JAKARTA, Dec. 3 (Xinhua) -- Indonesia should seize potential foreign direct investment (FDI) source from foreign house buyers to increase economic development, an official said here on Thursday. Lukman Purnomosidi, Deputy Chairman of Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Trade (KADIN) for Housing and Infrastructure, said that all these years, the Indonesian government has been focusing less to attract FDI from overseas house buyers whereas other Asian countries do it.

Palm oil, little changed, may extend a four-week rally on speculation demand will remain robust in India and China, the biggest consumers of the edible oils. Palm oil prices are poised to rise “sharply” next year amid potential supply disruptions from El Nino, Dorab Mistry, director of Godrej International, said in an interview in Bali on Wednesday. Consumption in China and India is increasing and “rising from an already high base,” he said.

The government is planning to develop regional centers for processing palm oil into biodiesel and other products to boost profit margins and create jobs, a minister said on Wednesday. The government is seeking investment to produce oleochemicals - used to make household products like soaps, detergents and toothpastes - cooking oils and biodiesel from palm oil, Hatta Rajasa, the coordinating minister for the economy, said at a palm oil conference in Bali.

Vincent Lingga, Jakarta Who in the government can we trust if then Bank Indonesia governor Boediono and Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati turn out to have compromised their policy decisions in bailing out Bank Century in late November 2008? That was one of the great concerns expressed by most businessmen I talked to during an Indonesian-Australian business conference in Yogyakarta last week.

A planned large-scale commercial farming or food estate project in Merauke, Papua, is expected to trigger fresh investment of up to Rp 50 trillion (about US$5.3 billion) in the area in the next five years. However, Agriculture Deputy Minister Bayu Krisnamurti said on Wednesday that they would have to build basic and supporting infrastructure first before it could actually attract investors.

Indonesia, now the world’s number one crude palm oil (CPO) producer, wants to become number one in the palm oil downstream sector with a number of government incentives currently being deliberated to boost the downstream sector. Coordinating Minister for Economy Hatta Radjasa said on Wednesday that a government regulation was being prepared to provide the basis whereby the government could provide incentives to investors financing the downstream sector of the palm oil industry.