Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Dubai-based property development company EMAAR Properties LLC in cooperation with the Asset Management Company (PPA) would soon develop a tourist resort in Lombok island in West Nusatenggara (NTB) province, a report said. The project to develop the resort area which covered 1.175 ha land allocated by Lombok Tourism Development firm (PT PPL) needed a total fund of US$600 million, PPA corporate secretary Renny O Rorong said in the statement made available here Tuesday.

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Indonesia's trade surplus rose 2.5 percent in March to 3.75 billion dollars as exports and imports bounced back, Central Bureau of Statistics head Rusman Heriawan said Tuesday. Exports in March reached 9.19 billion dollars, up from 8.32 billion dollars the previous month, Heriawan said. Imports increased to 5.44 billion dollars from 4.66 billion dollars in February.

I know of a number of Multi-nationals who have decided to keep manufacturing levels at the same level or reduce them in Indonesia because of the Manpower here. There are still concerns about quality at a global level as well as reservations about the overly protective manpower regulations. Even more concerning is that global and regional head offices are starting to complain about the cost of employing white collar workers and the Indonesian salary demands of 30% increases when changing jobs.

so as manufacturing companies flock to China, India and Vietnam the Manpower department finds another reason for companies to create jobs somewhere else

Newmont said it will proceed with plans to expand its gold and copper output in Indonesia following the decision of a court in North Sulawesi to acquit a subsidiary, PT Newmont Minahasa Raya (NMR) and its president director, Richard B Ness, of pollution and environmental damage. A panel of judges said Tuesday (24/4/07) that the data submitted by the public prosecutors to support their charges differed from those presented by a number of national and international research centers.

The government is considering offering financial incentives to encourage gas stations to stock biofuel blends, says an official. Evita H. Legowo, an assistant to the energy and mineral resources minister, told The Jakarta Post on Monday (23/4/07) that the incentives, which could take the form of tax relief or subventions, were necessary to ensure that biofuel retailers could continue to operate profitably.

State-owned workers' insurance company PT Jamsostek has received ISO certification setting international standards for the company in providing services to its customers. The ISO 9001:2000 certification was presented by president of PT SGS Indonesia Robert James Rom Paris to Jamsostek president director Hotbonar Sinaga, The Jakarta Post reported on Monday (23/4/07). Rom Paris said the certification would prompt a cultural change in Jamsostek's management and the company's future direction.

The government will encourage state-owned companies to increase investment in the country to spur the real sector’s growth, State Minister for State Enterprises Minister Sugiharto said on Wednesday (25/4/07). "In discussions on the government’s 2008 work plan and an evaluation of developments in 2007, both the president and the vice president hoped that state-owned companies will not only pay dividends and taxes to the state but also encourage the real sector’s growth," he said.

The government is reserving 6.1 million hectares of land for oil palm plantations to meet growing demand for crude palm oil, State Minister for State Enterprises Sugiharto said. He said land has been set aside in Kalimantan, Papua and other areas, and that the government hopes to boost the country's CPO production so that growing additional supplies for the bio-fuel industry will not affect stability in domestic supply, Antara reported on Monday (23/4/07).

Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) chief Rusman Heriawan estimated that Indonesia`s economic growth in the first quarter of the year will surpass the central bank`s expectation of 5.4% but doubted it will exceed the Finance Department`s projection of 5.7% to 5.9%. There are many reasons to believe that the economy would perform better in the first three months of 2007, Heriawan was quoted as saying by Antara on Tuesday (24/4/07).

The government officially unveiled its long-term development plan on Monday (23/4/07), which envisages the current high poverty rate falling to 5% and per capita income soaring to up to $9,000 by 2025. The economic blueprint set out in the newly endorsed Law No 17/2007 on the 2005-2025 National Long-Term Development Plan was officially unveiled by National Development Planning Board (Bappenas) chairman Paskah Suzetta. "We will work hard to achieve these targets.

Publicly listed PT Bakrie Sumatera Plantations (BSP) plans to expand its oil-palm and rubber plantations to about 83,000 hectares this year by acquiring more land for new plantations, and purchasing existing plantations.

Though the Indonesian transport industry has yet to make a full recovery from the crash of September 2005, it is on an upward trend. It is poised to win back much of the ground lost as a consequence of the fuel price hikes that year. There will be no fundamental change in the demographics of travelers, either. The number of females taking trips will be almost as many as the number of males.

State-run Korea National Oil Corporation (KNOC) and SK Corp. are to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) Tuesday on oil and gas exploration and production with Indonesia's national oil and gas firm, Pertamina. The three companies will collaborate on oil and gas exploration and production both in Indonesia and other countries, KNOC exploration manager Sukyeon Hwang told The Jakarta Post following a meeting with senior officials from the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry on Monday.

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta: Minister of Manpower and Transmigration, Erman Soeparno, said that the provision about outsourcing (sub-contract) workers in the Manpower Decree No. 13/2003 must be reviewed because it causes workers and laborers to suffer losses. The Article does not regulate the provision that a new company must extend the laborers’ contract after two years time.

Adisti Sukma Sawitri and Anissa S. Febrina, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta The fire has been put out, leaving behind smoke and water damage in a basement level of an upscale mixed-use building in South Jakarta, but the finger-pointing has only begun. Fire tore through the lower basement of the Bellezza Shopping Arcade (BSA) on Sunday night, reportedly caused by a short circuit in a storage room.

they aren't really planning regulations. they are more attempted to nobble mals and supermarkets because pasar tradisional can no longer compete. why can they no longer compete? because jakarta consumers now want to buy their goods in places that are clean, secure, and pleasant to be in.

 Originally Posted By: chewwyUK Happy to Take Foreign money to build their country ... not so happy to let foreign companies trade on an equal playing field. indeed. this is the other side of the alledgedly liberal new investment law: a tightening of the "negative list" for foreign investment. yep, they're shot themselves in the foot. again.

when i read this, i only had one question: where was the tender process?

"He explained that under the current Jakarta regulations, these matters were already regulated." Jakarta has planning regulations???? Well this is news to me .. I thought people just banged up shopping malls anywhere they wanted to with little thought to the local area or the increase of traffi

Dam those Koreans must really need Coal !

Happy to Take Foreign money to build their country ... not so happy to let foreign companies trade on an equal playing field. How is the quality of the services the people of Indonesia ever going to improve with these sorts of laws being introduced? Foreign companies coming in to other countries usually mean better services for all as each company strives to be the best and gain the most market share.

JAKARTA (JP):With encouraging increases in consumption, exports and investment during the first three months of this year, the Indonesian economy is well on track for higher growth, Finance Minister SriMulyani says.

JAKARTA (Antara): The Japanese government reiterated that it would lend Indonesi US$15.7 million to develop Jakarta Mass Rapid Transit System (MRT) in order to reduce traffic congestion and improve Indonesian investment climate through infrastructure development, a Japanese official said. The Japanese readiness to provide Indonesia with the loan was first conveyed in a meeting between Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Hassa Wirajuda and his Japanese counterpart Taro Aso on Nov.

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta: The government has confirmed that it will strictly regulate the minimum distance between hypermarkets and traditional markets. Ardiansyah, Director General of Domestic Trade at the Trade Department, emphasized that the regulation will be included in the President Regulation on Modern Markets, which is now still being discussed.

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta: The government will create friendlier state financial management for investors by next year. In its 2008 financial notes, the government will include fiscal risks including contingent liabilities, especially for guaranteeing infrastructure projects.

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta: The discussions on limiting the export of crude palm oil (CPO) products, aimed at supporting downstream industries, is already at the ministerial level. “The discussions at the level of director general have ended. They now only need to be taken before ministers,” said Diah Maulida, Director General of Foreign Trade, last week. Nevertheless, she said that the Department of Trade already a fixed decision: to boost exports so that they are not disturbed.

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta: The government, as well as banks and telecommunication services companies must develop a money transfer service that does not require a bank account. With a new service like this, money circulation would be faster and this would speed up economic growth. Brigit Helms, Financial Sector Head at the International Finance Corporation (IFC), has said that fund transferring service with no bank account needed will be very helpful for people.

Beijing (ANTARA News) - Indonesia cannot avoid being flooded by goods from China because international trade has adopted a free system, Deputy Chief of Mission of the Indonesian Embassy Mohammad Oemar said here on Monday. "It is impossible for Indonesia to reject Chinese goods without acceptable reasons because if we do so, Indonesia will be viewed as violating international trade rules," he said.

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - If the government really implements a minister`s plan to impose a moratorium on production of new cars, many companies, especially in the automotive sector, will disinvest, an industry spokesman said.

Medan (ANTARA News) - North Sumatra province in the first quarter of 2007 earned US$389.546 million from exporting crude palm oil and by-products compared with US$307.387 million in the same period a year earlier. Despite the rise in export value, the province`s export of CPO and by-products fell in volume to 348,070 tons in the first three months of 2007 from 928,859 tons in the same period last year, spokesman of the North Sumatra industry and trade office Fitria Kurnia said on Monday.

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The government will limit foreign investment in premium call, premium SMS (Short Message Service) and courier services because these businesses are to be reserved for domestic small-and medium-scale enterprises (MSEs), a spokesman said. "As we all know, so far, foreign investors can practically control up to 95 percent of businesses in all telecommunication sectors.

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Two South Korean companies signed an agreement with an Indonesian state firm Monday to build a railway line in Borneo in a deal worth one billion dollars, a report here said. South Korea's POSCO and Canatect Ltd signed a memorandum of understanding with PT Kereta Api Indonesia, according to Detikcom news portal. Indonesian Transport Minister Hatta Radjasa was quoted saying the railway line would be built in east Kalimantan, the Indonesian part of Borneo island.