Manggi Habir, The Jakarta Post, JakartaPlantation companies are one of the first to suffer from the deepening global downturn. And, as the year end nears, it is plantations with scale of production, the right mix of tree maturity and a conservative balance sheet (low debt and high cash levels),...

The Indonesian economy has been generating lucrative profits from the soaring prices of agricultural commodities during the last two years. Following increasing dependency on this business, the recent slump in commodity prices has severely impacted on the economy.

After a fierce protest from shipping companies, the Ministry of Transportation temporarily revoked Thursday a new set of Terminal Handling Charge (THC) fees and returned to the old chargesOn Nov. 1, the ministry set new THC fees -- the charges exporters or importers have to pay to shipping...