Singapore. Sandiaga Uno, the second-youngest man on Forbes’s Indonesia rich list, says private bankers inundate him with investment pitches and have offered everything from wine-tasting and concerts to karaoke evenings and gambling trips to Macau to solicit his business. “Almost every bank that comes here makes a courtesy call,” Uno, 40, whose fortune is estimated at $400 million, said in an interview in Jakarta.

The government plans to invest US$2.5 billion in the mining sector, an official said Tuesday. Bambang Setiawan, the director general of mineral resources, coal and geothermal mining at the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry, told Antara the government had increased its investment target from $1.8 billion in 2009 due to the improving global economy.

More foreign tourists visited Indonesia last year than in 2008, but they spent less, resulting in a sharp decline in total tourism revenue, the government reported on Monday. A total of 6.45 million foreign nationals visited the country in 2009, an increase of 0.8 percent from 2008, according to preliminary data from the Coordinating Ministry for the Economy.

Foreign tourists catch some rays at Bali's Kuta Beach. (Photo: J.P. Christo, JG) Indonesia Tourist Arrivals Rose in 2009 but Spending Declined More foreign tourists visited Indonesia last year than in 2008, but they spent less, resulting in a sharp decline in total tourism revenue, the government reported on Monday.

State-owned PT Perum Pegadaian, the country’s biggest operator of pawn shops, said on Tuesday that it would seek Rp 7 trillion ($756 million) from the capital markets this year to strengthen its capital structure and increase its total lending. Pegadaian finance director Budiyanto said the company would likely issue Rp 2 trillion in bonds, take out commercial loans totaling Rp 4 trillion and seek Rp 1 trillion from the money market.

The government has established a state-owned guarantee fund to protect investors in infrastructure projects from any “unfavorable” policies that could hurt their investments, the Finance Ministry said on Tuesday. The fund - called PT Penjaminan Infrastruktur Indonesia (PII) - will act like an insurance company, compensating investors for losses if, for example, a promised tariff hike on a toll road did not materialize.