In response to growing demand for high-quality coal, Australia’s Exergen has made plans to open a facility in Indonesia that could produce up to 12 million metric tons of high-quality coal annually from poor-grade local material.

Gorontalo, (ANTARA News) - Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Fadel Muhammad said the manufacturing industry in Indonesia was declining from year to year. "In 2008, this sector contributed 27.9 percent to the national economy but in 2009 its contribution dropped to 26.9 percent," the minister said in his lecture at the Gorotalo State University here on Tuesday.

Denpasar (ANTARA News) - Bali`s tuna production had been increasing despite bad weather, head of export division of the Bali Trade and Industry Agency Putu Bagiada said here on Wednesday. He said Bali`s tuna exports in the January-July 2010 period reached US$53.7 million, a six percent increase compared to the same period of last year`s 50.6 million dollars.

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Foreign investment made in the country`s domestic market is still smaller compared with that in other Asian countries like Vietnam and Thailand, an observer said. Stock market analyst Dwi Setiawan said here on Wednesday that the small investment was due to the fact that the Indonesian government was not yet able to meet various demands from foreign investors.

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Indonesia and Thailand are to step up their bilateral trade and investment relations as the business climate and opportunities in both countries are fast improving, Thailand`s chief diplomat here said. "Indonesia and Thailand have long-standing trade and investment cooperation.

Denpasar, Bali (ANTARA News) - France was Europe`s biggest importer of handicrafts and non-oil/non-gas commodities from Bali in the January-July period in 2010 with the imports reaching a total value of 30.1 million US dollars, a local trade official said.

StratoComm Corp., a telecommunications products developer in Albany, New York, is moving into the Asian market and will form a joint company with SIMS, an Indonesia-based broadband services provider. StratoComm sells telecommunications equipment and services to primarily developing countries. The new company, based in Indonesia, will serve the Indonesian telecommunications market.

JAKARTA (Xinhua) - Indonesia intends to create the best financial management system in the Association of Southeast Asia Nations (ASEAN) ahead of the realization of ASEAN Community by 2015, a minister said here on Wednesday. Finance Minister Agus Martowardojo told a parliamentary hearing that, however, Indonesia has a tough task in materializing the purpose.