Whether or not the retail operations of large corporations will have a negative impact on small traders is a debatable point. However, it is beyond debate that the most significant threats to small traders come from government obstruction, corrupt public officials, and poor infrastructure. This reality is brought into high relief in the treatment of traditional markets and street hawkers that operate in the informal sector.

JAKARTA, Indonesia (Map, News) - The United States is working to broaden its ties with Indonesia as the island nation emerges as a leader in the Asia-Pacific region, U.S. officials said Monday as Defense Secretary Robert Gates arrived here.

Singapore (ANTARA News) - Singapore's Temasek Holdings Pte Ltd may decide to sell its stake in Bank International Indonesia (BII), Indonesia's sixth-largest bank, instead of merging it with PT Bank Danamon Indonesia, the Asian Wall Street Journal reported Monday, citing unnamed sources. The divestment could fetch 700 million US dollars based on BII's current market valuation, the newspaper was quoted by Thomson Financial as saying.

Jakarta (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - The Indonesian government plans to provide Rp20 trillion (US$2.2 billion) to build infrastructure for railway mass transport under the state-owned railway company PT Kereta Api in the next four years. The government will provide Rp5 trillion annually in four years to support development of railway transport facilities in the country starting this year, Minister for State Enterprises Sofyan A. Djalil said.

What a BS. Paying Rp10.000 for lunch from street vendor can cost you Rp10M in expenses following costly treatment of Typhoid. Beside, these people don't pay taxes thus, they are no benefit to the Indonesian economy, just a cost because they use and abuse all the facilities. I'm myself tired of the dirt all over the places squatted by these street vendors.

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia has huge untapped tax potential with lessthan 3 percent of the nation's 220 million people in possessionof tax identification numbers (NPWP), a tax office official saidover the weekend. Director of tax services at the Directorate General forTaxation, Djoko Slamet Surjoputro, said currently only around 6million Indonesians had NPWPs, meaning the large majority ofpeople were not paying taxes. "The country's potential for tax collection is huge.

Bandarlampung (ANTARA News) - Lampung imported pedigree cows worth US$116.5 million from Australia in 2007 in an effort to increase its cow population, an industry official said. Lampung Industry Service Head Suparmo said here on Saturday, with US$116.5 million the province imported young cows altogether weighing 67,737 tons , mainly from Australia. In December alone, he said, Lampung imported 3,281 tons of cows worth US$6.47 million, he said.

Yogyakarta (ANTARA News) - The government has allocated Rp7.2 trillion to revitalize around 52 sugar mills across Indonesia, Indonesian Sugar Experts Association (IAGI) chairman Bambang Prijono Basoeki said here on Saturday. Speaking to reporters after the conclusion of the 9th congress of IKAGI here, Bambang Prijono said the sugar mills revitalization was intended to increase sugar production capacity.