July 2 (Bloomberg) -- Volkswagen AG, Europe’s largest automaker, will spend $140 million in the next two years to build its first factory in Indonesia, where economic growth is helping boost demand. The automaker plans to build a factory that can make 50,000 Touran multi-purpose vehicles a year, Muhammad Lutfi, head of Indonesia’s Investment Coordinating Board, said in an interview in Jakarta today. The government will provide tax incentives to Volkswagen, he said without elaborating.

The slump in Indonesia’s exports and imports continued in May, although on a monthly basis imports of raw materials and capital goods now show signs that industrial activities are starting to pick up. Imports of capital goods in particular grew rapidly in May, according to the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), most of which were in the form of machinery, vehicles and electronic devices, deputy chairman Ali Rosidi said on Wednesday.

Quoting: biznews From http://www.iesingapore.gov.sg/ Coconut-based industry largely untapped I tapped a pair the other night.

The Indonesian Coconut Forum (FOKPI) has tied up with the Indonesian Institute of Science to conduct several pilot projects designed to diversify coconut-based products in the hope of developing the largely untapped industry. FOKPI said that although Indonesia is one of the world’s largest growers of coconut palms, the country lags behind regional peers such as the Philippines due to a lack of development in the sector and support from the Indonesian government.

With a plantation area of 1.6 million hectares and production capacity of 5.1 million tons per year, Indonesia’s Ministry of Industry has identified Riau as an ideal place to develop the country’s first downstream industry cluster for the palm oil industry. It also expects the region to take a central role in making Indonesia a leading producer of palm oil-derived products.

Aker Solutions has officially opened its significantly modernized and expanded manufacturing facility for surface trees and wellheads in Batam, Indonesia. The expansion is part of Aker Solutions' long-term strategy to increase its presence in the rapidly growing oil and gas markets in the Asia Pacific region. Aker Solutions has invested US $17 million into the expansion and upgrade of the Batam manufacturing centre.

Benget Besalicto Tnb., The Jakarta Post, Jakarta 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.

Ridwan Rusli, Singapore The sharp increase in crude oil and fuel prices between 2004 and 2008 ended abruptly when crude prices dropped from around US$140 per barrel to $40 as the global financial crisis took hold. The recent increase in prices back to around $70 per barrel shows the reduced pressure on Indonesia's fiscal burden and trade balance was temporary.

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta: Government was pushing to block foreign investment in cigarette industry, as the government is revising regulation on investment. After a meeting to discuss the regulation at the Industry Department on Wednesday Minister Fahmi Idris said “Cigarette industry is on the list.” Fahmi said his department proposed seven industries to be put under investments ban, including cigarette, sugar and pulp.

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) said the country`s non-oil/non-gas exports in the January - May period dropped by 21.9 percent if compared with the same period a year earlier. "The exports of animal and vegetable fat/oil group experienced a significant drop by 42.44 percent," Ali Rosidi, BPS deputy chief for statistics distribution and service affairs, said here on Wednesday.