The impact of the financial crisis that struck the global economy in mid-2008 has shown some signs of improvement. For those affected economies, the contraction has slowed, owing to the various government stimulus packages that have helped spur domestic demand. For selected Asian economies the impact was muted and their economies continued to post positive growth - even during the crisis.

Indonesia is urging China to invest here instead of mainly being a trader, and to back a “win-win solution” in the implementation of the free trade agreement between ASEAN and China (ACFTA). Industry Minister Mohamad Suleman Hidayat said Thursday that during the visit of Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jianbao to Jakarta on April 23, there would be “some important programs” to discuss, including future Chinese investment in Indonesia.

Jakarta (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - Indonesia and Hong Kong have signed a new tax agreement to avoid double taxation and prevent tax evasion, an official of the finance ministry said. Under the agreement signed Tuesday, Indonesia will reduce taxes on Hong Kong investors' income in dividends, royalties, interest on financial products, and profits generated by branches of Hong Kong companies operating in the country.

Jakarta (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - Indonesia's rubber plantations are expected to expand by 300,000 hectares to 3.8 million hectares this year. Both state and private plantation companies plan expansion boosted by an increase in the rubber price in the world market, an official of the agriculture ministry said. Expansion has also been recorded in smallholders' plantations in the past three years, Plantation Director General Achmad Mangga Barani said.

JAKARTA, March 26 (Xinhua) -- Indonesian Industry Minister M.S. Hidayat said that four Japan major automobile producers have expressed keen interest to join the government's program to produce eco-friendly and low-cost cars, local media reported here Friday. The minister was quoted by the Jakarta Post as saying that representatives of Daihatsu, Toyota, Suzuki and Nissan had all expressed the interest.

Quoting: biznews "We’ve got to make sure that people know more about Indonesia other than the demonstrations, terrorism, tsunamis, floods and earthquakes that they read about in newspapers. That needs to be changed.” That's a bit unfair. Indonesia is also famous for massive corruption, marrying 12 year-olds and that Balinese bloke who fucked a cow.

Indonesia needs $90 billion to $100 billion of private sector investment from 2010-14 if the country is to achieve its target of 7 percent annual growth, the chairman of the Investment Coordinating Board said on Thursday. Speaking at a summit on Indonesia organized by The Economist, Gita Wirjawan said the country needed to spend a total of $140 billion to $150 billion over the five-year period to upgrade its aging infrastructure.

dubai and vice presidents ... it'll all end in tears, mark my words.

MEC Holdings, a subsidiary of the Dubai-based Trimex Group, said on Thursday that it had completed acquiring land for its $1 billion railway project in East Kalimantan and is ready to begin construction in the first half of this year. The 130-kilometer railway is part of MEC’s plan to invest a total of $5.2 billion in the province, including in a coal terminal, an aluminium smelter and a power plant.

Quoting: KuKuKaChu "Maybe we need to open more Indonesian restaurants and send more workers to [the US and Europe]," he said as quoted by kompas.com. "They could promote Indonesia and show that the Indonesian economy has changed." oh dear. will someone please tell Pak Propeller Head to just shut up.

The Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) admitted Thursday that it was difficult to lure investors from the U.S. and European countries to invest in Indonesia. BKPM head Gita Wirjawan said the declining number of Indonesian workers and students in the U.S. and Europe had made it hard to promote Indonesia. "Maybe we need to open more Indonesian restaurants and send more workers to [the US and Europe]," he said as quoted by kompas.com.

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta: Industry Department said it is planning to draft a legal basis to facilitate production and trade of efficient and affordable vehicles as Japanese automakers are said to have prepared business plans for cheap and green cars in Indonesia. Four major corporations Daihatsu, Toyota, Suzuki, and Nissan according to Industry Minister MS Hidayat are seeking informations on market prospects which Hidayat said was “good”. “I challenged them.

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Chinese Ambassador to Indonesia Zhang Qiyue said socialization and education are very important to Indonesian and Chinese people to overcome concerns about the negative impact of the ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement.

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Trade Minister Mari Elka Pangestu said her ministry had set itself the target of creating an online registration and license-issuing system over the next five years. "At present, we are already using a national single window system whereby trade licenses are processed in only a few days` time.

Semarang (ANTARA News) - The Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration will restrict the employment of expatriates in Indonesia in relation to the implementation of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) as of January 1, 2010. "We will apply two strategies in relation to CAFTA, namely utilizing opportunities and anticipating their impacts," head of the Research, Development and Information Agency of the Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration Juharsa said in Semarang Thursday.