BANGKOK (AP): Ten years ago, a plunge in the Thai baht sparked a wave of recessions across Asia's high-flying economies, bankrupting entire nations, putting millions out of work and shaking markets around the world. Some feared that a decade of growth would be lost.

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta: The government will arrange domestic banking to finance infrastructure development. The policy will be included in the Government Regulation on Domestic Loans. This is a continuation of the Economic Policy for Advancing the Real Sector and Empower the Establishment of Micro, Small- and Medium-scaled Enterprises (SME).

With the number of wireless telephone subscribers in Indonesia hitting 76 million people at the end of March 2007, how will the cellular landscape evolve going forward? Indonesia is one of the world's fastest growing wireless markets. As only 34 out of 100 people use cellular phones in Indonesia, still relatively low, the number of wireless subscribers looks set to grow significantly over the next few years.

All ten factions in the House of Representatives agreed during a plenary session Tuesday to enact a new Taxation Arrangements and Procedures Law, with the government and lawmakers expressing the hope that it will place taxpayers and the tax service on a more equal footing. The enactment of the new legislation, which was also witnessed by Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati, amends the equivalent law passed in 2000. The new legislation was first introduced to the House in 2005.

The government is hoping that its program to replace heavily subsidized kerosene with liquefied natural gas (LPG), and reductions in the volume of Premium and diesel sales will enable it to reduce its fuel subsidy spending by up to Rp 22.5 trillion (about US$2.5 billion) in the 2008 national budget.

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) said on Tuesday it has bought 80 percent of Astra CMG Life`s shares from PT Sedaya Multi Investma (SMI), a subsidiary of publicly-listed automotive company PT Astra International. CBA will team up with local company PT Gala Arta Jaya which holds 20 percent of Astra CMG Life`s shares, CBA said in a press statement. "Both CBA and Astra see that joint venture between Astra and CBA has reached a level of maturity.

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Finance Minister Sri Mulyani hoped the newly approved law on general arrangements and taxation procedures (UU-KUP) will be able to promote the obedience of tax payers and reduce manipulation by civil servants. "With the new law it is expected that the tax payers will feel peaceful in registering themselves and making payments properly," the minister said after a limited meeting on efforts to bring order to state assets at the presidential office here on Tuesday afternoon.

Way Kanan, Lampung (ANTARA News) - Malaysian-owned PT Merdec Siger Way Kanan is building a rubber processing plant at Gunung Sangkaran village in Way Kanan district, Lampung province, at a cost of Rp110 billion. The rubber processing plant with a capacity of 30,000 tons per year is the third of the company`s such plants built in Indonesia, Datuk Abdul Karim, chief of the company`s board of commissioners, said here on Tuesday.