Jakarta (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - PT Saratoga Investama Sedaya has said it will invest US$300 million to expand its oil palm plantations in Indonesia to 100,000 hectares this year. The investment will put the company, which is owned by tycoon Sandiago Uno, among the 10 largest oil palm plantation companies in the country. Saratoga Director Husni Heron said the company had recently acquired 8,000 hectares of oil palm plantations in Agam, West Sumatra at a price of US$30 million.

Below is a comment I left on the Jakarta Post website, in response to the above article. Section in red was deleted by JP. ----------------------- Then president Megawati Soekarnoputri tried to centralize the licensing of foreign and domestic investment in the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) in 2004, but failed because of the strong bureaucratic jealousy between government institutions.

Then president Megawati Soekarnoputri tried to centralize the licensing of foreign and domestic investment in the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) in 2004, but failed because of the strong bureaucratic jealousy between government institutions.

Despite the enactment of the Investment Law last week, business players continue to reserve their enthusiasm, maintaining that it is far from enough to improve the country's investment climate. "The new law gives legal certainty for business, especially on the land-use rights issue. However, the law is not the sole panacea to improve the investment climate," Indonesian Chamber of Commerce (Kadin) chair Mohammad Sulaiman Hidayat told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.

"Do not copy U.S. management texts. Write your own. Put advice in the context of Indonesian case studies. Local solutions can only come out of local cases." David Schrieber, consultant. Schrieber, a former University of Wisconsin (U.S.) professor of business administration and economics who has been involved with Indonesia for 37 years, knows well that management systems that have been developed overseas do not always travel well.

Widely diversified Bakrie and Brothers reported a nearly 60 percent increase in consolidated net revenue in 2006, largely on the back of gains in the business group's telecommunications and infrastructure businesses. The company's total net revenue rose to 4.33 trillion (US$481.3 million) in 2006, an increase of 58 percent from Rp 2.73 trillion the previous year. Its operating profit rose by 174 percent last year from Rp 222.9 billion to Rp 611.1 billion.

The House of Representatives on Tuesday (27/3/07) approved the railway transportation bill, allowing the private sector to take part in the rail industry. All 10 factions of the House supported the bill in a plenary session in an effort to reform the public transportation system in the country, reported The Jakarta Post. They said the rail industry has to become more competitive but continue to provide cheap transportation.

Europe's largest retail company, Metro AG, is planning to set up a network of 20 wholesale markets in Indonesia with an investment of 500 million euro ($666.2 million), a newspaper reported on Thursday (29/3/07). The Investor Daily quoted Germany's deputy ambassador in Indonesia Wolfgang Piecha as saying that the network would span Sumatra, Java and Bali. Metro is the world's third biggest retailer by sales.

Actual foreign direct investments into Indonesia rose 15% on year to around $3 billion in the first quarter, preliminary figures issued Friday by the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) indicated, according to Dow Jones Newswires. The board will issue the final first-quarter investment results sometime next week, Chairman Muhammad Lutfi told reporters. Actual foreign direct investment fell 33% last year to $5.98 billion, the board said in January.

The House of Representatives on Thursday (29/3/07) passed the long-awaited investment law designed to provide various incentives for both local and foreign investors. Among the incentives are exemptions or reductions of income tax, import duties and value-added taxes; accelerated accounting of asset amortization and depreciation; and exemptions or reductions of land and building taxes, according to a draft of the law seen by Dow Jones Newswires.

The government will set the growth target for the economy in 2008 at between 6.6% and 6.8%, higher than this year's state-budget target of 6.3%, Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Boediono said on Monday (26/3/07), ahead of the passage of new investment legislation. Boediono told an economics seminar he sees year-end inflation at 5.5-6% in 2008 compared to the 6% forecast for this year, Reuters reported.