The Indonesian forestry industry could see up to Rp 15 trillion (US$1.5 billion) in investments this year, of which Rp 6.1 trillion has already been realized, a senior Forestry Ministry official said Monday.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono last week issued a regulation which now requires all 524 regency and municipal administrations to quickly and efficiently process all business licenses needed by an investor through a one-stop licensing centre. The centre, said a deputy to the coordinating minister for the economy, Eddy Putra Irawadi, will integrate the processing of applying for all business permits required by regional service agencies into a single online system.

The government will require 20 percent of shares in mining companies entirely owned by foreign shareholders to be divested to local partners, in accordance with the new mining law, an official says. Speaking at a forum on Monday, Bambang Setiawan, the director general for coal, minerals and geothermal energy at the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry, said the government would issue a regulation in August on the divestment obligation.

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta: The government said it has dropped plans to take over the train project connecting downtown Jakarta with the Sukarno-Hatta Airport in western tip of Jakarta. Transport Minister Jusman Syafii Djamal said on Monday (29/6) a new contractor, China harbour Indonesia had joined the bidding for the project, prompting the government to scrap its plan.

Indonesian and New Zealand Free Trade Agreement talks under the auspices of the Asean bloc have been progressing well despite the economic crisis and both countries expect the bilateral arrangement can be concluded within months, say foreign ministers, The Jakarta Post reported.

A number of Saudi Arabian businessmen are interested in investing in agricultural and animal husbandry sectors as well other small and medium business sectors in West Java, Antara reported. The investors' interest was expressed during a meeting between West Java Governor H Ahmad Heryawan and Saudi Arabian Ambassador to Indonesia Salim Seghaf Al Zufrie at the governor's office on Wednesday.

The Japanese government will bring investors to Indonesia in the near future, the country�s Ambassador Kojiro Shiojiri said on Tuesday, adding that they are especially interested in the infrastructure and agriculture sectors, Antara reported. "I cannot confirm the schedule, but our government�s policy is already there,� Shiojiri said. "The government of Japan will continue to intensify cooperation in various fields with Indonesia, especially in the economic field," Shiojiri said.

Construction of an upstream palm oil industrial cluster in Dumai, Riau, will cost around Rp20 trillion ($3 billion), head of the provincial industry and trade office Herliyan Saleh said, Asia Pulse reported. The funds would be needed to build road infrastructure, port, drinking water supply facility and new units of processing factory, Saleh said. Saleh said a number of big palm oil producers had shown interest and agreed to invest in the project.

China Harbour wants to take part in a tender to build a railway project to link Soekarno-Hatta airport with Jakarta, Asia Pulse reported. Tenders held twice previously failed for lack of interest in the project. China Harbour would join previous bidders Mitsui and Railink in the third tender, Nugroho Indrio, the secretary of the railway directorate general said. The Chinese company had already submitted tender documents and the tender result would be announced early July, Indrio said.

The deputy chairman of the Investment Coordinating Board said on Monday that the Netherlands was the No. 1 investor in Indonesia over the past six months, although he declined to state the actual value of the investments. “We have the Netherlands as the No. 1 investor, followed by Singapore and South Korea,” said Yus’an of the BKPM during a hearing with the House of Representatives’ Commission VI. A small island country, the Seychelles, and Britain round out the top five this year.

Following the opening of the Suramadu Bridge, which now connects Java and Madura islands, the Riau Islands will offer a Rp 3.5 trillion (US$350 million) tender for the construction of a bridge to connect Batam and Bintan islands. "With the tender offer we can identify which investors are serious and can build a quality bridge," Riau Islands Governor Ismeth Abdullah told The Jakarta Post recently.