TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta: The government prioritizes the increase of investment at border areas in Eastern Indonesia. This program is being carried out through sub-regional economic cooperation with Brunei Darussalam, the Philippines and Malaysia.

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The Indonesia-Japan Joint forum has agreed to increase Japanese private investment in Indonesia with priority to four industries, namely the electronics, automotive, textile/clothing and support industries.

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The Indonesian Cooperatives Council (Dekopin) rejects foreign investors` involvement in the development of oil palm, castor oil and other plantations in Indonesia to avoid foreign domination of land cultivation in the country. "Millions of hectares of land have been entrusted to foreign investors, and under the bio-energy program five million ha of land have been offered to foreign investors," Dekopin Chairman Adi Sasono told the press here early this week.

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Bank Indonesia (BI) would continue paying close attention to market developments to anticipate capital outflow following the central bank rate`s further decline to 10.25 percent, an official said. A capital outflow occurred in the second week of last September after the central bank lowered its rate to 10.75 percent, BI`s Strategic Planning Directorate head and spokesperson Budi Mulya said here Tuesday.

Nowadays, franchising is no longer synonymous with overseas brands. In fact, there is an increasing number of local players using franchising to expand their businesses. Indeed, a number of indicators show that the expansion of local franchise businesses is exceeding that of their foreign counterparts in terms of growth and quantity.

PT International Nickel Indonesia (Inco) said Monday (30/10/06) its net profit nearly doubled to $124.6 million in the third quarter of the year from $62.4 million a year earlier due to higher nickel prices. Sales during the July to September period rose to $307.6 million from $219.4 million a year before. Meanwhile, net profit increased to $247.9 million during the January to September period from $211.1 million a year earlier. Sales rose to $748.1 million from $653.7 million.

PT Telkom posted a better-than-expected 82% rise in quarterly net profit on Tuesday (31/10/06) on strong performance by its mobile unit, which is seen driving growth for the rest of the year, Reuters reported. Telkom, with a market capitalization of about $18 billion, booked a net profit of Rp3.4 trillion ($373.8 million) for the July to September period, compared to Rp1.87 trillion in the year-earlier period.

Indonesia sought to reassure investors attending a key infrastructure summit that the government is fighting hard to end corruption and slash red tape in the country. Hundreds of foreign and domestic investors attended the event at which 111 projects worth $19.1 billion were offered in an urgent bid to rejuvenate the nation's crumbling infrastructure.

The three-day infrastructure conference received a ‘positive response’ from international investors, Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Boediono said Thursday (2/11/06), the second day of the conference. Government officials said interest was strong and that while far less projects were offered than at the first conference early last year, they were far better prepared. "With this conference we regain the momentum to boost the development of our infrastructure.

Indonesia's efforts to protect intellectual property rights have finally borne fruit, as the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced an upgrade of the country's status in the fight against piracy Monday. The Special 301 review, an annual process conducted by the U.S. government that assesses the state of protection of intellectual property rights in countries around the world, states that Indonesia has demonstrated solid progress in strengthening its intellectual property regime.

Ridwan Max Sijabat, The Jakarta Post, Soroako, South Sulawesi Raising the legal minimum wage by around 10 and 15 percent in Jakarta and West Java will not be enough to improve conditions for low-income workers next year, unions say. A new, unmarried full-time worker in Jakarta will now be legally entitled to receive at least Rp 900,000 (US$98.7) a month, a 9.95 percent increase in the minimum wage from the current Rp 819,100.

Nowadays, franchising is no longer synonymous with overseas brands. In fact, there is an increasing number of local players using franchising to expand their businesses. Indeed, a number of indicators show that the expansion of local franchise businesses is exceeding that of their foreign counterparts in terms of growth and quantity.

Corruption in Indonesia? NOOOOOO!!!!......... Here's what I learned about corruption in Jakarta; don't go around in a Silver Bird after 9pm! I know, it's just the tip of the iceberg...

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Corruption is still seen as endemic in Indonesia despite a high profile war against graft, a new survey shows. The country ranks among the world's most corrupt nations despite President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's pledge to eradicate graft, Transparency International (TI) said on Monday. The survey of perceived corruption in 163 nations puts Indonesia at 130th place, alongside countries such as Azerbaijan and Zimbabwe.

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta: Foreign investors are only interested in one out of all the projects that the Department of Transportation offered at the Indonesia Infrastructure Conference and Exhibition 2006 last week in Jakarta. These investors include Indonesian International Container Services Inc from the Philippines, West Port of New Zealand and Natexis Bank of America.

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta: PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia Tbk (Telkom) will take part in the fiber optic network construction tender valued at US$1.5 billion, or around Rp13.65 trillion, which will be offered in October of next year. Managing Director of Telkom Arwin Rasyid said that he is still examining the best model for the company to take part in the tender.