Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Indonesia will ask Japan to increase its investment in petrochemical and electronic sparepart industries to strengthen the structure of the electronic industrial sector whose products had become major foreign exchange earners, Industry Minister Fahmi Idris said here Wednesday. "Electronic gadgets are among our strategic export commodities although the relevant sparepart industries have yet to be developed," Fahmi said after a post-Idul Fitri gathering at his ministry.

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has urged Indonesia to improve its investment climate to reach its projected economic growth of six to seven percent, ADB Vice President Lawrence Greenwood said in Jakarta on Wednesday. The improvement includes project readiness, change in the Indonesian government`s ways of thinking, consistency in regulation implementation, and market demand adjustments.

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - State electricity company PT PLN needs an investment of US$40 billion until 2015 for the building of power plants, power transmission and distribution lines, a World Bank official has said. Power consumption has been predicted to increase, and thus needs huge investment, Country Director of World Bank in Indonesia, Andrew Steer, said here Wednesday.

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The Central Board of Statistics (BPS) believes that Indonesia has the potential to increase its exports to US$100 billion up to the end of 2006. The exports in 2006 up to September, or three fourths of the year, reached US$73.467 billion, and if in the next three years the exports can reach US$8 billion/month, the exports may reach US$100 billion up to the end of 2006, BPS head Rusman Heriawan said here Wednesday.

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The European Chamber of Commerce and Industry (EuroCham) is interested in making investment in telecommunications and transportation sectors in Indonesia. Those sectors are still relatively new in Indonesia, so they have the potential to develop and look promising for European business actors, EuroCham Vice Chairman Juergen Lagleder said here Wednesday.

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Indonesia's president urged foreign and domestic investors Wednesday to stump up funds to boost the nation's flagging infrastructure sector, arguing that new laws would assure profitability. Some 111 projects worth 19.1 billion dollars are to be offered at the three-day summit opened by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, including 10 "model" projects worth 4.5 billion dollars, according to a statement from the organisers.

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta: The government is considering three alternatives for funding biodiesel projects, said Wimpie S. Tjetjep, Head of the Coordination Team for Alternative Energy Supply and Utilization Program, after a coordinating meeting on the alternative energy program.

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta: The government will not grant special incentives to several of the projects offered in the Infrastructure Conference and Exhibition 2006, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati insisted yesterday (10/31). According to Sri Mulyani, the Department of Finance will refer to Finance Ministerial Regulation Number 38/PMK.01/2006 concerning Guidelines for Controlling and Managing Risks on Infrastructure Supply.

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta: The Indonesian and Japanese governments will sign a cooperation agreement for the Jakarta mass rapid transportation (MRT) project by the end of November. The Japanese government is offering a loan of US$800 million, or around Rp7.2 trillion, with 30 percent project components from Japan, 30 percent from Indonesia and 40 percent to be on an open tender.

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta: Sofyan Wanandi, Head of the National Recovery Committee, said toll road construction projects will be the most difficult projects to be sold. This is because investors are not yet convinced that the government can provide legal certainty as regards land acquisition. Sofyan explained that the matter of land acquisition was actually an old problem in Indonesia, which still could not be solved.

Can-Asia Minerals Inc said it completing lengthy negotiations to acquire a controlling interest in a gold resource property in West Java. The company said in a press release issued Thursday (26/10/06) that it expects to sign an agreement on the acquisition before November 30. The property, owned by a private Indonesian corporation, is estimated to hold 630,000 oz of gold.

Publicly-listed telecommunications company Mobile-8 will extend its network to Sumatra, East Kalimantan, West Kalimantan and Sulawesi, hoping to increase the number of its subscribers to 4 million by the end of 2007, director Hidajat Tjandrajaja said recently. "Today, Fren’s Mobile-8 services only cover Java, Bali and Madura islands," Tjandrajaja was quoted as saying by Antara.

Comments by Malaysian companies ahead of this week’s infrastructure conference suggest they will take a lead in developing projects in the country. Leading law firm Zaid Ibrahim & Co says it will be bringing more than 30 Malaysian companies to the conference, noted that the delegation will include “senior decision makers” from industry, government and international agencies.

in other words all talk and no action ... they can offer as many projects as they want but it's actual delivery that counts.

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The government will offer 111 projects worth 16.74 bln usd at a two-day infrastructure summit that starts today, deputy coordinating minister for infrastructure Suyono Dikun said. He said the main target is to offer 10 projects worth 4.51 bln usd. "For the 10 projects we will issue information memorandum to potential investors at the summit. Hopefully, right after the summit, we can start the bidding process," Dikun told XFN-Asia.