The government said it will change the status of steel maker PT Krakatau Steel and oil and gas company PT Pertamina into non-listed public companies this year, Asia Pulse reported Tuesday (11/3/08). Under the new status, the two state companies will be required to report their business operations to the public, State Minister for State Enterprises Sofyan Djalil said. The change in status is to create transparency in the management of the two large companies, Djalil said.

The government said it will soon announce tax incentives for select industries in a move to boost investment, Asia Pulse reported Wednesday (12/3/08). A number of related ministers will meet to finalize the plan and to determine industries entitled to tax incentives, Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Boediono said. The announcement came after a group of business leaders held a meeting recently urging the government to provide tax cuts to improve the investment climate in the country.

The Accor Group will open five new hotels in Indonesia and four in Malaysia this year, its regional vice president Gerrard Guillouet said, Asia Pulse reported Thursday (13/3/08). The five hotels to be opened in the country this year are the Ibis in Solo and Semarang, the Grand Mercure Suite in Legian, Bali, the Formule 1 Cikini in Jakarta and the Mercure Makassar in South Sulawesi. Construction of the five hotels and four in Malaysia were in the final phase, Guillouet said.

Two major groups announced plans last week to pump a total of $345 million into oil palm plantation expansion. PT Charindo Palma Plantations (CPP), a unit of Thailand’s Charoen Pokphand group, plans to invest $280 million after starting the planting of seedlings in its new plantations, Asia Pulse reported Tuesday (11/3/08).

The Association of Lighting and Electrical Industries (AILKI), predicts exports of tubular lamps and light bulbs will increase by up to 20 percent this year. The association, which covers around 60 percent of the nation's total lamp production, groups together PT Philips Indonesia, PT Osram Indonesia, PT GE Lightening Indonesia and PT Matsushita Denko Gobel.

Over the past year we have seen many international property developers in the United States and Asia, including Indonesia, start to look to Vietnam for property investment. It was reported foreign investment in property in Vietnam had reached US$5 billion in 2007, contributing 24.6 percent of the total foreign investment in the country. Foreign investment in property is only second to investment in the producing industry.

Hundreds of Taiwanese small and medium businesses could relocate their operations here if the government improves its labor regulations, the Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo) says. Apindo chairman Sofjan Wanandi said the firms were interested in Indonesia because China's new labor law, in effect since Jan. 1, was deemed unfavorable in Taiwan, particularly for labor-intensive sectors.