With a view to improving the business climate and competitiveness, the Trade Ministry launched a new trade facilitation unit Friday that should lead to more transparent, fast and efficient licensing procedures. The ministry says the launch of the new unit is a step toward the establishment of a fully fledged computerized system for the issuance of trade-related permits.

Indonesia must seek alternative markets for its exports and promote local consumption to secure growth amid a slowdown this year in the world's economy, global financial services firm UBS said. Current policies to ease inflation and cut interest rates are on the right track for reviving domestic spending, UBS global economist Paul Donovan said, while at the same time not disrupting the appeal of Indonesia's financial markets in the eyes of global investors.