Indonesia's economy appears to be on track again, growing by 5.52 percent in the third quarter ended Sept. 30 from the same period a year earlier on a revival in consumer spending and strong commodity exports, the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) reported Thursday. This is higher than the revised 5.08 percent increase in GDP clocked up during the previous quarter, and the fastest in the past five quarters, or since the third quarter of 2005.

Fadli, The Jakarta Post, Batam With Singapore restricting the growth of its shipbuilding industry due in part to environmental reasons, Batam and Karimun islands are taking advantage by attracting increasing numbers of shipbuilders from the neighboring country. "Batam and Karimun have become the main destinations for Singaporean shipbuilders wishing to relocate.

Growing commercial activity resulting from the overall improvement in the economy appears set to spur demand for office space in Jakarta. In its latest report, Jones Lang LaSalle says the demand for office space is expected to grow in line with increasing activity in such sectors as oil and gas, telecommunications, banking, insurance, and information and technology.

Amid an ambitious government plan to develop the bioenergy sector, a lack of land for growing oil-producing crops and limited fiscal incentives pose significant obstacles to progress, a business group says. Apart from increasing land prices, particularly in densely populated areas like Java, a lack of legal tools for acquiring unproductive land is also a major constraint on the establishment of new plantations.

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Third quarter GDP growth was slightly below estimate partly because growth in private consumption, the largest component of the economy, remained flat, said Lim Su Sian, an economist with Singapore-based DBS. "I think consumer spending remained stable in the quarter but we are optimistic this will change over the next few quarters," she told XFN-Asia.

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - New investment in Indonesia's property market is still dominated by local investors, with foreign interest remaining relatively small, Jones Lang LaSalle said in its Q3 property market report. "As the market is considered to be still in the early stage of a revival, foreign investors prefer to take a wait-and-see approach until they see structural improvement in the economy and the business operating environment, " it said.