Govt mulling incentive package to back biofuel-related projects The Jakarta Post, Jakarta The government is considering offering fiscal and administrative incentives to investors planning to produce biofuel as part of an alternative energy program designed to reduce the use of fossil-based fuels.

Regions told to streamline investment regulations Benget Simbolon Tnb., The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Five years after rolling out local autonomy in a bid to pave the way for better governance, regencies and municipalities should have had sufficient time by now to improve their business climates. Unfortunately, however, the country continues to be ranked as one of the most difficult countries in Asia in which to start up a business.

Rajawali aims to up SG stake after buying out Cemex The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Local investor, the Rajawali Group, which has agreed to purchase Mexican cement giant Cemex SA's stake in PT Semen Gresik (SG) for US$337 million, said it was interested in increasing its holding in the country's largest cement producer. "We sincerely hope that the government will give us the chance to increase the stake," Rajawali's managing director, Darjoto Setyawan, said in an interview Friday with Bloomberg.

LG chooses RI for ASEAN refrigerator production base The Jakarta Post, Tangerang LG Electronics Indonesia opened its second Indonesian refrigerator plant Wednesday at a cost of US$16 million in Tangerang, Banten, targeting a 160 percent increase in production to 1.5 million refrigerators this year.

Cemex to sell SG stake to Rajawali The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Cemex SA, the world's third-largest cementmaker, announced Thursday it would sell its stake in Indonesia's largest cement company PT Semen Gresik SG to local investor Rajawali Group. The Mexican-based company would sell the 24.9 percent stake in SG for US$337 million, Cemex said in a Business Wire statement as quoted by Bloomberg.

Microsoft exec says lack of English obstacle to IT industry Arya Dipa, The Jakarta Post, Bandung The poor English skills of local information technology businesspeople is a main obstacle to the development of IT-based applications in Indonesia, an executive with PT Microsoft Indonesia said Thursday.