Indonesia has plans to expand its area under jatropha cultivation to 1 million hectares, producing roughly around 2.3 million tons of crude jatropha oil annually and is targeting China as a key market, Dow Jones Newswires quoted deputy minister for the development of disadvantaged regions, Tatang Wiranto, as saying.

Property developer PT Bakrieland Development said it has bought an additional 8.8 hectares of land in the Rasuna Said business district in South Jakarta, raising its total land ownership in the area to 53.5 hectares, Thomson Financial reported. Corporate secretary Nuzirman Nurdin said the firm paid Rp9.5 million per sq meter, well below the average market price in the area of Rp10.7 million.

Australia and Indonesia are considering a feasibility study into a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) as a way to boost trade between the two countries. Australian Trade Minister Warren Truss warned any deal would be at least two years off. The recommendation was made by an Australia-Indonesia Trade and Investment Framework (TIF) expert group to the 7th annual bilateral meeting of trade ministers in Jakarta on Monday (25/6/07), Australian Associated Press reported.

Australia's largest fertilizer maker Incitec Pivot Ltd on Tuesday (26/6/07) signed a preliminary agreement with two Indonesian partners to look into the feasibility of investing in a gasification plant to convert coal into synthesized gas, Agence France-Presse reported. If it goes ahead, the project would see Incitec invest $700 million to $800 million in the plant, which would provide three fertilizer plants in Aceh with feedstock, electricity and steam.

The Rajawali Group is planning to invest $400 million to expand its natural resources business, including bringing a coal mine on-line by the end of the year and more than doubling its oil palm plantations over the next five years, the company's chief executive said Thursday, Dow Jones Newswires reported.

The government has decided to give the entire island of Batam in Riau Islands province free trade area status, Asia Pulse reported. Industry Minister Fahmi Idris said after a meeting of economics ministers on Friday (29/6/07) that the decision had been made to give legal certainty for investors in the industrial island. Many foreign investors were already reported to be leaving the island because of uncertainty about its status, he said.

The government expects the country's non-oil and -gas exports to grow by up to 16% next year, Trade Minister Mari Pangestu said on Monday (25/6/07), although she warned that performance would depend partly on global demand. "The target was set based on the government's work plan and a department 'exercise'. However, based on the government's macro-assumption it will be 12% to 16%," Pangestu was quoted as saying by Antara.

The Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) approved foreign direct investment proposals worth $21.99 billion during the five months to May, up fivefold from a year ago, a senior official of the agency said Friday (30/6/07). BKPM secretary Yus'an said the solid rise reflects improved investor confidence in Indonesia's investment prospects. Domestic investment proposals approved by his office reached Rp110.6 trillion over the same period, up 94.58% percent from the previous year.

Cellular operator PT Mobile-8 Telecom has gone nationwide to take on its competitors in Indonesia's growing mobile phone market, rolling out its "Fren" brand service outside Java in Medan, Makassar and Denpasar.

The upcoming Negative Investment List has infuriated some foreign investors, who fear they may lose some of their shares and have fewer options for further investment. The list, which should be approved by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in the next two to three weeks, is expected to impose more extensive limitations on foreign investment in some sectors, including telecommunications, where foreign ownership is expected to be restricted to a maximum of 49 percent.

Medan (ANTARA News) - The Indonesian Tour and Travel Agencies Association (ASITA) is optimistic that this year`s foreign tourist arrival projection at six million would be met following an improved security situation in the country. Until June this year the number of foreign tourist arrival is expected to reach around 4.3 millions, the president of the association, Ben Sukma, said to ANTARA News here on Sunday.

He don't fly Indonesian airlines, so he's not worried. But some folk are miffed: EU`s flight ban begins showing impact on Indonesia By Andi Abdussalam 07/02/07 00:54 Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Indonesia begins to feel the impact of the European Commission`s plan to ban Indonesian airline companies from flying in its airspace, though certain circles said that it would not affect domestic flights.