The government and central bank on Tuesday unveiled a series of measures to bolster foreign exchange reserves and market confidence as the rupiah hit a seven-year low of Rp11,900 against the US dollar, The Jakarta Post reported.

The Batam, Bintan and Karimun (BBK) Special Economic Zone Commission has ensured speedy licensing procedures free from illegal levies in a bid to attract foreign investors impacted by the global financial crisis, The Jakarta Post reported.

The Agriculture Ministry has lowered the growth target for the agricultural sector for 2009 to 4.2% from 4.6% as the exports of a number of farm commodities decline due to the current global financial crisis. “Although demand for a number of farm commodities has been in decline, we feel it will not be a significant drop because commodities such as coffee, tea, cocoa, crude palm oil and rubber will constantly be in demand,” Agriculture Minister Anton Apriyantono said on Wednesday.

The House of Representatives on Thursday approved macroeconomic assumptions for use in calculating the 2009 state budget, Dow Jones reported. "We have agreed with the government that economic growth (will be assumed at) 6% and inflation at 6.2% for the purpose of calculating the budget,” House budget committee chairman Emir Moeis told reporters.

The government took more steps last week to improve the prospects of businesses under threat from the effects of the global financial crisis, while the capital market improved at the end of the week in line with gains on Wall Street and regional markets. The announcement on Saturday by the troubled Bakrie Group that it has sealed a deal with the investment group Northstar Pacific to sell its 35% stake in coal miner PT Bumi Resources for $1.3 billion was also expected to boost market sentiment.

Rita Sastrawan, Paris The establishment of oil-palm plantations in Kalimantan and Sumatra poses the greatest threat to orangutans today. In fact, the clearing of forest and the establishment of oil-palm plantations has a negative impact not only on orangutan populations but also on climate, the water cycle, carbon emissions and livelihoods in local communities.

Jakarta, (ANTARA News) - Fruit imported from China has over the past few years taken over the dominant position of US and Australian fruit in the Indonesian market, a horticulure researcher said. Such fruits as apples, oranges or pears in the Indonesian market in the past always came from the US or Australia but over the past few years they have been replaced by products from China, Roesdhy Poerwanto, chairman of Tropical Fruit Studies, said in Bogor on Thursday.

Australian mining firm Indo Mines Limited has secured Indonesian government approval to mine iron ore deposits in Kulon Progo, Yogyakarta, with a total investment commitment of US$1.7 billion. The company's local subsidiary, PT Jogja Magasa Iron, inked a 30-year work contract with the government Tuesday to develop iron sand reserves in the 2,987 hectares area.

The property business in Jakarta and surrounding areas is heading for a slowdown next year due to increases in interest rates, inflation, prices of materials and rental costs, according to a property consulting company.

Erwida Maulia, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta The global economic slowdown has forced the tourism ministry to revise down its targets for numbers of foreign tourist arrivals for 2008 and 2009 by 9 percent and 20 percent, respectively.

Aditya Suharmoko, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Having expanded by a fairly healthy 6.4 percent in the third quarter, the economy is facing a slowdown in the last quarter as it begins to feel the impacts of the global crisis, according to the central bank. "With two months left to run in the fourth quarter, we estimate the impact of the global slowdown will hit Indonesia's economy, resulting at best in growth of around 5.9 percent," Bank Indonesia (BI) deputy governor Hartadi A.

Mustaqim Adamrah, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta The Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) has asked the government to add Rp 10 trillion (US$950 million) to the funds set aside for next year to help cushion the real sector from the impact of the global economic slowdown.

NEW DELHI: In a move that could sully India’s image in the international market, top vegetable oil supplier, Indonesia, has accused 30 Indian companies, including Nafed, of taking it for a ride. What’s worse, some of these defaulters are allegedly using public sector companies MMTC, PEC and STC to import oil on their behalf. Indonesia has, therefore, asked the PSUs to stop “encouraging” these private players and blacklist them to avoid ending up with a similar payment problem.

Friday, 07 November, 2008 | 08:41 WIB TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta: The chairman of the Ceramic Industry Association Achmad Wijaya said a businessman from Taiwan is interested in the ceramics industry in Indonesia and intends to invest Rp200 billion next year. When the political situation is stabile and the investment process runs smoothly, the ceramics factory will be built next year. “The factory can produce 2-3 million ceramic pieces every month,” said Achmad in Jakarta yesterday.