Nov. 20 (Bloomberg) -- Palm oil output and exports from Indonesia, the biggest producer, may increase to a record next year as the global economic recovery stokes demand for the most- consumed vegetable oil, according to industry officials. Shipments may expand between 7 percent and 10 percent from an estimated 15.8 million metric tons this year, Fadhil Hasan, executive director at the Indonesian Palm Oil Association, said in an interview.

The newly established Government Procurement Regulatory Body (LKPP) plans to implement electronic procurement systems in all government institutions as its main target, in a bid to save the state money from inefficiencies. LKPP chairman Roestam Sjarief said Thursday his institution recognized that the lack of transparency in goods and service procurement process in the country had become public concern.

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta: State Electricity Company has appointed Japan's Sumitomo to build the 20 megawatt geothermal plant in North Sulawesi which was part of the second batch of the 10,000 megawatt project, an official with the state company said on Thursday.

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta: Head of the National Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT), Marzan Aziz Iskandar, has said that the agency will build a geothermal power plant in Cibuni, West Java. “We have found the source,” Marzan told Tempo, on Thursday (19/11). Marzan explained that the power plant would produce 2.5 megawatts of electricity that could supply power to 2,500 houses. The project will cost Rp30 billion and this will come from the state budget.

JAKARTA, Nov 19 (Bernama) -- Indonesia would begin constructing the world's would-be longest bridge in Sunda Strait connecting two main islands of Sumatra and Java in 2014, as an effort to boost infrastructure development in the southeast Asian largest economy. The 30-km long bridge is expected to boost economy in both islands, particularly in Sumatra island, in which over 80 percent of the country's about 230 million population live, said Public Works Minister Joko Kirmanto said here Thursday.

PARIS, Nov 19 (Reuters) - Private consumption and a pick-up in investment will drive Indonesia's economy, with annual growth seen above 5 percent in the next two years, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development said on Thursday. While Indonesia is not a member of the OECD, it is seen as an up-and-coming G20 economy that may soon join the ranks of the BRICs, Brazil, Russia, India, and China, given its large domestic market, rich resources, and growing appeal to investors.