Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said Tuesday that the country's economic performance in 2009 was quite well at the backdrop of a crisis that rammed global economy, the Antara news agency reported.

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Riau Islands customs officers in Natuna waters on Monday (Jan 4) foiled an attempt to smuggle thousands of bales of second-hand clothing from Malaysia to Flores, East Nusa Tenggara. The customs officers in a patrol boat intercepted two motor boats carrying 2,300 bales of second-hand clothing in Natuna waters on Monday (Jan 4), Evi Suhartantyo, information officer of the customs and excise directorate general, said here on Tuesday.

The government is forecasting that the manufacturing sector will grow by 4.55 percent in 2010, in line with the recovery of the domestic and global economies, a senior cabinet minister said on Monday. Although still modest, that represents a significant improvement over last year, when the sector is estimated to have grown by just 1.6 percent. “We have a strong industrial base with a big opportunity to develop it.

Indonesian bank executives on Monday called on the government to use licensing restrictions to limit foreign investors’ expansion in the domestic banking industry. Agus Martowardojo, chairman of the Indonesian Bankers Association (IBI), said Bank Indonesia should follow the lead of neighboring countries by granting foreign banks limited licenses, based on geography or type of banking activity.

The Indonesian government submitted a proposal to the ASEAN Council last week to postpone tariff reductions on 228 items under the free trade agreement between the regional grouping and China. “The notification we sent to the ASEAN Council last week stipulates we want a renegotiation,” Industry Minister Mohamad Suleman Hidayat said. Hidayat said Indonesia was willing to trade the postponing with something that will benefit China.

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The electricity supply problems in a number of regions in Indonesia will be overcome by October 2010, Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Hatta Radjasa said here on Monday. "Outages in a number of regions will be overcome in the next 10 months," he said in his evaluation of economic performance in 2009 and prospects for 2010.