FDI up slightly in first five months The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Actual foreign direct investment (FDI) in Indonesia rose by 5.1 percent during the first five months of the year compared to the same period last year, the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) reported Tuesday. The board said that FDI increased to US$3.13 billion involving 377 projects between January and May this year from $2.98 billion involving 321 projects in the same period of 2005.

Rp36 Billion Required to Repair Electricity Grid Wednesday, 21 June, 2006 | 16:54 WIB TEMPO Interactive, : The repairs to the electricity grid for the homes of Yogyakarta and Central Java earthquake victims will require Rp36 billion. The number of houses on the grid damaged by the earthquake totaled 120,000.

Economists: Agriculture Sector Worrying Wednesday, 21 June, 2006 | 17:45 WIB TEMPO Interactive, Manado: The productivity of the Indonesian agriculture sector has declined. Etty Puji Lestari, a member of the Association of Indonesian Economic Graduates (ISEI), has revealed that between 2001 and 2003, a total of 610,596 hectares of productive paddy-fields were turned into housing or used for other activities.

Associated Press Indonesia Military Businesses Hurting Reforms: Group JAKARTA (AP)--The Indonesian military's involvement in business undermines efforts to reform the institution and perpetuates its reputation of being abusive, corrupt and above the law, an international rights group said Wednesday. "The military's moneymaking creates an obvious conflict of interest with its proper role," said Lisa Misol, the lead researcher and author of a 136-page report by New-York based Human Rights Watch.