By PIERRE TRAN
PARIS — Indonesia, a regional power building its military capability through foreign loans, is seeking a loan to pay for four Thales missile batteries worth more than £100 million (US $167 million), a European banker said.
Regional powers Indonesia and Brazil are seen as potentially big borrowers as the governments try to raise money on the open market to buy arms, while Western firms rely on exports to survive a domestic downturn.
Indonesia’s Finance Ministry aims to raise an “international financial credit” to fund an order for a ForceSHIELD system of vehicle-mounted missiles and radars, to be built in Britain and France, the bank executive said.
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