Thai white sugar active on RI offtake BANGKOK (Reuters): The Thai white sugar market was active amid offtake from Indonesia and confusion over domestic and export quotas, traders said. The white sugar premiums for March/May delivery edged up to $21.00-25.00 per tonne over London against the bid of $15-17 last week and are seen edging higher. Indonesia has sent ships to pick up substantial amounts of white sugar from Thailand since January.

PDAM Jaya becomes private company JAKARTA (JP): Governor Sutiyoso is scheduled to sign an agreement today to privatize city-owned drinking water company PDAM Jaya, an official said yesterday. "Actually, the privatization was effective as of Feb. 1. So tomorrow (Friday) is only the official inauguration of the deal," Prawoto Danoemihardjo, the city's assistant for administrative and development affairs, said.

Social safety net World Bank president James Wolfensohn was not exaggerating when he told analysts and leaders of non-governmental organizations here on Wednesday that the economic crisis now facing Indonesia has reached the point of life or death. But he also put his money where his mouth is by announcing a World Bank funded crash program, worth US$100 million, to create 75 million work-days of low wage jobs this year, through labor intensive projects.

Stockbrokerages to move from JSX building JAKARTA (JP): A number of stockbrokerages plan to move from the Jakarta Stock Exchange (JSX) building to cheaper offices to escape soaring rental costs. Executives of the securities houses said yesterday the rental fees, set in U.S. dollars, were too expensive for them. The sharp fall in the rupiah against the greenback by over 75 percent since July caused sharp rental fee increases of over 300 percent in terms of rupiah, one of the executives said.

Another lube oil hoarder arrested MAGELANG, Central Java: Police here arrested yesterday one more person suspected of hoarding lubricant oil. Local police chief Lt. Col. Harry Haryanto said the suspect was Tjong Yan, a well-known clove and tobacco businessman. Harry said Tjong had hoarded 359 drums of lubricant oil, or 159 drums more than the man from Magelang arrested Tuesday. Tjong was arrested at his residence with the hoard of lubricant oil worth Rp 215 million (US$21,500), Antara reported.