TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta: The Palapa Ring project, a fiber optic network construction connecting all areas in Indonesia that is worth US$1.517 billion, is not viable. Spokesman of the Directorate General of Post and Telecommunication at the Information and Communication Department, Gatot S. Dewa Broto, said investors regard Indonesia as not having a clear format in developing the telecommunication industry.

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta: The President's decision on High Rise Construction instructs related ministers to eliminate all kinds of tax to make a success out of construction of 1,000 towers. This program is important to overcome the problems of public housing and traffic jams in major cities, which cause inefficiency and loss of productivity. Vice President Jusuf Kalla said the tax cut is given to the first 1,000 towers that are built.

PT Infomedia Nusantara, a telephone directory publishing company, plans to invest Rp 125 billion (US$13.7 million) next year, with 80 percent of the money going on the development of the firm's contact-center business. "The growth of our core business, Yellowpages, only amounted to 8 percent in 2006. Therefore, next year we will focus on our contact-center business. "We expect that this business will contribute up to 50 percent of our revenue," said M.

The government seems likely to issue a long awaited regulation next year allowing non-nationals a restricted right to own some forms of real property, such as apartments, in a move that is expected to further fuel the growing property market, Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) chairman Muhammad S. Hidayat said Friday in Jakarta.