The Indonesian Cattle and Buffalo Farmers Association said it doubts the government will be able to meet its target of achieving close to national self-sufficiency in beef production by 2014, despite a plan to subsidize bank loans to cattle breeders, a senior official from the organization said on Friday. “Even with the subsidies, the target is still not realistic,” said Teguh Boediyana, chairman of the association, also known as PPSKI.

HSBC Upbeat About Indonesia, Asia Chief Says by Roffie Kurniawan The global economy appears headed toward a recovery, with Asia leading the way. However, the road ahead is unlikely to be smooth, said Sandy Flockhart, HSBC’s chief executive for the Asia-Pacific region, during a recent exclusive interview with the Jakarta Globe.

Mustaqim Adamrah, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta The Indonesian pulp industry is set to rebound from the global economic downturn as international orders have started to pile up with domestic pulp producers. Indonesian Pulp and Paper Association (APKI) chairman M. Mansyur said foreign orders now amounted to more than 2.5 million tons of pulp this year – more than half of the country’s annual production capacity of 4.5 million tons.

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Indonesia and China have agreed to step up cooperation in infrastructure and water resource development as marked by the signing of two memorandums of understanding (MoUs). The MoUs were signed by Djoko Kirmanto, Indonesian Public Works Minister, Li Shenglin and Chen Lei, respectively of the Chinese transportation ministry, and irrigation ministry, in Beijing recently.

With a nod of approval toward the country’s economic prospects, a group of Japanese corporate leaders has indicated their intention to invest in Indonesia, particularly in the consumer and infrastructure sectors, a leader of the group said. Koken-Kai is a group of about 200 Japanese corporate executives from Tokyo, Osaka and Fukuoka. Its members are involved in industries ranging from manufacturing to financial services.