Indonesia says Caterpillar to build new factory worth up to $1 bln

* Denies Indonesian statement that would build new factory

* Existing Indonesian facility employs 200

U.S equipment maker Caterpillar Inc plans to build a new manufacturing plant in Indonesia worth between $500 million to $1 billion of investment, said Gita Wirjawan, Indonesia's investment chief, on Friday.

Wirjawan told Reuters in an interview last year that Caterpillar might pick Indonesia as its Southeast Asian manufacturing base.

But Caterpillar Inc separately denied. Caterpillar said has no plans to build a new factory in Indonesia, a spokesman for the world's largest maker of heavy equipment said on Friday.

"We have not announced, neither to the Indonesian government nor otherwise, that we plan to build a new factory in Indonesia," Caterpillar spokesman Jim Dugan said.

Caterpillar has a factory in Indonesia that employs about 200 people making bulldozers and excavators. "Anywhere in the world where we have a presence there is always a possibility that we could increase our presence in that location, but beyond that there is nothing new to add," Dugan said. Source: Reuters and Reuters1