Originally Posted By: Roy's Hair Originally Posted By: KuKuKaChu Indonesia's present challenge was summed up recently by US ambassador Cameron Hume: "The younger generation has to decide how Indonesia should be attached to the rest of the world. Do they want an education that enables them to compete with their neighbors, or will they rely on coal exports and a reputation for exotic food?" Rely on the punani would be my advice.

Originally Posted By: KuKuKaChu Indonesia's present challenge was summed up recently by US ambassador Cameron Hume: "The younger generation has to decide how Indonesia should be attached to the rest of the world. Do they want an education that enables them to compete with their neighbors, or will they rely on coal exports and a reputation for exotic food?" Rely on the punani would be my advice.

Singapore (ANTARA News) - Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Tuesday warned against "backsliding" toward protectionism as Southeast Asian economic ministers launched a week of talks to strengthen regional trade links. Speaking at the opening ceremony of the annual meeting of ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Lee said the negotiations came at a key moment after the breakdown last month of global trade talks in Geneva.

Jakarta (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - Qatar Telecom (QTel) said it wants to have more than a 50 per cent stake in Indonesia's second largest telecommunications company PT Indosat. Qtel is already the largest shareholder of Indosat with a 40.81 per cent stake it acquired last June from Singapore Technologies Telemedia (STT) at a price of US$1.8 billion.

JAKARTA - Sitting down with Indonesia's rising business stars gives a sense of the progress and perils that define the country as it marks a decade since the downfall of authoritarian president Suharto and heads into parliamentary and presidential elections next year. "Indonesia is now an economic powerhouse, the biggest in Southeast Asia," said Fauzi Ichsan, chief economist at Standard Chartered Bank.

strange? i don't think so. all looks par for the course. remember also, elections are coming up. banging the anti-foreigner nationalist can is a compulsory part of every political campaign.

Jakarta, (ANTARA News) - An organizarion calling itself Committee to Save State Assets (KPKN) has denounced the issuance of a ministerial regulation on private oil and gas contractor companies` obligation to meet domestic need, saying the policy had the potential of causing the state to lose trillions of rupiah.

Jakarta (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - General Motors Corp. will make Indonesia the production base for multi-purpose vehicles (MPV) in this region, an official of the industry ministry said. The largest car maker in the U.S. would put back into operation its factory - which had lain idle in Pondok Ungu, Bekasi, West Java - featuring a capacity of 20,000 units a year, Transport Director Syarif Hidayat said.

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta The nation's largest cement maker, PT Semen Gresik Group (SGG), is embarking on various massive projects to boost its production capacity in the next four years to meet increasing domestic demand. The company plans to build two factories with the aim of increasing its production capacity by 5 million tons per year by 2012. It also plans to build five new power plants to help it save on energy costs.

PT Indofood Sukses Makmur, the world's largest maker of noodles, is planning to expand into the dairy business by fully acquiring Drayton Pte. Ltd., which owns a controlling stake in local dairy company PT Indolakto. In a recent statement to the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX), Indofood said it had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Pastilla Investment Ltd., the owner of Drayton.

Australia's visiting agriculture, fisheries and forestry minister Tony Burke pledged Thursday to encourage Australian companies to increase investments in Indonesia's agriculture sector. Burke said Australia and Indonesia had agreed to form a task force aimed at promoting Australian investment and cooperation in the sector. "Any investment and cooperation will help the Indonesian farmers to increase its production capability so that it can deal with global food shortages," he said.

Robust domestic demand on crude palm oil (CPO) for biofuel is likely to compensate losses from declining prices of CPO on world markets, a ministry official says. "With a demand on CPO for biofuel, there will be a new market of about 1 million tons," said Bayu Krisnamurthi, deputy head of agriculture and marine affairs at the Coordinating Ministry for the Economy.