Trade Minister Mari Elka Pangestu called on Indonesian and Australian businesses to diversify the types of goods and services traded between the two countries as their governments take soundings on the establishment of a free trade agreement.

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PT Exelcomindo Pratama officially launched Monday a new submarine fiber optic cable network linking Batam with Johor, which gives the country's third largest mobile operator the largest telecoms backbone network in the country.

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Before anything else, I need to make an apology to the readers of this column last week. Of the four trend-lines in the chart illustrating demand for cellular products and services in 2007 and beyond, I accidentally used a 2006 database to create one of the graphs.

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The Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) has reported steady and sharp increases in new foreign investment approvals amid persistently negative perceptions among foreign businesspeople and analysts of Indonesia's investment climate.

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Since its establishment in June 2000, the Indonesian Business Competition Supervisory Commission (KPPU) has issued a long list of rulings. The binding rulings, which are weakly enforced, are often protested against by companies found guilty by the commission of committing monopolistic practices.

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