system qw{/path/to/soffice -invisible},
  qq{"macro:///Standard.Converters.SaveAsDoc($(in),$(out))"};

##</code><code>##

REM  *****  BASIC  *****

Sub SaveAsDoc( inFile, outFile )
    inURL = ConvertToURL( inFile )
    oDoc = StarDesktop.loadComponentFromURL( inURL, "_blank", 0, (_
        Array(MakePropertyValue( "Hidden", True ),))


    outURL = ConvertToURL( outFile )
   
    oDoc.storeToURL( outURL, Array(_
        MakePropertyValue( "FilterName", "MS Word 97" ),)
    oDoc.close( True )

End Sub

Function MakePropertyValue( Optional cName As String, Optional uValue ) As com.sun.star.beans.PropertyValue
    Dim oPropertyValue As New com.sun.star.beans.PropertyValue
    If Not IsMissing( cName ) Then
        oPropertyValue.Name = cName
    EndIf
    If Not IsMissing( uValue ) Then
        oPropertyValue.Value = uValue
    EndIf
    MakePropertyValue() = oPropertyValue
End Function