Nike extends contract with two troubled Indonesian suppliers

    JAKARTA, July 30 (Xinhua) -- Nike Inc. agreed to extend shoe production contract by two years with two Indonesian suppliers to settle conflict that broke when the U.S. sportswear giant planned to cease orders due to quality issues, an executive said Monday.

 ;   "This (the extension) is the best solution between me and Nike," said Hartati Murdaya, who owns local shoe factories PT Hardaya Aneka Shoes Industry (HASI) and PT Nagasakti Paramashoes Industry (NASA).

    Nike earlier planned to stop orders for the two companies by the end of the year, a move that prompted thousands of workers to take to the streets in protest against Nike.

    The two companies together have some 14,000 workers.

    "I first asked (Nike) to retain orders for at least the next 30 months so that we have time to help workers move to other companies. Anyway, this extension is a progress," Murdaya was quoted by leading news website Detikcom as saying.

    She said the two companies got confirmation from Nike over the weekend.

    The Indonesian government has maintained its stance that the dispute was business-to-business and it would not intervene.