TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta: Around 500 workers took part in a rally held by the Workers Criticism Alliance (ABM) joined in in front of the State Palace, Jalan Merdeka Utara, Jakarta, yesterday (16/12). They demanded that the government get rid of the existing regional wage system and replace it with a national wage system. “Revoke the regulations regarding about provincial and regency minimum wages and replace them with a national wage system,” Anwar Ma'ruf, ABM Coordinator, told Tempo.

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta: ExxonMobil Oil Indonesia Inc. has stated that it rejects Pertamina's plan to produce gas earlier than oil from the Cepu field. The reason given by this United States oil company was that the amount of gas reserves at this field is not yet known exactly. Maman Budiman, the spokesperson for ExxonMoil Oil Indonesia Inc., said that to produce gas from Cepu, further exploration was needed.

"The statement said the move was part of government reforms aimed at strengthening the sector." ---- Nothing to do with Mr Bakrie holding a senior position in government then? Maybe it's some sort of reward following his high level of performance and integrity during the mudflow crises!

State-run electricity company, PT PLN, will host a tender for bidders interested in the construction of 30 coal-fired power plants with a combined capacity of 3,100 MW later this month. The 30 power plants, located outside Java, are expected to operate in two to three years, the company's representative, Yogo Pratomo, said Thursday (14/12/06), according to Xinhua. The whole project is estimated to cost $2.5 billion.

Bank consolidation efforts got a boost on Monday (11/12/06), with a senior central bank official confirming stake sales in local operations to foreign investors from China, India and Australia. Relatively lenient regulatory restrictions on the size of foreign bank stakes are also a potent lure, said Adrian Chee, Standard & Poor's financial services director. Bank Indonesia (BI) allows foreign investors to own up to 99% in domestic banks.

Indonesia has given mobile phone firm, PT Bakrie Telecom, currently operating only in some cities on Java, a license to operate nationally, the communications department said on Wednesday (13/12/06). "PT Bakrie Telecom will get three channels nationally," the department said in a statement, referring to three frequency channels that could be used by the mobile operator, Reuters reported. The statement said the move was part of government reforms aimed at strengthening the sector.

The country's largest mobile phone operator, PT Telkomsel, said it will build 5,000 more base transceiver stations (BTS) to expand its coverage in 2007. Currently, the subsidiary of state-owned telecommunications provider PT Telkom already has 15,000 BTS. Telkomsel will set aside $1.5 billion in capital expenditure to finance the construction of the new BTS, company president, Kiskenda Suriahardja, was quoted as saying by Antara. Telkomsel’s subscribers numbered 32.5 million last month.

Chinese entrepreneurs will explore the possibility of building a precious stone center and selling jewelry in Bali, Industry Minister Fahmi Idris said recently. "I don't have any objection to the Chinese investors' plan so long as they train our precious stone craftsmen to develop specific Indonesian products," Idris was quoted as saying by Antara. He did not name the investors, but said they will come to Indonesia in March.

Milk processing company, PT Nestlé Indonesia, will invest $80 million to expand the capacity of its factory in Pasuruan, East Java from 50,000 tons to 93,000 tons a year, senior Industry Department official Imam Haryono said. The company is seeking support from its parent company in Switzerland, Haryono said, according to Antara. He said the factory needs to be expanded as it already operates almost at full capacity, while demand continues to increase.

Sun Business Network Ltd (SBN) said it will buy Maestro Mind International Ltd, a holding company that owns 95% of mobile content developer PT Monstermob Indonesia (PMTI) for $6.2 million, XFN-Asia reported. “PTMI will help us penetrate the rapidly expanding Indonesian mobile media industry,” SBN's managing director, Ricky Ang, said in a statement. “We are confident that PTMI will contribute significantly to our business in the years to come,” he added.

Consumers were optimistic about the economy in November for the first time after more than a year of continued pessimism about the economy, a central bank survey showed on Monday (11/12/06). The consumer confidence index rose 3.5 points to 101.6 in November from 98.1 in October. A reading above 100 means consumers are optimistic about the future. The last time it was positive was when it read 101.7 in June last year.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono warned on Monday (11/12/06) against moves to slow down the anti-corruption campaign, but said stakeholders should avoid excesses in the fight to root out graft. He said authorities should respect the principle of presumption of innocence and avoid issuing accusations or conducting investigations based on insufficient information. "In the first five years of a massive anti-graft campaign, one always encounters problems, stagnation, even fear, everywhere.

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Flag carrier PT Garuda Indonesia said that it had met creditors, floating rate notes holders in particular, in Singapore on Friday. "Apart from explaining the company`s financial performance and operation, we also reported our plans and debt restructuring," Garuda president Emirsyah Satar said in a press release. In line with the debt restructuring, Garuda continues to pay consistently the interest of the debt, including the payment to airplane leasers.

The country has lost over Rp 219 billion (some US$24.3 million) in potential tax revenue annually because of counterfeiting, research by the Institute for Economics and Social Research at the University of Indonesia (LPEM-UI) has shown. "The illegal products are sold at the same prices as the genuine ones.

Nani Afrida and Ridwan Max Sijabat, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh The Aceh-Nias Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Agency (BRR) has failed to meet this year's targets to rebuild tsunami-hit areas because of bureaucratic problems and an unpopular tax on foreign disaster aid, an official says.