In the second announcement on major coal-railway projects in as many days, Central Kalimantan’s top official said on Friday that the proposed 185-kilometer rail line linking Puruk Cahu and Bangkuang - expected to cost $1.5 billion - will be put out to tender before the end of the year.

A senior official at the Energy Ministry said the global economic crisis and political pressure over oil companies’ costs were the reasons for the lukewarm response from investors toward exploring new oil and gas blocks.

JAKARTA, Sept 11 (Reuters) - Indonesia's Bank Mandiri (BMRI.JK) will open a new unit in Kuala Lumpur dedicated to collecting remittances from the millions of Indonesians working in Malaysia, a senior executive said late on Thursday.

Indonesia failed to attract enough investors to develop all the oil and gas blocks offered in the first quarter of this year due to the global economic slowdown and concerns over revisions to the cost recovery mechanism.

The JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton Bombings in Jakarta last July may have caused a setback for the Bali tourism market that has performed relatively very well despite the global financial crisis and the threat of a global H1N1 pandemic.

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Vice President Jusuf Kalla said he had no knowledge about imported sugar which had reportedly entered the country through Batam."I don`t know about it (the sugar import)," the vice president told reporters after Friday prayers here.

An irate business community on Friday slammed a recently issued Manpower Ministry directive ordering firms to pay a one-month Idul Fitri holiday bonus to nonpermanent contract workers, saying it was unexpected and had serious financial implications.The directive, issued on Aug.