Japan, Indonesia to sign pact on yen loan - Nikkei

Published: 05 Jul 2009 17:06:49 PST

TOKYO, July 6 - Japan and Indonesia are expected to sign an agreement under which Japan would be able to provide a loan of up to 1.5 trillion yen ($15.6 billion) to Indonesia in the event of a financial crisis, the Nikkei newspaper reported on Monday.

The assistance would take the form of a currency swap to help Indonesia in the event of a shortage of foreign currency and could be signed as early as Monday, the newspaper said.

An Indonesian finance ministry source told Reuters last week that Indonesia's finance minister would visit Japan this week to discuss the possible issuance of a yen-denominated bond.

Indonesia has said it plans to issue a samurai bond either this year or next and expected to raise the equivalent of $1.5 billion from the issue. ($1=96.03 Yen)