A global economic slowdown, affected by high oil prices and the weakening U.S. economy, may cause Indonesia's economy to plateau at 6.3 percent growth next year, speakers at a seminar on the economic outlook say. High oil prices, which reached US$98 per barrel last month, could cause a global economic slowdown, if the subprime mortgage crisis in the United States is protracted, a senior analyst at the Institute for Economic and Financial Development (Indef), Mohamad Ikhsan Modjo, said.

The government is finalizing a new scheme to determine the maximum cost of land acquisitions (or clearance) in major infrastructure projects, an issue noted as being one of the main causes of delays in getting projects under way. The latest draft of the "land-capping" scheme states that the upper-ceiling cost for land clearance should be proportional to the total project investment value, rather than a "fixed-rate", an official from the National Development Planning Agency said Wednesday.

PT Komatsu Indonesia, a subsidiary of Japan-based heavy machinery manufacturer Komatsu Ltd., plans to invest some US$100 million over the next three years for expansion and research. Vice president Nokiaki Tomimuro said here Wednesday the additional investment was needed to expand production and strengthen its research activities.

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Middle Eastern businessmen are keen to invest in Indonesia without any hidden agenda, the chairman of the Indonesian Syaria Bank Association (Asbisindo), M Riawan Amin, said here Thursday. "With their huge funds, they will leave the US and the European Union, and are ready to enter Asia, including Indonesia, for business without any political agenda," Riawan told ANTARA.