Jakarta (ANTARA News) - PT Pertamina Geothermal Energy (PGE), a subsidiary of state oil and gas company PT Pertamina, needed US$2 billion, the equivalent of Rp18 trillion, to build a geothermal power plant with an installed capacity of 1,000 megawatts.

Surge in handset connectivity brings cheer, fear JAKARTA: Mr Syarief Maulana, who works for a non-governmental organisation, is constantly in the loop - he uses his BlackBerry smartphone to check his email, news websites and his Facebook account multiple times each day. 'My subscription costs 150,000 rupiah (S$22.65) a month and it includes practically unlimited use of the Internet. It's a good deal considering my bill used to be 400,000 rupiah just a few years ago,' he said.

Jakarta. Since its release last week, analysts have lauded the 2011 state budget draft for cutting subsidies to make way for development spending, but some in the business community fear the cuts may be too much, too fast. Subsidies have been slashed 8.2 percent in the draft to Rp 184.8 trillion ($20.5 billion), down from Rp 201.3 trillion. “There are two benefits to reducing subsidies,” said Edimon Ginting, the Asian Development Bank’s senior economist for Indonesia.

In mid-July, the Japan Credit Rating Agency, Ltd. (JCR) raised Indonesia’s rating to investment grade, which reflects growing confidence in the management of Southeast Asia’s largest economy, which has proved resilient. This is certainly great news for Indonesia, as investment grade rating will boost the confidence of foreign investors in the country, especially since this step is expected to be followed by international rating agencies.