The Finance Ministry is investigating fake tax refund scheme that may cost the state hundreds of billions rupiah, Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said Monday. The scheme, by claiming value added tax refund for fictitious transactions, has become a structural problem, she told a press conference. "Taxpayers understand the system. That's why we call it structural (problem)," she said.

VIVAnews - Albeit the signed agreement of free trade between Asean and China, the investment from China along Q1 2010 was in fact lower than other countries. Singapore is listed as the country realizing investment in the first three months of 2010 worth US$675.8 million for 62 projects. In addition, Mauritius became the second country on the list with US$446.6 million worth of investment for two projects. "We have issued the permission.

TEMPO Interactive, Surakarta:Four investors have expressed their interest in managing Taru Jurug Animal Park located by the Bengawan Solo River. “All of the investors are from Solo, cooperating with partners from Jakarta, East Java, and Bogor,” Surakarta Mayor Joko Widodo told reporters yesterday. Of more importance, Joko said, Jurug can be an attractive tourist site, like the Singapore Zoo. “The animals won’t be kept in cages but they will be wandering freely,” he said.

Indonesia posted a 41 percent rise in foreign direct investment in the first quarter of 2010 over the same period a year ago, but domestic investment fell 30 percent, the Investment Coordinating Board said on Sunday. The strong figure for FDI led officials and analysts to agree that 2010 could be a bumper year for investment.

When President Olafur Ragnar Grimsson of Iceland came to open the 2010 World Geothermal Congress on April 226 in Bali with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono it was as if the fiery spirit of geothermal energy was angry with the human race. The Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajokull had thrown up huge clouds of ash, bringing Western European air traffic to a halt for days.

Teetering on the Edge of Bankruptcy, Japan Airline Cuts Bali and 14 Other International Destinations from its Flight Network. (5/1/2010) Facing life-threatening financial difficulties, Japan Airlines (JAL) has announced drastic steps to cease operations at over 15 international routes in an effort to stem the hemorrhaging losses of the airline that was forced to file for bankruptcy protection on January 19, 2010.

Denpasar (ANTARA News) - Bali`s per capita income averaging Rp16.21 million last year, increased 14.1 pct compared to the Rp14.20 million in 2008. "The per capita income is expected to increase to Rp22.5 million by 2013, almost double that reached in 2008," publication and documentation chief of Bali`s public relations and protocol bureau I Ketut Teneng said here Sunday.

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Head of the Investment Coordinating Agency (BKPM) Gita Wirjawan said the tax holiday given by the government to investors is expected to be finished before the end of this year. "It is enough to give the tax holiday in one or two quarters to enable the investors to boost their investment to reach the Rp 10,000 trillion target, which would be quite an achievement," he said in Jakarta Sunday.

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Indonesia`s electronics industry is expected to grow by 9-10 percent per annum until 2014 and absorb 150,000 new workers, a senior official said. "We are inviting electronics businesses to invest in this sector, including the digital-based electronics industry," Director General for Transportation Equipment Industry and Telematics (IATT), Budi Darmadi, said here on Sunday.

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Chief of the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) Gita Wirjawan said investment in the first quarter of this year reached Rp42.1 trillion. "Investment in the first quarter of this year reached Rp42.1 trillion consisting of 574 projects," Wirjawan said here on Sunday. He said that the foreign investment was recorded at Rp35.4 trillion or US$3.8 billion in 424 projects while domestic investment accounted for Rp6.7 trillion in 150 projects.