The government is mulling fiscal incentives to attract investment in coal-bed methane (CBM) projects, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said Wednesday, Dow Jones reported. Chris Phillips, president and chief executive at Vico Indonesia, said that tax incentives would help boost investment to unlock CBM in the country. Indonesia's total CBM resources are estimated at 453.30 trillion cubic feet, trapped in 11 basins, mostly in Sumatra and Kalimantan.

The government said it would reevaluate incentives in the oil and gas sector taking into account the contribution of the sector to the country's economy, Asia Pulse reported. Coordinating Minister for Economy Sri Mulyani Indrawati said incentives have been provided for investment in the oil and gas and geothermal sectors such as in the form of import duty exemption for exploration equipment.

Agriculture minister Anton Apriyantono has called for continued development of eco-friendly and sustainable palm oil plantations in view of the good prospects of the palm oil market, Antara reported.

Lotte Shopping Co. plans to invest up to Rp9 trillion ($804 million) to open 26 new outlets in Indonesia up until 2013, a company official said Tuesday, Dow Jones reported. PT Lotte Shopping Indonesia president director Moon Young-pyo told reporters the new stores will boost its total outlets in Indonesia to 45. "We will also double the number of (lines of) goods sold to 30,000," Moon said.

Indonesia's foreign direct investment in 2008 rose sharply by 43.8% to $14.87 billion from 2007, according to data from the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM), Xinhua reported. Most of the investment was in the sectors of transportation and communication, it said. Earlier, Reuters reported BKPM chairman Muhammad Lutfi as stating that total investment, including both foreign and domestic commitments, reached $17 billion in 2008.

Aditya Suharmoko, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Despite the success of the government’s tax amnesty for administrative violators, dubbed as the Sunset Policy, there will be no extension beyond the Feb. 28 deadline. The Sunset Policy is a program by which registered taxpayers are given the chance to settle their previously unreported obligations. Taxpayers who submit accurate reports will not be scrutinized and will be freed from paying tax penalties on previous liabilities.

Deep in the forests of Indonesian Borneo, a small environmental group is using education and common sense to arm villagers against the devastating onslaught of palm plantations. Yayasan Orangutan Indonesia (Yayorin) was founded in 1991 with the goal of saving Indonesia's endangered orangutans and other wildlife as well as the forests that those species need to survive.

Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani Indrawati said on Thursday the so-called “Sunset Policy” contributed Rp 5.56 trillion ($489.28 million) in additional tax revenue last year, equal to 15.2 percent of last year’s total tax surplus. The revised 2008 national budget contained a tax revenue target of Rp 534.5 trillion, but the government ended up exceeding its collection target by Rp 36.57 trillion.

byMita Valina Liem A proposal to allocate an additional Rp 774 billion ($68.11 million) in subsidies for biofuel producers came a step closer to passage as a legislative committee signaled endorsement of the idea - in principle ­ - on Thursday. The House of Representatives’ Commission VII, which deals with energy issues, agreed with a plan that would subsidized biofuel products to bring their prices in line with cheaper fossil fuels.