In what is really about looking out for their own interests in next year's general elections, Manpower and Transmigration Minister Erman Suparno and chairman of the migrant workers' agency Jumhur Hidayat have fallen into a heated feud with no end in sight.

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Riding the wave of soaring prices of crude palm oil, publicly listed palm oil producer PT Sampoerna Agro is setting aside up to Rp 600 billion (US$65.2 million) this year to boost production.

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After securing a gas supply of 1.5 million tons from the Bontang field in East Kalimantan, the government is eying another 1 million tons from the Tangguh block in Papua to meet domestic market demand, an official says.

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Despite vast opportunities, business relations between Indonesia and Thailand are still lagging compared to relations with other major Southeast Asian countries.

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If a variety of culture is considered the main determinant of national creative output, Indonesia would likely be one of the richest countries as home to no less than 300 ethnicities and 500 languages and dialects.

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PT Bakrie Telecom, the publicly listed telecom behind CDMA mobile phone brand Esia, saw its subscriber base increase 147 percent last year.Bakrie has 3.82 million subscribers and aims for almost twice that many by year end.At the end of 2006, it had 1.

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The construction of the US$1 billion liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant in Senoro, Central Sulawesi, may be hampered by prolonged gas price re-negotiations between the operator and gas suppliers, and official said on the weekend.

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Returning from a conference in Mexico, I witnessed an unusual scene. An American at Cabos airport was attempting to pay for his drinks with a (British) twenty pound note. The barman was polite, but refused. Mexican pesos were acceptable (this was, after all, Mexico).

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