Indonesia's industry minister proposed earlier this year that the country's civil servants - all 4m of them - should buy and wear only locally made shoes. In the end this policy - a response to the global economic crisis - was opposed by others in the government. The trade minister said it would be a blatant violation of World Trade Organisation regulations and lead to protectionist retaliation from partners.

Mumbai, Jun 24 : Leading edible oil producer, K S Oils limited has acquired 35,000 acres of palm plantation in Indonesia for an undisclosed amount in continuation of its strategy of acquiring palm plantation assets in South Asia. With this acquisition, K S Oils' palm plantation land bank assets in Indonesia stand at 85,000 acres with 50,000 acres being acquired in 2008, the Compnay said in a release.

KUALA LUMPUR: Indonesia’s plan to achieve about 40 million tonnes of annual palm oil production by 2020 is still up in the air, says Indonesian Palm Oil Board (IPOB) vice-chairman Derom Bangun. He said currently the average oil palm plantation yields in Indonesia, the world’s largest palm oil producer, was still below three tonnes per ha.

The Ministry of Agriculture plans to screen and treat all wooden containers and packaging materials entering the country’s ports to protect domestic producers from foreign organisms or insects, a ministry official said on Tuesday. Based on the new regulation, the wood containers and pallets, often used as packaging in larger containers, would be heated and fumigated to eradicate all dangerous organisms.

Oil production from Cepu block, the nation’s largest oil deposit, will reach its preliminary target of 20,000 barrels a day in August as a land dispute hampering the project has been resolved, a senior official of upstream oil and gas regulator BP Migas said on Tuesday.

The Jakarta Futures Exchange on Tuesday launched the nation’s first organized physical market for crude palm oil, which will be traded exclusively online, in an attempt to create a new price benchmark, a JFX executive said. Trade Minister Mari Elka Pangestu and State Minister for State Enterprises Sofyan Djalil attended the debut at the Four Seasons Hotel in Jakarta and rang the bell that kicked off online trading of the commodity.

Bintan (ANTARA News) - To support sea transportation, especially for tourists to reach Lagoi resort in Bintan regency, Bintan Resort Pte Ltd (BRF) added two ferry boats to serve the Singapore-Lagoi route in Riau Islands. "The new ferry boat is fitted with sophisticated technology, and has a cruising speed of 37 knots, so that the Lagoi-Singapore distance could be covered in 45 minutes," spokesperson for Bintan Resort Cakrawala Lidia said Monday.

Indonesian House of Representatives finally enacted Tuesday the much-expected public service law that punishes government officials who delivered ill-conducted services to the public. After four years of discussions, lawmakers in the parliament unanimously agreed to enact the law called Public Service Law that provides various grades of punishment for government officials who extort money or deliver unpleasant services to the public.

Indonesia's coconut-based industries remain largely untapped and lag behind regional peers due to lack of development in the sector, despite Indonesia being one of the world's largest growers of coconut palms, an association says. The government's lack of support certainly does not help, according to the Indonesian Coconut Forum (FOKPI) - a grouping of companies that purchases coconuts and its derivatives.

Indonesia's cement consumption in May shrank 14.4% year-on-year to 3.05 million tons amid a slump in the property and construction sector, Asia Pulse reported. It was the steepest contraction in monthly consumption from 3.56 million tons in April, the association of cement companies said. Association chairman Urip Timuryono said private sector property projects and government infrastructure projects have been the largest consumers of cement in the country.

Electronic companies Nokia of Finland and Samsung of South Korea are exploring the possibility of building cellular phone manufacturing and assembling plants in Indonesia, a ministry official said on Tuesday, Antara reported. Director for Telematics Affairs at the Industry Ministry Ramon Bangun said Nokia was serious with its plan to build a factory in Indonesia as the company so far controlled over 50% of the cellular phone market in Indonesia.

A number of business sectors appear to be experiencing a boost, with higher sales in areas such as automotives and heavy equipment, while banks are starting to lower credit rates, likely increasing the momentum of recovery. In the automotive sector, while Suzuki said it was reducing output due to lower sales, the country's largest car producer, PT Astra International, booked a 9.5% increase in car in May to 20,891 units.

Benget Besalicto Tnb. , The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Tue, 06/23/2009 1:22 PM | Business The country's business lobby has called on the government to provide tax incentives for the information technology sector and allow it greater access to financing to accelerate its growth amid the sector's ever-increasing significance in the overall economy.

Quoting: Jungle George If Arabs and Indonesians can get their collective sh't together there is a lot of money to be made from this project. can't disagree there. it will be the new hawaii bali. and, i guess, therein lies the problem. bali is slowly turning into a social powder keg as a result of locals selling off their land and hawking their culture. mass tourism over the past 30 years has turned generations of balinese into snobby rentiers who think the world owes them a living.