Indonesian Political, Business & Finance News

Archive: 22 June 1998

44 articles found

TV today

TV todayTVRI 12:05 p.m. World Cup Soccer (rerun) 2:00 News: Berita 14 2:35 TV Series: The Big Valley 3:05 Talk Show: Sebaiknya Anda Tahu 3:30 TV Drama: Hari Pertama 4:00 Regional News 4:30 Creative Program: Karya Kita 5:00 Indonesian Lessons 5:30 Education Quiz: Tangkas Cermat 6:00 News: Lintasan...

Malaysia seeks $700m loan

Malaysia seeks $700m loan KUALA LUMPUR (Dow Jones): Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has said the country is seeking a further $700 million in funding from the World Bank, local newspapers reported yesterday."We need a lot of money to kickstart the economy... $700 million, maybe $1 billion.

Shoemaker mulls court's decision

Shoemaker mulls court's decision JAKARTA (JP): A shoe company producing Nike footwear is considering whether to meet the demands of 19 former employees who a court awarded compensation and instructed the company to reemploy, a company executive said.

PLN office extends bill deadline

PLN office extends bill deadline YOGYAKARTA: The Yogyakarta branch office of state-owned electricity company PT PLN has extended the deadline for the payment of May bills from June 20 to June 30.Local PLN office head Isharmanto made the decision after holding a hearing with the provincial council...

Thailand, RI hold talks on rice deal

Thailand, RI hold talks on rice deal BANGKOK (Reuters): Thailand is holding talks to export 500,000 tons of rice to Indonesia in 1998 under a barter deal to help the nation feed its people as they try to cope with a crippling financial crisis, a newspaper said on Saturday.

Deutsche giant eyes TOT

Deutsche giant eyes TOT BANGKOK (DPA): Deutsche Telecom and several other foreign communications giants have expressed a keen interest in gaining a stake in the Telephone Organization of Thailand (TOT) -- a state monoply, reports said Saturday.

Prointegration leader backs referendum

Prointegration leader backs referendum JAKARTA (JP): A Portugal-based East Timorese leader who supports the territory's integration into Indonesia believes Jakarta should have nothing to fear from a referendum in the former Portuguese colony.

Bogor farmers deny land dispute

Bogor farmers deny land dispute BOGOR (JP): Some 100 people claiming to be Rancamaya residents staged a sit-in on the street near 257 hectares of disputed land on Saturday, objecting to a protest by another group.

RI economy shows progress: Fisher

RI economy shows progress: Fisher SAO PAULO (Agencies): Indonesia, which has been the hardest hit during the most recent wave of the Asian crisis, is showing promising progress, IMF's First Deputy Managing Director Stanley Fischer said over the weekend.

Training for Irian tribes

Training for Irian tribes FAKFAK, Irian Jaya: Experts from Cendrawasih University in Irian Jaya have joined the provincial administration in implementing a training program to improve the skills of tribespeople in the regency.

Police say Hindoro's death an accident

Police say Hindoro's death an accident JAKARTA (JP): The city police announced Saturday it believed the death of former Bank Perniagaan commissioner Hindoro Budianto, 52, was purely an accident.The deputy chief of the city police detective unit, Lt. Col.

Dormant trading likely to stay on local market

Dormant trading likely to stay on local market JAKARTA (JP): Trading activities in the country's paralyzed stock market will remain lethargic this week with the benchmark price index likely to sink further below the key-400 point level again, stock analysts and brokers have said.

Yen loans to RI eased

Yen loans to RI eased TOKYO (Dow Jones): Japan will reduce the interest rate on yen loans to Indonesia to help ease liquidity pressures on the Southeast Asian country, government officials said in the Nihon Keizai Shimbun's Sunday edition.

At 471, Jakarta turns a black page in its history

At 471, Jakarta turns a black page in its history JAKARTA (JP): The accent is on the subdued as the city marks its 471st anniversary today. Despite the absence of grand celebrations, the annual Jakarta Fair -- a mainstay of the anniversary's commemoration -- will go on even despite a postponement...

ADB praises Japan's overtures to Asia

ADB praises Japan's overtures to Asia TOKYO (Reuters): A senior official from the Asian Development Bank said "excellent signals" were sent from Japan at Saturday's meeting of finance officials from the Group of Seven (G-7) and Asian nations.

G-7, Asia tell Japan to swiftly fix economy

G-7, Asia tell Japan to swiftly fix economy TOKYO (Agencies): Top financial officials from the Group of Seven (G-7) nations and Asia on Saturday turned up the heat on Japan to boost its flagging economy saying concrete action was "urgently needed".

Washington has no qualms on Sintong's appointment

Washington has no qualms on Sintong's appointment WASHINGTON (Agencies): Indonesian President B.J. Habibie's decision to appoint a retired general who oversaw troops that killed protesters in East Timor to a top advisory position will not harm Indonesia's relations with the United States, AP...

Misfortune never comes alone

Misfortune never comes alone During my spare time, I muse over the past, present and future of our daily life. In the pre-July 1997 era, it seems to me that life was good, everything was plain sailing. Then came the debacle of the exchange value of the rupiah against the U.S. dollar.

PWI unimpressed with new press guidelines

PWI unimpressed with new press guidelines JAKARTA (JP): The chairman of the Indonesian Journalists Association (PWI) has urged Minister of Information Muhammad Yunus Yosfiah to scrap a new decree that empowers the government to freeze the publishing licenses of newspapers and magazines.

Asia-Pacific free trade plan in limbo

Asia-Pacific free trade plan in limbo KUCHING, Malaysia (Reuters): A Pacific Rim trade liberalization plan is being held up by several countries which are unwilling to accept deadlines to open their economies, delegates to a regional meeting said on Saturday.

Trisakti observes death of students

Trisakti observes death of students JAKARTA (JP): More than 200 students congregated at Trisakti University in Grogol, West Jakarta, Saturday evening to mark the 40th day of the death of four of the university's students in a police shooting at the campus on May 12.

Mexico says Nigeria, RI cheated on oil cuts

Mexico says Nigeria, RI cheated on oil cuts MEXICO CITY (Reuters): Mexico's Energy Minister Luis Tellez on Friday said Indonesia, Nigeria and probably Iran had not complied with their pledged oil production cuts in March's Riyadh pact.

Heidelberger's cement bid

Heidelberger's cement bid JAKARTA (JP): Germany's cement producer Heidelberger Zement AG has not submitted its bid proposal for part of the government's 65 percent stake in the publicly listed cement producer PT Semen Gresik, according to the office of the state minister of empowerment of state...

Openness key to killing rumors

Openness key to killing rumorsBy Mochtar Buchori JAKARTA (JP): Armed Forces Commander Gen. Wiranto made an appeal to the public recently not to believe the rumors that have been making the rounds in society.

Fuel consumption rises

Fuel consumption rises JAKARTA (JP): The country's fuel consumption rose by 4 percent this month despite an increase in fuel prices by between 25 percent and 71 percent, Minister of Mines and Energy Kuntoro Mangkusubroto announced.

Small and medium firms want debt rescheduling

Small and medium firms want debt rescheduling JAKARTA (JP): A group of small and medium-scale businesses under the Reformed Entrepreneurs Forum (FPR) has agreed to form a committee to resolve their unpaid matured debts to domestic banks.

Govt urged to scrap decrees on Sukarno

Govt urged to scrap decrees on Sukarno JAKARTA (JP): The children of the late Sukarno, the country's independence proclamator and first president, is calling on the government to revoke two 30-year-old decrees which slapped their father with the stigma of being a "political detainee".

KPC plans to sell part of its shares

KPC plans to sell part of its shares JAKARTA (JP): PT Kaltim Prima Coal (KPC) has no choice but to sell part of its shares through private placement to fulfill a mandatory divestment program, a senior official has said.

Reforestation funds rerouted to other uses

Reforestation funds rerouted to other usesBy Sylvia Gratia MN JAKARTA (JP): The government has raised trillions of rupiah in reforestation funds to finance the country's reforestation projects, but much of the money has been rerouted to other uses.

Poor private schools likely to face difficult times

Poor private schools likely to face difficult timesBy Stevie Emilia JAKARTA (JP): Haryadi was unhappy when the government announced two weeks ago the abolition of tuition fees at state schools.It is easy to understand his disappointment. His two children are both studying at private schools.

Official in hot water over protest

Official in hot water over protest AMBON, Maluku: Maluku Governor M. Saleh Latuconsina has said he would discipline a provincial official who allegedly helped organize a protest march on the Tual council on Wednesday.

Riots tell of need for a learning society

Riots tell of need for a learning societyBy Iwan Pranoto BANDUNG (JP): The chaos in Jakarta and Surakarta several weeks ago cannot be erased easily from memory. It was so terrible.Most of the victims were Indonesian citizens of Chinese descent. They were mobbed and tortured.

RI nets $4.6m in orders

RI nets $4.6m in orders JAKARTA (JP): Indonesian fisheries have received orders worth US$4.6 million during their participation in the Fish'98 Int'l and Sea Food Europe held in Germany recently.The National Agency for Export Development said over the weekend the orders came from European countries,...

Forbes lists Soeharto as billionaire with US$4b

Forbes lists Soeharto as billionaire with US$4b NEW YORK (AP): Microsoft's chairman Bill Gates topped Forbes magazine's rankings of the world's richest billionaires for the fourth straight year, as his net worth jumped 40 percent from a year ago to US$ 51 billion.

Analysts say strip Soeharto's 'powers'

Analysts say strip Soeharto's 'powers' JAKARTA (JP): Political observers have recommended the prompt removal of any political and economic powers that former president Soeharto might still have, including in the ruling Golkar political organization, to prevent him from making a political comeback.

SMF denies accusations of fraudulence

SMF denies accusations of fraudulence JAKARTA (JP): The publicly listed multifinance firm PT Sinar Mas Multifinance (SMF) has denied allegations that its president, and the vice president of brokerage firm PT Layang Mega Securities (LMS), were involved in a massive fictitious share transaction...

Italian arrested

Italian arrested JAKARTA (JP): Central Jakarta Police have arrested a 35-year- old Italian national for allegedly passing off counterfeit American dollars to a local trader.Central Jakarta Police chief Lt. Col.

Minister Akbar installs new inspectors for Habibie

Minister Akbar installs new inspectors for Habibie JAKARTA (JP): Minister/State Secretary Akbar Tandjung has installed four inspectors-general for development and has asked that they all report to him before going to President B.J. Habibie.

Mahathir says he is 'relieved' by Anwar's support

Mahathir says he is 'relieved' by Anwar's support KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters): Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said yesterday that he was "relieved" after hearing a pledge of support at a party convention by his deputy and appointed successor, Anwar Ibrahim.

Beware of the old forces

Beware of the old forces Sometimes it seems we are perpetually kept in the game of guessing who said what and why they said it.When the Armed Forces (ABRI) warned the nation on Friday against a possible comeback of "old political forces", every thinking Indonesian could easily understand that the...

Policy on bank capital falls short: Analysts

Policy on bank capital falls short: Analysts JAKARTA (JP): The government's decision to ease bank capital requirements will not be enough to solve the country's banking problem, analysts say.Pande Raja Silalahi, an economist at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), said...

Residents protest reopening of hotel

Residents protest reopening of hotel TANGERANG (JP): About 200 residents of Kadu village in Curug district stormed Transelindo Hotel here Thursday, protesting the management's plan to reopen the hotel after it was damaged during the May 14 riot.

Humans move in in fume mystery

Humans move in in fume mystery BANGKOK (AP): Human "sniffers" will be employed where technology has failed to trace the source of toxic fumes plaguing a school in Thailand's Eastern Seaboard industrial area, a newspaper reported yesterday.

Ex-convict denies instigating riots

Ex-convict denies instigating riots JAKARTA (JP): An ex-convict has denied an allegation made by security forces that he was one of the organizers of the violent mid-May riots, which claimed thousands of lives and caused huge material losses.