NEWSWEEK 10 September 2007 Letters to the Editor A Debt Honored in Indonesia Your July 23 Article "Ties That Bind" may be read to incorretly suggest that Sjamsul Nursalim has not fully honored a debt to the Indonesian goverment agency IBRA. Nursalim has fully repaid IBRA. He entered into a settlement agreement with IBRA, which was represented by financial and legal consultant from five internationally renowed firms. The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund gave the Indonesian Authorities their blessing for the settlement agreement at the time. After a transfer of assets pursuant to that agreement, IBRA confirmed in writing that Nursalim had fully honored all his obligations. He was also given a relese and discharge letter signed by the minister of Finance. IBRA later sold those assets. Nursalim had no involvement in the timing of those sales or the amounts that IBRA accepted for those assets. The economic turmoil that swept Indonesia adversely affected the value of the assets, one of which, the World's Largest Integrated Shrimp Farm, had to be sold at a significant discount because of the social unrest and lawlessness that overran it. Nursalim's family began investing in Singapore in the 1930s, building up diverse business operations, including listed holdings, over the years. It was only later, in the 1960s, that he invested actively in Indonesia, in the process pledging Singaporean assets for that purpose. In view of this, and the fact that he has fully honored his obligations, the statement that his operations have "decamped" to Singapore is, in our view, misleading Jeannette Amanda Vice President, Corporate Communications Gajah Tunggal Group Jakarta, Indonesia