As the country's resources flag, an ill-considered government move puts a roadblock in the way Indonesian oil and gas development is expected to stall in 2010, with state revenue from the sector falling US$6.36 billion, down 25 percent on 2009, and direct investment falling to $12.18 billion from $13.77 targeted, down from $13.52 billion in 2008, with the blame squarely at the government's door.

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta: The National Armed Forces have filed compliant over a construction of a new shipyard near the Batam Naval Base in Riau Islands, Sumatra, and demanded cease on the project on ground that the new facility was too close to the naval base. Commander of Batam Naval Base, Lieutenant Colonel Purwanto said on Tuesday (12/1) the navy objected to the presence of a foreign company near a military site, without disclosing the name of the company.

JAKARTA, Jan. 11 (Xinhua) -- Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Monday met Japanese Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Masayuki Naoshima at the State Palace, both agreeing to boost cooperation on investment. Indonesia needs investment to build massive infrastructure to spur economic growth with an target of 6.6 percent a year within the next five years.

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The government has named two special economic zones as economic development hubs it will offer to investors this year, a chief economic minister said. "In 2010, there have been two zones which are ready to be offered soon," Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Hatta Rajasa told the press after a meeting of the Indonesia-Japan Economic Forum 2010 here on Monday.

Software piracy in Indonesia is an open secret. Copies of everything from Microsoft Windows 7 to the latest games line the shelves of software shops in Ratu Plaza and other malls. All are illegally duplicated, and sell starting at just Rp 25,000 ($2.75) per disc. “Piracy is a big problem right now,” said Donnys Sheyoputra of the Business Software Alliance in Indonesia, an association of proprietary software and hardware developers.

The government should revise rules to allow foreign nationals to buy apartments and houses in Indonesia before an international real estate forum in Bali in May, the head of a real estate association said on Monday. Teguh Satria, chairman of the Indonesian Real Estate Developers Association (REI), told the Jakarta Globe that he hoped the regulation prohibiting foreigners from owning property would be revised sooner than May or June - the time frame suggested by the housing minister last week.