Originally Posted By: chewwyUK No doubt there will be more and more stories like this one unless something is done very soon But sometimes we don't seem to want to ... I listened to something that made me very cross on Sunday morning , a guy saying that Indonesians were lazy - as I mentioned to him , he paid 600,000 a month for a semi-skilled technician for 6.5 days a week , did he expect a fricking dynamo ?

All the more disturbing because Bintan was supposed to have "extra" incentives as a special "investor-friendly" zone... AND... for sure they won't be taking their business to France, the work week is below 35 hours and they're trying to lower it further.

I am not sure what the "best" solution; on one hand I believe that the government should do something to encourage foreign investors to stay and on the other hand, I thing these investors are "playing games" on who/what countries can give the most concessions. I also think that workers have the rights to comparable wages and decent working conditions (48 hours work week? no). Can corporations behave socially responsible and still be profitable? absolutely!

No doubt there will be more and more stories like this one unless something is done very soon

Essar Indonesia is an affiliate company of Essar Steel Ltd. The company began commercial operations in 1997 and is one of the biggest producers of cold rolled steel in Indonesia. Dont I know it, their Cibitung Plant is 200 metres awy from the office and they have a 24/7 traffic problem with 40 foot trailes and fuckwit drivers entering and exiting all fucking day long!

The Sinar Mas Group has signed a deal with U.S. energy firm, Fulcrum Power Services, to build a biodiesel plant with an initial capacity of 400,000 tons a year, a company official said on Friday (4/5/07). The plant will be built in Dumai on Sumatra and should start producing fuel next April, Danny Jozal, the alternative energy chairman at Sinar Mas, told Reuters by telephone.

Sales of personal computers in the first quarter jumped 23% over the same period last year, reaching a total of 360,500 units, Antara reported. The increase was sharper in notebook sales, which shot up 60%, market analysts said. "Strong demand for notebooks and server X-86 drove the market growth," Erica Gadjuki, a researcher from Gartner Inc said. Hewlett-Packard still led other vendors followed by Acer, Dell, Lenovo and Zyrex. The five brands dominated 40% of the computer market in Indonesia.

PT Essar Indonesia, a member of India's Essar Group, plans to build a steel plant in West Java with production capacity of 2 million tons of billet per year, a senior industry ministry official said on Friday (4/5/07), Reuters reported. This would be in addition to Essar's planned pellet factory in Central Kalimantan, said Ansari Bukhari, Director General of Metal and Machinery at the industry ministry.

South Korea has demonstrated its commitment to an Indonesian-Korean strategic alliance, says Trade Minister Mari Pangestu. "They are not looking for incentives or special treatment. All they are looking for is clarity, information and certainty," Pangestu said Tuesday (1/5/07) after concluding the first joint meeting between delegations from the two countries.

Indonesia requires an investment of Rp1,180 trillion next year to achieve the economic growth target of 6.7% to 7%, Coordinating Minister for the Economy Boediono said. Of the investment needs, Rp141 trillion will come from both central and regional governments and the remaining Rp1,039 trillion, or 88%, from the private sector, he said, according to an XFN-Asia report on Thursday (3/5/07).

Indonesia's automotive and cement sectors have performed relatively well for 2007's first three months, a compilation of the latest industry figures show, which should help support higher first quarter growth on consumption and exports. Data from the Association of Indonesian Automotive Manufacturers (Gaikindo) shows that sales of cars in the country reached 84,511 as of March, up 6 percent from the same period last year when they were at 79,412.

China's largest offshore oil producer by output, CNOOC, plans to build three biodiesel plants in West Kalimantan this year, a government official says. Evita H. Legowo, an assistant to the energy and mineral resources minister and also the first secretary of the National Biofuel Development Committee, said Sunday the plan was part of the firm's commitment to invest in Indonesia's renewable energy sector following the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the government in January.

PONTIANAK (Antara): A Chinese investor will set up three biodiesel companies in West Kalimantan that will process the province's crude palm oil (CPO) production, alocal official said on Sunday. Head of Cooperatives Coordination Agency (UKM) of West Kalimantan's Capital Investment Board (Bakomapin), M Zeet Hamdy Assovie said that the three companies would be built in the districts of Sanggau, Sambas and Ketapang.

KUALA LUMPUR (Antara): The Indonesian government has agreed to a proposal by Malaysia to set up a bilateral economic committee to handle the increasing flow of Malaysian investment funds to Indonesia. "Malaysian Trade Minister Rafidah has proposed institutionalized meetings to be conducted in the form of a joint ministerial committee and her Indonesian counterpart Mari E Pangestu has agreed toit," Economic Attache of the Indonesian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, Rahmat Pramono said on Sunday.

At least 2,670 workers at foreign investment company PT Nasional Garment Bintan (NGB) in Riau Islands province face layoffs after the firm decide to close, saying local policies were not foreign-investor friendly. The workers will be laid off in stages over the next two months, management told the Bintan regency administration, Bintan Legislative Council and Bintan Industrial Estate (BIE) on Friday.