JAPAN APPROVES AID FOR INDONESIA, BRAZIL ALUMINIUM Japan's cabinet approved a plan to help financially-troubled aluminium ventures in Indonesia and Brazil, an official at the Ministry of International and Trade Industry (MITI) said. Japan will invest 24 billion yen in <PT Indonesia Asahan Aluminium> in addition to the 68.3 billion yen already invested in the company. The government and private interests will equally share the additional investment, he said. They will also provide equal shares in 6.3 billion yen in new investment in the Albras Amazon aluminium project in Brazil, in addition to the 45.7 billion yen already invested. The Japan Export-Import Bank will cut its rates on loans to Asahan and Albras to about five pct from about seven pct, the official said. Interest rates on loans by Japan's private banks to the two projects are expected to be reduced to around five pct from the current seven to eight pct, but an agreement has yet to be reached, industry sources said. Under the rescue scheme for Asahan, in which 91.1 billion yen has been invested, Indonesia will also extend another 32 billion yen to the company. This will raise Indonesia's investment ratio to about 40 pct from the current 25 pct. The Brazilian government has already agreed to invest an additional 6.5 billion yen in Albras, in which investment now totals 93.2 billion yen, but its stake will not change from 51 pct, the official said. The sources said the rescue programs for the two projects were larger than earlier expected, reflecting Japan's desire to help develop the economies of Indonesia and Brazil and to stabilise sources of aluminium. Japan depends on imports for more than 90 pct of its aluminium demand, which totals some 1.8 mln tonnes a year, they said.