TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta:The target to make Batam, Bintan, Karimun (BBK) into special economic zones has not been achieved. “It should have been realized in 2009, but the plan failed due to the global crisis,” said Trade Minister Mari Elka Pangestu at the World Expo press conference at the Trade Ministry yesterday. The goal to establish the BKK special economic zone was first initiated in 2006.

KUALA LUMPUR: TSH RESOURCES BHD is looking at expanding its PLANTATION acreage in Indonesia, and is currently scouting around the central and East Kalimantan regions for large tracts of land that are reasonably priced. "We are looking for green fields. Land prices are hard to disclose, but they are still quite okay," group managing director Datuk Tan Aik Sim told reporters after its AGM here on Thursday, May 20. He said TSH would finance the expansion via internal funds.

The Indonesian and Singaporean governments have agreed to jointly promote the Batam, Bintan and Karimun (BBK) free trade zone, in Riau Islands province in a bid to lure more international investors. Trade Minister Mari Elka Pangestu said in Jakarta on Thursday that the partnership in the promotion of the BBK free trade zone was part of the economic cooperation agreement signed during President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's brief visit to Singapore on Monday.

The CAFTA (China-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement) is widely opposed in Indonesia because there are strong fears here that Chinese products will severely damage the country’s economy. But as the implementation of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) is only five years away, we need to start paying it the attention it deserves, as its impact could be even more severe on our economy.

VIVAnews - Sri Mulyani Indrawati assumed the economic crisis in Europe may threaten economic threat to Indonesia in 2011. This is considering the progress of debt crisis in several countries in the continent. Countries like Portugal, Italy, Spain, Ireland and Greece have the potential to suffer from serious fiscal condition with the ratio of government debt far beyond the agreed maximum level, which is 60 percent.

JAKARTA, May 20 (Xinhua) Indonesia has set a target to exit by October this year from the priority watch list of intellectual property rights violators, set by the United States Trade Representatives (USTR), a government official said Thursday. Indonesian Trade Minister Marie Elka Pangestu said,"the next assessment period (of intellectual property rights) is in October.

Ambon (ANTARA News) - A Beijing investor is interested in running hotels in Maluku which has many interested tourist objects and destinations, and build a star-rated hotel in there. He told the head of the Maluku investment coordination agency (BKPMD) Rahman Soumena here Thursday that the foreign investor planned to build a star-rated hotel in an area close to the Liang beach tourist site, Salahutu subdistrict (Ambon island), Central Maluku regency.