JAKARTA, Oct 16 (Reuters) - Indonesia's tough new environment law, passed last month and aimed at any firm with an effect on the environment, may take as long as two years to implement, a senior government official said on Friday. The law allows the government to revoke polluters' business licences, which environmentalists said could lead to more effective enforcement.

A new Trade Ministry regulation issued on Friday will allow alcoholic-beverage makers to supply their products directly to retailers without having to go through distributors, a move that the government hopes will help reduce costs for producers. However, liquor producers and distributors have been hit hard by high government taxes. They remained skeptical about whether the move would reduce their costs and make beer, wine and spirits more affordable for consumers.

Mining industry representatives said on Friday they were confused by a recently issued regulation restricting the work contractors were allowed to perform for mining concessionaires, saying it failed to clearly explain what contractors could and could not do. Industry representatives said that Article 10 of the Sept.

TEMPO Interactive, Batam: Companies in Batam need thousands of workers as the area including Batam, Bintan, and Karimun has been named as a free trade zone. Former Chairman of the Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo) for the Riau Islands, Abidin Hasibuan, said yesterday (15/10) that currently entrepreneurs who are members of Apindo in Batam needed 36,000 workers. It is predicted that Batam will need 80,000 workers by 2010.