Improved Business at BTDC Attributed to Increase in Meetings and Conferences in Bali. Bali News: Nusa Dua Reporting Record Occupancies (6/2/2007) The Indonesian-language BisnisBali reports that meeting and conference bookings to Bali are the cause of record occupancy levels in the hotels found within the Bali Tourism Development Corporation (BTDC) at Nusa Dua. Speaking to the local press, the Director of Finance for BTDC, Drs.

More than a decade after its heyday, the plastics industry is struggling to survive as it deals with a decline in raw materials and a lack of government support, the Indonesian Olefin and Plastic Industry Association (Inaplas) said Wednesday. Currently, upstream plastic makers annually produce a total of two million tons of plastic pellets, mostly made of polypropylene and polyethylene. These pellets are used to make plastic bags, bottles, packaging and containers.

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta: The government will cut the time it takes to issue a business license to 30 days from the previous 197 days. This decision is one of the policies included in a new economic package that will be launched in a few days’ time. This package is a development of the economic package that was issued last year. Boediono, Coordinating Minister for the Economy, explained there are four important points in the package.

I love holidays. But I never like the way the Government (here and elsewhere) assigns national holidays. The Coordinating Minister of Social Welfare just announced the national holidays and joint leave ('cuti bersama') days schedule for 2008. The total number of days is 23. That means Indonesians (i.e. government officials, some schools, and others who follow this instruction) will only work around 11 months (and usually get paid for 13 months worth of salary -- or more).

Local oil and gas companies have begun to suffer from a shortage of skilled workers because many local professionals prefer to work overseas, an oil drilling executive says. "The shortage of professionals in the oil and gas industry is getting worse, as most of the existing companies need more skilled workers to support their expansion projects," said Mohammad Zulkarnain, finance and administration director for state-owned PT Elnusa Drilling Services.

PT Rajawali Nusantara Indonesia (RNI) is developing jatropha plantations to meet its fuel needs of about 16 million liters a year, the company's senior director says. RNI is a holding company of state enterprises engaged in plantations and the pharmaceutical industry. Noegroho D. Soetardjo, RNI's deputy director for research and information systems, said here Thursday that the company was participating in a government-sponsored program called independent energy village (DME).

With high-rise residences popping up all over Jakarta, Agung Podomoro Group, one of the country's major property developers, will soon start the construction of its 17th apartment building in Tebet, South Jakarta. The Lavande, as it is called, will be the first apartment building on Jl. Supomo. It will be aimed at women, with 60 percent of the available space devoted to features such as a tropical garden of lavender flowers, a beauty salon and a sauna.