JAKARTA (Antara): The World's crude palm oil output is forecast to reach 41.40 million tons this year, up 8.5 percent compared to last year's 38.15 million tons, Oil World reported. The report stated that the increase in palm oil production comes as a result of a 6.6 percent plantation area expansion, to 11.24 million hectares, compared to 2006.

Jambi (ANTARA News) - A British company, Sumatra Coover and Gold Ltd, will cooperate with a local partner, PT Nusa Palapa Minerals, to exploit gold deposits in three districts in Jambi province, a provincial mineral resources official said. Head of Jambi`s Mining Office Hermansyah Herman said on Tuesday the two companies which will partner in exploiting Jambi`s gold deposits had been awarded a principal license.

Jakarta (ANTARA News/Thomson Financial) - Indonesian consumer confidence dropped for the second straight month in January with more consumers downbeat about current economic conditions and few were optimistic about what lies ahead, according to the latest survey by the central bank released Tuesday. Bank Indonesia's consumer confidence index dropped to 94.5 in January from 99.1 in December. A figure above 100 indicates optimism and a number below 100 suggests pessimism.

Cilegon, Banten (ANTARA News) - The government will reduce its import duty on hot roll coil (HRC) to zero percent in a bid to encourage the growth of the country`s downstream steel industry, a minister said. "Import duty on HRC will be eliminated," Industry Minister Fahmi Idris said after a ceremony marking the start of construction of a factory of PT BlueScope Steel Indonesia in Cilegon, Banten, Tuesday.

JAKARTA (JP): State oil and gas firm Pertamina will follow up on the recent preliminary finding by a state research agency of a large hydrocarbon reserve off the western shore of Nangroe Aceh Darussalam, an official says. Chairman of the Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT), Said D. Jenie, said Pertamina would take part in the project after the company gained approval from the ministry of energy and mineral resources.

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - A legislator has expressed concern about what he said was the country`s weakening food resilience due to the shrinking area of agricultural land and increasing urbanization in Indonesia. Dr Bomer Pasaribu of the Golkar Party Faction told a seminar here on Monday that the country`s ability to meet the people`s need for agricultural products had dropped and was decreasing significantly.

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The government is studying options to cut the consumption of subsidized fuel in order to save some 10 trillion rupiah in government spending for fuel subsidy this year, an official said. Among the options being studied are disallowing private motorists from buying subsidized fuel for cars with an engine displacement of 2,000 cc or bigger, said Adi Subagyo, a committee member at BPH Migas, Indonesia's downstream oil and gas regulator.

Denpasar, Bali (ANTARA News) - Some 20 businessmen from Bali will join a group of 100 businessmen from several provinces who are slated to hold a promotion tour and take part in a trade fair in Australia next October. "They will exhibit their products, mainly handicrafts," coordinator of the Sejahteralah Anggotaku Business Forum (FBSA) Yunasril Anga said on Tuesday. He added Indonesia would display their goods at 120 stands in the international exhibition.

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The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources is to tighten the cost recovery mechanism under which all operators in the oil and gas sector work after a major increase in claims, The Jakarta Post reported on Saturday (9/2/08). The government intends to only provide refunds for exploration costs in producing fields, said the director of upstream operations at the ministry, Priyono.

Cigarette producers PT Bentoel Prima and PT Lestari Putra Wira Sejati have acquired 99.9% of PT Bintang Bola Dunia, a cigarette maker in Malang, East Java owned by Islamic organization Nahdatul Ulama, Asia Pulse reported Wednesday (6/2/08). The subsidiaries of PT Bentoel International Investama bought the asset for Rp55.15 billion ($6 million) with a deal signed on January 31, Bentoel corporate secretary Satrija B Wibawa said.

State-owned plantation firms have jointly set up a consortium for the construction of a biodiesel plant aimed at supporting the government program to develop alternative energy resources, The Jakarta Post reported Tuesday (5/2/08). The state firms involved include PT Perkebunan Nusantara (PTPN) III, PTPN IV, PTPN V and PTPN VII. PTPN III will act as the head party in the consortium.

State-controlled Telekom Malaysia has agreed to buy 16.8% of PT Excelcomindo Pratama for 1.43 billion ringgit ($442.7 million), raising its stake in the nation's third-largest mobile phone operator to 83.8%, Telekom said on Wednesday (6/2/08) Reuters reported. Telekom, through its unit Indocel, is buying the stake in Excelcomindo from its own parent, Malaysia's state investment agency Khazanah Nasional. Khazanah has a 36.1% stake in Telekom, Malaysia's largest fixed-line operator.

Property developer PT Bakrieland Development plans to enter the clean water business, as part of its efforts to diversify revenue sources to include infrastructure projects, Dow Jones reported Tuesday (5/2/08). "We will start (a clean water business) in (West) Java," Bakrieland chief executive Hiramsyah Thaib said.

Malaysian property firm Landmarks Bhd is buying out a firm that owns 338 hectares of land on Bintan island for S$156.9 million ($111 million), Landmarks said on Tuesday (5/2/08), Reuters reported. Last month, Landmarks won Indonesian approval to start an integrated tourism zone in Bintan, which is a popular resort island for Singaporeans.

The Indonesian economy is facing a "bigger, greater" downside risk from rising commodities prices, Finance Minister Sri Mulayni Indrawati told Dow Jones Newswires on Saturday (9/2/08). She said a budget revision to be submitted to the House of Representatives is “to maintain the growth...which is very challenging under the current environment," she said on the sidelines of the Group of Seven industrial countries in Tokyo, where Indonesia is an observer.

The government will slash some 49,000 hectares of illegal palm oil plantations in protected forest areas in Rokan Hulu regency, Riau, allowing forests to reclaim cleared land, an official said Wednesday (6/2/08), The Jakarta Post reported. Rokan Hulu regent Achmad said the oil palms in the protected forest area, in Sungai Mahato and Bukit Sugili, would be destroyed because the plantation was developed without authorization.

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Indonesia`s consumer electronics exports are pedicted to reach a total value of US$8 billion this year, a senior industry official said. "The world economic slowdown will certainly disturb our electronics exports," director of electronics industry affairs at Industry Ministry Abdul Wahid said here on Monday.

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Trade Minister Mari Pangestu said the government still maintained its non-oil export growth target which it had set at 14.5 percent this year, despite it had plans to downsize its economic growth target from 6.8 percent. "No meeting has been held to discuss it (to lower the export target," the minister said here on Monday.