Indonesia has extended tax breaks on imports of equipment for oil exploration through to next year in a bid to boost investment in the energy sector, a Finance Department statement said. Authorities abolished import tariffs on oil drilling equipment in 2005 after pleas from oil contractors operating in Indonesia. A Reuters report on Tuesday (21/11/06) said the regulation covers drilling and production equipment, plant and machinery, transportation items, building tanks and shop equipment.

The US is "very supportive" of biofuel initiatives, President George Bush said on Monday (20/11/06) during a visit to Indonesia, which is trying to develop that sector as it copes with growing energy demand. Bush and Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said the issue was a major topic in their discussions, and that the US had agreed to help Indonesia with technology in the area. "I am very supportive of bio-fuel initiatives, starting in our own country.

State-owned gas distributor PT PGN said on Tuesday (21/11/06) it plans to invest $400 million developing a compressed natural gas project. The company's corporate secretary, Widyadmiko Bapang, said the project is part of the government's effort to reduce the country's oil product consumption in the face of high oil prices. "We plan to start the project in 2008," Bapang said, according to Reuters.

State-owned PT Pertamina will spend $1.3 billion to build a 40,000 to 50,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) cracking unit at its Cilacap refinery, an official said Wednesday (22/11/06). "The new cracking unit will enable us to shift production from fuel oil to more valuable products, such as gasoline and propylene," Suroso Atmomartoyo, Pertamina's director of processing, was quoted as saying by Dow Jones Newswires.

Indonesia’s mobile telecommunications market is predicted to expand 27% annually in the next four years, with subscribers estimated to reach 155 million in 2010. Sales director of Nokia Networks Asia Pacific, Ashwini Bakshi, said the country’s mobile telecommunications market is unique because the number of subscribers has increased significantly but the operators' average revenue per user (ARPU) has declined.

State-owned steel maker, PT Krakatau Steel, said it will hold talks with a Saudi Arabian company on plans to build a $450 million steel factory in South Kalimantan, Antara reported on Wednesday (22/11/06). Krakatau Steel president Daenulhay said the country's largest steel factory will start negotiations with Al Tuwairqi early next month, after failing to select a strategic partner from among 12 bidders.

The Transportation Department on Monday (20/11/06) announced a plan to build 48 new pioneer ships worth Rp796 billion ($88.4 million) in five years. The department’s Director General for Sea Transport, H Harijogi, said the country has 52 pioneer ships and needs 48 more in the next five years to help speed up economic development in isolated areas, Antara reported.

The Maritime and Fishery Department has offered foreign investors the opportunity to build 25 outer-ring fishing ports valued at Rp15 trillion ($1.66 billion), Antara reported on Tuesday (21/11/06). Six of the port projects have been proposed to the National Development Planning Board to be included in the government's priority list and are set to be financed by foreign loans in 2007, the department’s Director General for Sea Fishing, Husni Mangga Barani, said.

Tokyo (ANTARA News) - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono hinted here on Tuesday that Indonesia might agree to extend the contract on Indonesian liquefied natural gas exports to Japan which would expire in 2011. "Our wish is that we could continue the cooperation after 2011," he said at a joint press conference with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe after the two met at the latter`s office. Yudhoyono said the Indonesian government respected the LNG export contracts that would expire in 2010 and 2011.

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - PT Timah's output of refined tin this year will be above its target of 38,407 tons because of the increased supply of ore from unconventional miners resulting from the government's action last month against illegal smelters, Timah corporate secretary Prasetyo Budi Saksono said.

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - India-based motorcycle producer PT TVS Motor Company will launch two kinds of motorcycle, namely one with a 100-cc engine and another with a 150-cc engine, in Indonesia later this year, a spokesman said here Tuesday.

ACNielsen's methodology is different, they use household expenditure. There is way, way tooooo much guesswork involved with determining individual income like these guys have tried to do... Indonesia's a funny place in this regard; formal, stated income means next to nothing. A TNI General's salary is like Rp3.5 million, but he has somehow "earned" enough to "acquire" 5 luxury Euro cars, a hotel and some pubs...

Do we really understand what life is like for Indonesians in general, who has how much money and what has become of the middle class since the economic crisis of 1997? This report dwells on how much Indonesians are earning and how that defines the boundaries of each socio-economic strata.

TVS Motor Company, India's third largest motorcycle manufacturer, which has just built a plant here, is set to start selling its bikes on the Indonesian market in early 2007. "Initial production at our current plant will start in December," TVS president director B.L.P. Simha said, referring to the US$43-million manufacturing plant in Kerawang, West Java, which is located on a 20-hectare plot of land.

Urip Hudiono, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta State-owned Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI) says it is ready to extend up to Rp 4 trillion (US$439 million) in loans to the agricultural sector, including for the development of biofuel plantations across the country. There are already 24 potential borrowers in the pipeline, managing some 120,000 hectares of oil-palm and sugarcane plantations, BRI president Sofyan Basyir said. "The total amount of loans will be around Rp 3 trillion to 4 trillion.

The central bank's efforts to shape up Indonesia's banking sector seem to be bearing fruit, with the announcement of the industry's latest series of merger and acquisition plans. Four foreign banks have expressed an interest in acquiring small-sized lenders here, Bank Indonesia Deputy Governor Siti C. Fadjrijah told reporters Monday, while five local banks may be on the cusp of merging.

Despite efforts to improve legal certainty under President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's administration, investor trust in the Indonesian legal system remains low. Asrul Sani of the Indonesian Corporate Counsel Association (ICCA) said that given the lack of trust in the local courts and arbitration bodies, many domestic companies preferred to choose international arbitration bodies to resolve their commercial disputes.

Kuala Lumpur (ANTARA News) - Malaysian investment bank Affin said Monday it will raise 308 million dollars in financing for the construction of two geothermal power plants on the island of Java in Indonesia. The power plants will be located in Deing province in central Java and in Patuha province in western Java, the bank was quoted by AFP as saying in a statement.

Kuala Lumpur (ANTARA News) - Genting Bhd said its subsidiary Genting Oil Natuna Pte Ltd (GONPL) has discovered oil in its two offshore exploration wells in Indonesia, named Ande Ande Lumut 2X-R and Ande Ande Lumut 3X. The two wells are part of its three-well offshore drilling program in West Natuna, the company was quoted by XFN-Asia as saying in a filing to Bursa Malaysia.