The Jakarta Post, Jakarta A real estate association said Monday it would aim for a 25 to 30 percent increase in the development of houses for low-income people throughout the country in 2008. "We will continue to develop more subsidized houses for low-income people, particularly in Greater Jakarta, Bandung (West Java), Sidoarjo (East Java) and in some other areas," the chairman of Real Estate Indonesia (REI), F. Teguh Satria, said.

Indonesia Strengthens Position in Palm Oil Excellence Tuesday, 26 February, 2008 | 19:06 WIB TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta: Indonesia will strengthen its position as the country of excellence in the world's palm oil industry by holding the World Palm Oil Summit and Exhibition (WPOSE) on 20-24 May, 2008 in Jakarta. "The government welcomes this event.

Jakarta (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - PT Intanjaya Agromegah Abadi (IAA) said it will start construction of a US$14 billion oil refinery project in 2009. The company plans to build two refineries each with a processing capacity of 300,000 barrels of crude oil per day in Pare-Pare and Batam. IAA President Mappasulle H.S. said his company, which will cooperate with Inter Global Technologies Inc from the United States and Keonsae Sdn. Bhd from Malaysia, has secured the license from the government.

The runaway development of shopping malls in Jakarta is living proof of reckless greed, a monumental disaster in the offing. It is a good example of how poor information, bad planning and a lack of common sense is already hurting, and will continue to hurt, investors and workers alike. As always, it is the people at large who will eventually pay the price for the folly of a few.

Bandarlampung (ANTARA News) - Japan was the biggest East Asian contributor to Lampung province`s foreign exchange earnings in 2007, a local trade and industry official said here on Monday. In the January - December period in 2007, Lampung exported 2,390,786 tons of non-oil/non-gas commodities worth US$552.79 million to five countries in East Asia, the head of Lampung`s trade and industry office, Suparmo, said.

Life insurance company PT Manulife Indonesia announced Wednesday (20/2/08) its total insurance premiums grew by 88% last year to Rp767 billion from Rp 419 billion in 2006, The Jakarta Post reported. The growth was remarkable, president director David Beynon said, considering the industry as a whole was growing at a rate of 25 to 30%.

The ministry of marine and fisheries has allocated funds amounting to Rp594 billion ($64.7 million) for development programs in small islands and coastal areas in 2008, a spokesman said, Asia Pulse reported Monday (18/2/08). A director general at the ministry, Syamsul Maarif, said Rp184 billion of the funds were derived from foreign loans and grants.

The transport ministry suggests foreign air cargo carriers should cooperate with Indonesian counterparts if they want to provide cargo transport to Indonesian cities, Asia Pulse reported Monday (18/2/08). Local cargo carriers should have a share of at least 30%, Air Transport Director Tri S. Sunoko said. "We want business-to-business cooperation before we issue the license to serve flights to Indonesian cities," Sunoko said.

Kajima Corp. plans to expand its urban development project in Jakarta, starting with the construction of a large office building, Nikkei reported Tuesday (19/2/08). The general contractor completed a large office building on Monday, and already plans to begin constructing a similar-sized office building late this year. The 4 billion yen ($37.08 million) building, which is expected to be completed in 2010, is to have 28 above-ground floors and a total floor space of 62,000 sq. meters.

Jakarta plans to build a Rp3.6 trillion ($393 million) railway system linking Soekarno-Hatta Airport in Banten province with the capital to cope with growing passenger traffic, the Straits Times reported Monday (18/2/08). Targeted to be ready next year, the railway will stretch along 33.7 km, with two-thirds of it running on an elevated track, giving passengers an alternative to the road route.

JAKARTA (JP): The country's second-largest telecom company, PTIndosat, is to issue bonds worth a total of Rp 1.5 trillion(around US$163 million) to support its expansion drive. The company is also seeking another $400 million in externalfunding in the form of bank loans or global bonds. The company'sexpansion plan this year is expected to cost up to $1.2 billion.

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta Monday, 25 February, 2008 | 15:06 WIB PT PLN (the State Electricity Company) is predicting that Indonesia will experience an electricity crisis up until next year. The state-owned company, according to Muljo Adji, PLN's Manager of Load and Distribution Center, is currently under much pressure. Muljo explained that when electric subsidy was cut back by around Rp10 trillion, electricity consumption (load) growth instead increased.