries.

OPIC is seeking to collect US$290 million from Indonesian state utility Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) when PLN refused to pay for electricity from a power plant built by CalEnergy, a unit of MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co., and suspended a contract to build another plant.

Last year, an arbitration court ordered Indonesia to pay US$572 million in compensation to CalEnergy. When it refused to compensate CalEnergy, OPIC - which insured the two power projects - paid MidAmerican US$290 million. (*)