Proposed changes to the system of mining licenses are in the final discussion process in parliament, an Indonesian government official said Tuesday (8/5/07). The proposed changes are expected to address tension among national and local authorities for control over gold, coal, nickel and copper resources, Dow Jones Newswires reported. Infighting and lack of clarity over regional autonomy have been blamed for the lack of new mine developments in recent years.

The province of Bali is expected to begin the development of a 400-MW thermal power plant (PLTU) around Celukan Bawang port, Buleleng district, in an effort to anticipate a power crisis in the island, Asia Pulse reported. "The thermal power plant is expected to commence operation in stages in 2008," public relations coordinator of state-owned electricity company PLN, Hendra Saleh, said on Thursday (10/5/07).

Indian motorcycle maker TVS is set to produce various types of motorcycles for the Indonesian market at its recently completed assembly plant in Karawang, West Java, the company's chief executive officer for Indonesia said, according to Asia Pulse. TVS has invested $45 million in its plant which had a production capacity of 300,000 units per year, BLP Simha, president director of PT TVS Motor Co Indonesia, said Thursday (10/5/07).

The volume of sales of motorcycles rose about 15% in April from a year ago, industry data showed, as the sector continued to recover from a slump in 2006. Data from three major manufacturers, obtained by Reuters from an industry source on Tuesday (8/5/07), showed Honda, Yamaha and Suzuki, which control more than 98% of domestic sales, jointly sold 307,877 motorcycles in April, up 15.29% from a year ago.

Implementation of the government's oil palm plantation revitalization program on 2 million hectares of land in 2007-2011 will require the employment of about 340,000 people, an Agriculture Department official said. The department needs 298,000 people to work as oil palm farmers, 24,000 to work in the oil palm cultivation sector and 18,000 in palm oil factories, head of its human resources development division, Ato Suprapto, said recently, according to Antara.

The government has opened its railway sector to domestic and foreign investors to spur development of the country's train network, Bisnis Indonesia reported on Tuesday (8/5/07). Foreign investors can now own up to 95% of companies providing train services, the newspaper quoted Transportation Department Director General Soemino Eko Saputro as saying. Saputro said the government decided to open the sector to foreign investors due to the reluctance of local investors.

The Indonesian equity market, despite being huge in capitalization, is still largely untapped as an alternative source of investment, economists said at a seminar on the weekend. Mohammad Ikhsan, an economist from the University of Indonesia, said the capital market is the ideal financing source for investment at a time when banks are yet to be optimum in extending loans to revive the real sector, but acknowledged that the local capital market was still underdeveloped.

Indonesia will soon acquire an additional image. On May 4, The Jakarta Post reported that the country would enter the Guinness Book of World Records. We will be branded as the country that manages to destroy its forest at a pace unbeatable by any other nation. In its 2008 issue, Guinness will describe Indonesia as the "country which pursues the highest rate of deforestation -- with 1.8 million hectares of forest destroyed each year between 2000-2005".

The new transportation minister must reform the ministry's bureaucracy to improve the safety and services of all modes of transportation, an activist and expert said Sunday. Sudaryatmo of the Indonesian Consumers Foundation (YLKI) said new Transportation Minister Jusman Syafii Djamal needed to fix the "institutional framework". Installed on Wednesday, Jusman said reaching a zero accident rate for railways was his first priority because the country's rail system transported so many people.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Vice President Jusuf Kalla, chief economics minister Boediono and Bank Indonesia Governor Burhanuddin Abdullah asserted Friday the economy is resilient enough to weather any sudden decline in the risk appetite of foreign portfolio investors, as the rupiah fell almost 1.5 percent after a few months of steady appreciation.

JAKARTA (JP): On the surface, Indonesia's banking sector appears to be on the right track, with first-quarter results in lendings, assets and profitability all having improved from last year. Yet a closer look at the figures reveals several troubling facts that could offset its achievement. The most important of these is the still significant amount of undisbursed loans and funds placed in central bank bills.