0.26 million tons for domestic use. Thats a buch of condoms.....

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta: There is a possibility that the government will set up a new company to be called the Indonesia Bank Holding Company, that will manage the activities of all currently existing state banks. The possibility of setting up this new company is one of the options offered by Sugiharto, the State Minister for State Owned Enterprises SOE, to lower the number of state banks under the single presence banking policy.

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Indonesia needs to reform its regulations on investment and taxation as well as promote liberalization in the manpower sector to lure foreign investors including those from the US, a US buisnesman said.

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The Indonesian Rubber Producers Association (Gapkindo) has predicted that the country`s rubber output in 2007 will drop by 2 to 3 percent from a year earlier because of the high precipitation in the December 2006-February 2007 period. "Because of heavy rains, farmers are reluctant to tap rubber trees," Gapkindo chief Daud Husni said on Monday.

Denpasar (ANTARA News) - A Chinese company in Guangzhou, Dong Fang International Travel Service Co. Ltd , has offered to cooperate in tourism promotion with Badung district in the Indonesian island resort of Bali, a local official said. Badung district chief AA Gde Agung spoke about the offer after receiving a visiting team from the Dong Fang International Travel Service led by the company`s vice general manager, Lin Die Liang. At the meeting.

The local government of the Riau Islands province plans to ask for ownership in oil and gas fields being developed in its Natuna Sea area, amid ongoing contract negotiations for the D-Alpha block. Besides the particular gas-rich block, the contract for which the Indonesian government had recently terminated with U.S. oil giant ExxonMobil, other fields currently being developed by foreign operators Conoco Oil, Premier Oil and Star Oil will also fall under the planned scheme.

Downstream oil and gas regulator, BPH Migas may give state oil firm PT Pertamina exclusive rights to supply and distribute subsidized oil products in 2007 as private firms do not have the necessary network, its chief said Tuesday (7/11/06). "There is no other firm so far to meet BPH MIGAS’ criteria to become a supplier and distributor of subsidized oil products, except Pertamina," Tubagus Haryono was quoted as saying by Reuters.

Indonesia is seeking investors to build a plant to supply coal steam to the Bontang liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility that uses natural gas to generate electricity, Mines and Energy Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro said on Thursday (9/11/06). The move aims to boost LNG production in Indonesia, the world's top LNG exporter, which has failed to meet its contractual commitments to traditional buyers such as Japan, South Korea and Taiwan because of a slump in production.

State construction company PT Adhi Karya expects to post a 65% increase in its net profit next year as the company will sign more projects, president director Saiful Iman said Wednesday (8/11/06). Adhi Karya's net profit is likely to reach Rp150 billion ($16.48 million) next year compared to an expected Rp91 billion this year “as we have more (projects)", Iman said, according to Reuters.

State-owned toll road firm PT Jasa Marga said it has postponed a planned Rp2 trillion ($219.6 million) initial public offering to the first quarter of 2007. The firm said in September it planned to list 15% of its shares on the Jakarta Stock Exchange in November to raise funds to finance the construction of some toll roads. But a company official said on Wednesday (8/11/06) it has yet to receive parliamentary approval for the offering, Reuters reported.

The Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) is planning to revamp the way it records the flow of investment into the country so as to better reflect what is actually happening. "The current system is inaccurate," BKPM chief, M Luthfi said Monday (6/11/06), according to The Jakarta Post.

Indonesia’s efforts to get delayed infrastructure projects off the ground inched forward as foreign and local investors at the recent infrastructure conference were encouraged by a government pledge to offer financial backing for private investors in state-sponsored ventures, The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday (6/11/06).

The consumer confidence index rose to 98.1 points in October, its highest mark in 14 months, up from 96.1 points in September, a central bank survey showed Wednesday (8/11/06), according to Agence France-Presse. The confidence index, which indicates respondents' optimism about the economy, last stood above 100 points in June last year. The two components of the index -- the present condition index and consumer expectation index -- both rose in October.

The Jakarta Stock Exchange continues to hit new highs, with the composite index hitting a new record on Friday (10/11/06) after Bank Indonesia (BI) dropped its key rate by 50 points to 10.25%. The composite index rose to 1,673.125 before falling off to close at 1,664.837. Interest was driven by buying in telecommunication and mining blue chips, dealers said.