The Indonesia Mining Association (IMA) suggested Friday the government allow foreign mining firms to sell their shares to local entities, as required under the mandatory divestment program, via initial public offerings (IPOs). The powerful mining lobby group argued such a scheme would ensure transparency and fairness for both local entities as well as foreign mining firms which are required to unload the stake. IMA chairman Arif S.

Irawaty Wardany , The Jakarta Post Hotels and other tourism sector players should constantly improve the quality of their services so tourists will feel comfortable and want to come back to Bali, said an official of the Culture and Tourism Ministry.

The internet traffic capacity of PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia (Telkom) was down to 10 percent on Friday as undersea fiber optic connections to Singapore, which connect the country to the rest of the world, failed to function. Despite being the main provider for internet traffic connection, however, Telkom said its fiber optic failure did not completely cut internet services. "We are still trying to identify what caused the connection failure," Telkom spokesperson Edy Kurnia told The Jakarta Post.

Any food products found without halal or haram labels should be withdrawn from the market to avoid confusing Muslims, the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) said Friday. Deputy head of MUI's food and drugs analysis body Lukmanul Hakim said once halal labeling was made compulsory all producers of halal products should obtain certificates. He further said, "All products claimed by their producers to be halal but do not have certificates should be banned".

Friday, 29 February, 2008 | 21:39 WIB TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta: The Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) urged the Industry Department to have access to energy distribution. It is expected that this can answer the industry’s need of energy sources. “We’re tired, every Industry Minister’s promise to fulfill the energy need is always broken,” a Kadin member, Ahmad Safiun, told Tempo, yesterday (28/2).

Friday, 29 February, 2008 | 21:44 WIB TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta: The International Finance Corporation (IFC), World Bank’s subsidiary, asked Bank Indonesia and the Indonesian government to observe the opportunity of mobile banking transformation development. According to IFC’s Small Medium Enterprise Operations Officer, A. Bido Budiman, the regulation is needed to guarantee that the system is safe, affordable and easily accessible.