The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Having received approval during a shareholders meeting Thursday night, publicly listed state coal mining company PT Tambang Batubara is set to begin upgrading its coal transportation systems. PTBA will establish a joint venture with state railway company PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI) to upgrade a coal transportation system in Sumatra this year.

Total exports in April dropped by 7.78 percent from the previous month, due to a combination of declining crude oil and gas exports and lower crude palm oil prices, the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) said Monday. Ali Rosidi, BPS deputy chairman for distribution and services statistics, said exports in April fell to US$10.97 billion from $11.89 billion in March. Oil and gas exports fell by 10.11 percent, from $2.76 billion in March to $2.48 billion in April.

Jakarta (ANTARA News/afp) - Indonesia's Lippo and Niaga banks, majority owned by the Malaysian government, merged Monday to meet Jakarta's competition rules and create the country's fifth largest lender, a spokesman said. The banks which are majority owned by the Malaysian government's investment arm, Khazanah Nasional Bhd., announced the merger at a ceremony in Jakarta witnessed by Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Mohammad Najib Tun Razak.

Padang (ANTARA News) - Culture and Tourism Minister Jero Wacik has expressed optimism the target of the Visit Indonesia Year (VIY ) 2008 program to attract seven million foreign tourists will be achieved. He said he was optimistic as the number of tourist arrivals in the January-March period this year represented an increase of 15 percent from the figure on the same period last year.