Batam (ANTARA News) - Some 33 shipyards grouped in the Batam Shipyard Offshore Association (BSOA) have started turning to Karimun islands for their new investment as Batam has already become too full of business activities. "Look, Batam is already full (of business activities)," BSOA chairman Chandra Dahlan said here on Thursday after signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Karimun district administration.

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta: The government has decided to give tax incentives to 15 business sectors by the beginning of next year. The tax relief can be realized because the government has finished revisions of the Governmental Regulation Number 148/2000 concerning Facilities of Income Tax for Capital Investment of Certain Business Sectors and/or Certain Regions.

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta: The World Bank has asked that the government not to stop its direct cash subsidy (SLT) program as compensation for the fuel price rises. The reason for this is that the program is considered as being capable of neutralizing the impact of the price rises. William Wallace, World Bank Senior Economist, said that the direct subsidy is the world's biggest subsidy program. Every family receives US$11 (around Rp100 thousand) per month for the whole three months.

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta: Indonesia is finding it difficult to cooperate with Singapore in handling money laundering. Yunus Husein, Head of the Center of Report and Analyzes of Financial Transaction (PPATK), said that Indonesia has twice proposed the signing of a memorandum of understanding about cooperating with Singapore in handling money laundering. However, the Singaporean governor is yet to respond Jakarta's call up until now.

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta: It is predicted that the United States’ economic growth will be sluggish next year and this will influence Asian economies, including Indonesia’s. “Directly or indirectly, US economic growth influences Indonesia,” said Ian Morris, HSBC’s senior US economist, during a seminar entitled “The End of US Economy Upswing: Its Implication on the Indonesian Economy and Fixed Income Market,” in Jakarta yesterday (14/11).

Indonesia's economy will not only weather the expected global slowdown next year, but will expand by 6.2 percent, the fastest growth rate for 10 years, says the World Bank's latest economic assessment on the country and other Asian nations. The global economy is heading for a downturn in 2007, driven mainly by a slowdown in the U.S., as well as China due to its policy of putting the brakes on its economy so as to prevent it from overheating.

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Indonesian mobile phone service provider PT Telkomsel, a subsidiary of state-owned telecom firm Telkom, expects to gain seven million new customers next year, the company president said Tuesday. "Industry-wide, there would be about 10 to 15 million new cellular phone subscribers next year. We expect to get seven million of that (number)," Telkomsel president, Kiskenda Suriahardja, told XFN-Asia.

From correspondents in Lombok November 14, 2006 06:41pm Article from: AAP BALINESE tour operators have turned the tables on Australia with a new internet ad demanding to know: "Aussie, where the Bali are ya?!". The Indonesian resort island took a massive economic hit when Australian arrivals plunged following the 2002 and 2005 Bali bombings. But they're not taking the trend lying down, producing their own version of Australia's high-profile “Where the Bloody Hell are You?” tourism campaign.

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta: The government has set Ujung Lemah Abang, Murian Peninsula, Central Java, as the location for constructing a nuclear-based electric generating plant. The tender will be offered in 2008 and construction will be carried out in 2011. Head of the National Atomic Power Agency Soedyantoro Soentono said that the location was chosen out of three prepared locations at the Muria Peninsula: Ujung Lemah Abang, Ujung Grenggengan and Ujung Watu.

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta: The Capital Market Supervisory Agency (Bapepam) has affirmed that the step of PT Medco International in taking the Lapindo mudflow case to international arbitration was the bilateral problem between the company and Lapindo Brantas Inc. “Bapepam will not take care of this,” said Head of Bapepam Fuad Rahmany yesterday (11/13) in Jakarta. Up until now, he said, Bapepam has not yet had an official report from the oil and gas company regarding the Panigoro family.

Asking Indra Sosrodjojo, a director of local software company Andal, about business last year only elicited a shrug and the comment, "It's not going anywhere." However, he seemed much happier replying to the same question Monday, "In the future, I see a very significant role for SMEs as market targets. They number around 40 million.

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - A banker has predicted that Indonesia`s economy would continue to grow in 2007 following the lowering six times of Bank Indonesia`s reference rate by 250 base points and the active expansion of banking credits to customers.