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Malaysia Among Top Ten Emerging Economies
2008-05-16 15:27:00
Malaysia is among the top ten emerging economies, with neighbouring countries Indonesia and Thailand also making the list, according to the International Business Report (IBR), produced by Grant Thornton International.The emerging markets index produced using a weighted calculation of key indicators, showed China and India still occupying the top two places this year, it said in a statement.Two of the current largest economies China and India still stand out as the emerging markets with the best opportunities, due to their massive Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and population size, growth potential and substantial external trade, it said.Note: Indonesia is ranked 7th, Malaysia 9th, see link (pdf)Indonesia News Blog: http://indosnesos.blogspot.com
More About: Economy , Malaysia

Kalimantan Gold signs option to buy 75 pct stake in Indonesian coal concess
2008-05-16 10:16:00
Kalimantan Gold Corp. Ltd. said it has signed an option agreement to acquire a 75 percent stake in each of five Indonesian companies each holding a single coal concession in Indonesia. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed. The gold exploration company said, pursuant to the agreement, it has an exclusive six-month period to conduct its due diligence, including carrying out a minimum program of 3,000 metres of drilling. UK and Canada-listed Kalimantan said it is working with Indonesian consulting group PT GMT Indonesia, which is completing the first step in the due diligence process by gathering all the available technical data on each of the five concessions.Indonesia News Blog: http://indosnesos.blogspot.com
More About: Business , Economy , Energy

Chinese firms take a closer look at RI's investment potentials
2008-05-16 08:43:00
A delegation of 174 business players from China met Indonesian counterparts Thursday to discuss Indonesia's potential for investment and business cooperation.The delegation, the biggest in number from China so far, included representatives from five sectors: Mining and energy; small to medium scale enterprises; agricultural and chemicals; infrastructure and automotive and electronics."Indonesia has the biggest market opportunity among ASEAN countries. There are many opportunities for investment in infrastructure projects," Industry Minister Fahmi Idris said while officiating the meeting.According to the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), Indonesia's total trade with China rose 33 percent from US$10.97 billion in 2006 to $14.62 billion in 2007.Exports to China increased 15.96 percent, from $8.34 billion in 2006 to $9.68 billion last year. Imports from China increased 28.94 percent from $6.64 billion to $8.56 billion from last year.Indonesia News Blog: http://indosnesos.blogspot.com
More About: Business , Economy , International , Investment , Chinese

China and Indonesia into Uber Cup final
2008-05-16 02:11:00
It was back to business for China on Thursday as they raced into the Uber Cup final, pounding South Korea 3-1 with only Indonesia standing in the way of a sixth consecutive title.China, who are unbeaten at the Uber Cup in 10 years, showed glaring weaknesses against the Netherlands in the quarter-finals, rallying from 2-1 down after Xie Xingfang and Jiang Yanjiao lost their singles rubbers.That near-disaster, which would have been their worst performance ever, encouraged the Koreans but when it came to the crunch China proved once again why they are the best in the business.Hosts Indonesia, the last team to beat China at the Uber Cup, in 1996, await them in Saturday's final after bouncing back from losing the first game to topple unfancied Germany 3-1 in front of raucous home support.World number one Xie, whose indifferent form in recent months will be a worry for Chinese coach Li Yongbo ahead of the Olympics, had a point to prove after being humbled by Dutch star Yao Jie on Wednesd...
More About: Sports , Final

Mandarin radio getting popular in Jakarta
2008-05-15 13:06:00
Today thousands of Jakarta ns tune in to local radio stations to have the simple pleasure of listening to their favorite Mandarin songs that was not the case a decade ago. During the Soeharto era, the public display of Chinese culture was not allowed.In 2000, the then president Abdurrahman Wahid overturned a 1967presidential instruction on Chinese religion, beliefs and traditions, which effectively banned Chinese literature and culture in Indonesia, including the prohibition of displaying Chinese characters."In the past three years, we've had more university students majoring in Chinese literature visiting our station. They say they listen to our programs to practice their Mandarin," said Haryono, the head of general affairs at Cakrawala radio station. Established in 1971, Cakrawala is now the only Mandarin radio station that broadcasts to Greater Jakarta. Haryono said the radio, which had around 70,000 listeners, began using Mandarin in 2000, right after former president Gus Du...
More About: Radio , Culture , Popular

Victims of 1998 Indonesia riots still silent
2008-05-15 13:02:00
Ten years after riots that preceded the fall of former Indonesia n President Suharto in 1998, victims of sexual violence are still too traumatised to speak out, a rights group said on Thursday. About 1,000 people were killed in the capital Jakarta, mostly those trapped in burning buildings, as mobs rampaged through the streets and attacked shops and malls at the height of the Asian financial crisis in May 1998. The riots followed daily student protests as discontent against Suharto's rule grew after he was re-elected for a fifth consecutive term by a rubber-stamp parliament. An independent team set up to investigate the riots found that 85 mostly ethnic Chinese women were sexually assaulted, but authorities dropped the inquiry, citing a lack of evidence. Ten years later the victims remain silent because they fear for their safety and have no faith in the country's justice system, according to a new report issued by the National Commission on Violence Against...
More About: History , Crime , Justice , Silent

Bogor Palace Open to the Public
2008-05-15 09:57:00
In celebration of the 526th anniversary of the City of Bogor, the Bogor palace will be open to the public between 19 May and 29 May.The registration for this event is open from today (13/5) until 24 May.Protocol sub head of the Bogor city government, Tri Iriyanto, said that the palace is open on every 3 June, the city?s anniversary.The committee works together with the presidential palace in order to provide members of the public with an opportunity to enter the Bogor palace.?We had 1,600 visitors last year,? Tri told Tempo today.To register, people only need to show their ID or student cards.Indonesia News Blog: http://indosnesos.blogspot.com
More About: Tourism , Public , Open , Cities , Palace

Indonesia Q1 GDP up 6.28 percent, led by exports, investment
2008-05-15 09:51:00
The Indonesia n economy grew 6.28 percent in the first quarter from a year ago, driven by exports and investment, an official said Thursday.Exports grew 15.03 percent year-on-year in the first quarter while investment surged 13.3 percent, said Slamet Sutomo, deputy chairman of the Central Bureau of Statistics.The share of investment in GDP has increased to 25.34 percent in the first quarter from 23.8 percent in the first quarter of 2007.Meanwhile, private consumption rose 5.5 percent, he said.Sutomo said the economy grew 2.15 percent versus the fourth quarter of 2007 as exports rose 5.68 percent.Private consumption declined 0.45 percent from the previous quarter and government consumption plummeted 30.45 percent, while investment shrank by 0.64 percent.Indonesia News Blog: http://indosnesos.blogspot.com
More About: Business , Economy , Investment

Indonesian GDP Headlines Thursday's Economic News
2008-05-15 06:19:00
Indonesia is scheduled to release Q1 gross domestic product data on Thursday, setting the tone for Asian economic news. On quarter, Indonesian GDP is expected to expand by a 2.05 percent increase after a 2.15 percent decline in the final three months of 2007. On an annual basis, GDP is called higher between 6 and 6.2 percent on year - down from the 6.25 percent expansion on year.Indonesia News Blog: http://indosnesos.blogspot.com
More About: Business , Economy , Economic

Indonesia to give bird flu information online
2008-05-15 06:18:00
Indonesia's health minister says she will give all genetic information about her country's bird flu virus to a new global database.Experts say that will go a long way toward monitoring the disease that is threatening to spark a pandemic.Indonesia has been withholding bird flu virus samples and DNA sequencing data from the World Health Organization for more than a year. It says the global body's 50-year-old virus sharing system is unfair to developing countries.That has made it impossible for scientists to see if the virus was mutating to a more dangerous form.Health Minister Siti Fadilah Supari says she decided to cooperate with the online databank that launched Thursday because it is fully transparent and protects intellectual property rights.Indonesia News Blog: http://indosnesos.blogspot.com
More About: Information , International , Indonesia , Tech

Hochtief wins several orders worth about 596 million euros
2008-05-14 14:04:00
Hoechtief AG. said it won several new orders totalling about 596 million euros, with the biggest chunk going to its Leighton Holdings subsidiary in the form of a 226 million euros order in Indonesia.There, the company will expand mining services at a coal mine, the company said.Indonesia News Blog: http://indosnesos.blogspot.com
More About: Business , Economy , International , Worth , Million

Indonesia gets into hot water
2008-05-14 14:03:00
In the shadow of steep volcanic mountains, Indonesia is seeking to develop a cleaner future for its energy industry. Pressurized steam from a score or more of wells is piped to power generation plants a few kilometers away, feeding into the country's main Java-Bali power grid. There are no coal storage yards, no power plant smokestacks to mar the area's beauty or sully with soot the vegetable gardens that thrive in the rich volcanic soil.Indonesia appears ready to tap geothermal energy resources estimated by some industry analysts and experts to be the world's largest. New investor-friendly regulations, the growing cost competitiveness of geothermal energy compared with oil, gas and coal, and improved financial incentives are persuading foreign investors to pour funds into developing the environmentally friendly fuel resource.Geothermal generation is essentially a matter of driving turbines using steam from boiling water held under pressure in underground reservoirs. Much of Indo...
More About: Energy , Water

Indonesian government optimistic of achieving 2008 tax revenue target
2008-05-14 14:01:00
The Indonesian government said Wednesday it is confident of achieving its full-year tax revenue target of 580.25 trillion rupiah ($62.68 billion).'Tax collection from the resources sector such as coal and palm oil are trending up in line with the commodity price rise. This should offset a decline in tax revenues from other sectors,' said Darmin Nasution, director general for tax at the Finance Ministry.In the four months to April, Nasution said tax revenue from the oil and non-oil and gas sectors reached 173.6 trillion rupiah or 30 percent of the full-year target.He said tax revenue in the period exceeded the government's target of 155.3 trillion rupiah.Indonesia News Blog: http://indosnesos.blogspot.com
More About: Business , Economy , Government , Target

Indonesian Muslims accused of subversion
2008-05-14 08:50:00
Seventeen Muslim hardliners who declared an Islamic State of Indonesia will face charges of subversion which is punishable by up to 15 years in jail, a report says.The Islamists arrested earlier this month in three locations near Bandung, West Java province, were senior leaders of the self-proclaimed Islamic State of Indonesia (NII), the regional police chief told the Jakarta Post."Most suspects hold positions within the NII ranging from the governor of the southern part of West Java, to regents, regency secretary and district officials within the NII state," police General Susno Duaji said.Indonesia News Blog: http://indosnesos.blogspot.com
More About: Indonesian , Crime , Justice , Muslims , Subversion

Indonesia new car sales rise 47 percent in April
2008-05-14 08:49:00
Sales of new cars in Indonesia rose 47 percent to 51,639 units in April from a year earlier, according to figures released on Wednesday by PT Toyota Astra Motor (TAM), the country's biggest car dealer.TAM is a joint venture between PT Astra International and Japan's Toyota Motor Corp.Sales of Toyota vehicles rose 48 percent to 17,913 for the month.Indonesia News Blog: http://indosnesos.blogspot.com
More About: Business , Economy , Sales

Two arrests for fuel hoarding, smuggling
2008-05-14 06:55:00
Police have arrested two people for hoarding and attempting to smuggle fuel as protests escalated nationwide against a government plan to raise fuel prices by up to 30 percent. As anger builds, the indecisiveness of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's administration as to when fuel prices will be raised has been blamed for the widespread panic buying.Southeast Sulawesi Police spokesman Adj. Cmsr. Madong said Ibrahim used a passenger ferry to smuggle the kerosene out of Kendari, the provincial capital. Under Indonesian law, anyone smuggling or hoarding fuel is liable to a six-year prison term and a fine of up to Rp 6 billion. In the West Java capital of Bandung, police arrested a man identified as 33-year-old Edeng bin Kana for allegedly hoarding 960 liters of kerosene. Police seized the fuel, which he bought from a distributor over a period of days, at the suspect's kiosk on Jl. Soekarno-Hatta. "The suspect did not have a license to hoard fuel," said Snr. Cmsr. Hendro Pandowo, ...
More About: Crime , Justice , Energy , Fuel , Arrests

Walhi opposes plans to build hotels, villas in Bali
2008-05-14 06:53:00
The Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) has protested against a plan to build hotels and villas in a number of districts in Bali province in support of the tourism industry.Anak Agung Wardana, chief of the Walhi chapter in Bali, said on Monday he had written to the Tabanan, Karangasem and Badung district heads to reconsider the plan.Two of the hotels will be built at Wangaya Betan, Tabanan district, and Padangbai village, Karangasem district, while one of the villas will be built near Uluwatu Temple in Badung district. Wardana feared if the projects were realized they would have an impact on the environment and the Balinese people`s social order. "We lodge the protest to follow up on complaints from the local people who want the district heads to provide them with correct information and give them access to participate (in preserving the environment)," he said.Indonesia News Blog: http://indosnesos.blogspot.com
More About: Hotels , Plans , Build

Articulated buses to start serving Ancol-Kampung Melayu this month
2008-05-14 06:45:00
Transjakarta's articulated buses will start serving the public this month, traveling on Corridor 5 connecting Kampung Melayu in East Jakarta and Ancol in North Jakarta, Governor Fauzi Bowo said Tuesday. "We will start operating the articulated buses some time this month," he said at City Hall.Transjakarta and the city administration said they would begin operating the articulated buses after they had agreed on an operational rate with the consortium providing the buses. The consortium, PT Jakarta Mega Trans (JMT), and the city administration are still negotiating the rate at present.Indonesia News Blog: http://indosnesos.blogspot.com
More About: Travel , Transportation , Cities , Buses , Start

Indonesian central bank cuts 2008 GDP growth forecast to 6.2 percent
2008-05-13 09:52:00
The Indonesian central bank on Tuesday cut its economic growth forecast for this year to 6.2 percent, the lower end of its initial target, due to a weaker global economy.Bank Indonesia was earlier looking at gross domestic product growing between 6.2 percent and 6.8 percent this year, compared to the 6.32 percent clip in 2007."Indonesia's economy is expected to continue to grow at a moderate pace this year although it is overshadowed by the slowing global economic growth and persistent increase in international commodity prices," Bank Indonesia said in its quarterly report.The government earlier cut its GDP growth forecast for this year to 6.4 percent from 6.8 percent, also citing the global slowdown as well as rising oil prices.Indonesia News Blog: http://indosnesos.blogspot.com
More About: Business , Economy , Growth

Favorite China, Indonesia score easy victories in Thomas and Uber Cups
2008-05-13 01:58:00
China reached the quarterfinals of two badminton championships Monday, beating Canada in the men's Thomas Cup and Germany in the women's Uber Cup. Led by top-ranked single shuttler Lin Dan, the Chinese men's team beat Canada in straight sets in all five matches to lead Group A, which also includes Nigeria. In the women's competition, China won the opening four matches in straight sets before Gao Ling and Zhao Tingting lost the last to German pair Carola Bott and Karin Schaase. Indonesia also made the final eight in both Cups, the men's second-seeded team sweeping Germany 5-0 and the women's team defeating the Netherlands by the same score. The Indonesian men's team leads Group D after Thailand also beat Germany on Sunday's opening day.Indonesia News Blog: http://indosnesos.blogspot.com
More About: Sports , China , Score

Jindal to enter Indonesia
2008-05-13 01:54:00
Jindal Stainless and Indonesia n mining major Antam on Monday, signed an agreement to jointly develop a nickel smelting and stainless steel plant with an investment of about $700 million in South East Sulwasi (Indonesia). "Indonesia?s Antam will have 55 per cent interest in the project and Jindal will own 45 per cent share and the total investment is at about $700 million, which will be funded with an optimum mix of 70:30 per cent debt-equity ratio," said Jindal Stainless Director Mr N C Mathur. Of the total equity component, Jindal Stainless would pump in $90 million while $120 million would be provided by Antam. Construction of the project would begin early 2009 and is expected to be commissioned by middle of 2011.Indonesia News Blog: http://indosnesos.blogspot.com
More About: Business , Economy , International , Enter

International Paper Threatens to Violate Own Policy by Expanding Into Indon
2008-05-13 01:51:00
Rainforest Action Network and ForestEthics today condemned a proposal by U.S.-based International Paper to build a pulp mill and establish 1.2 million acres of plantation forest in the heart of the Indonesian rainforest. The groups urged International Paper, which is holding its Annual General Meeting today, to not violate its own paper policy and to abandon its plans to expand into Indonesia, a global warming and biodiversity hot spot.International Paper is among the world?s biggest pulp and paper producers. In 2003, it joined home builder Centex Homes and home improvement retailer Lanoga in announcing it would stop buying Indonesian wood products until the Indonesian government sufficiently addressed illegal logging within its borders and respected the property rights of its Indigenous populations. Since then, logging practices have further deteriorated, Indonesia?s small farmers and Indigenous groups continue to be pushed off their traditional lands, and the country?s carbon-rich...
More About: Business , Economy , Environment , Policy

Thousands rally against fuel price hikes in Indonesia
2008-05-12 12:06:00
Anti-government rallies were held in several of Indonesia 's big cities on Monday, protesting against a government plan to raise fuel prices and cut subsidies. At the capital's main roundabout, several thousand students, activists and housewives began a march to the presidential palace, causing heavy traffic jams along Jakarta's main thoroughfares."This (fuel prices hike) will only add to the misery of destitute people. The fuel price hike will cause the prices of other basic needs to increase," shouted Edi Saidi, the protest coordinator from the Urban Poor Consortium."We call on the government to cancel its plans to raise the fuel prices," Saidi said.Indonesia News Blog: http://indosnesos.blogspot.com
More About: Business , Economy , Energy , Fuel

Move to ban 'deviant' sect puts Indonesian tolerance in question
2008-05-12 04:46:00
A push by hardline Islamists for Indonesia to ban a "deviant" Muslim sect has ignited a battle for the soul of the world's largest Muslim-majority country.Mob violence, protests and chilling threats have formed the backdrop to pressure on President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and key ministers to ban the minority Ahmadiyah sect.A decision last month by a Suharto-era state board overseeing religion recommended the sect be broken up because it believes Mohammed was not the final prophet, contradicting a central tenet of mainstream Islam.Liberals are aghast at calls to ban the sect, but the ever-cautious Yudhoyono is under pressure to appease a vocal Islamist minority.And while the official state ideology also mandates belief in one God, the country has in practice tolerated a plurality of beliefs, earning it an easy-going reputation amid a rising global tide of Islamism.But critics say this could change if the push to ban Ahmadiyah succeeds, opening the floodgates to Islamist demands th...
More About: Question , Indonesian , Tolerance , Move

Earth Day: Planting mangroves, saving lives
2008-05-11 10:51:00
The 9 o'clock sun on May 3 began to burn down on those assembled at Angke-Kapuk Nature Recreation Park (TWA Angke-Kapuk) in North Jakarta. The air was becoming hotter and hotter, but this did not wilt the high spirits of the hundreds who had come from the Regina Caely Church Community in Pantai Indah Kapuk and from the Telkom Vocational Senior High School) in Daan Mogot, West Jakarta, to listen to Murni's briefing on mangrove-planting techniques.Sri Lela Murniwati, 64, who is known simply as Ibu Murni, has been working at the TWA Angke-Kapuk since 1998, when she received a decree by then forestry minister Djamaluddin Suryohadikusumo appointing her to manage the 99-hectare coastal park.Murni's entry to reforestation is unique. One day when she visited Benoa, Bali, she saw the lush vegetation of mangroves growing there, and was inspired her to green an area.She began looking for a place in Bali that needed reforestation, but encountered several obstacles in the process. She thus sw...
More About: Environment , Earth , Earth Day , Fauna , Flora

Indonesia mismanaged its oil potentials, observer
2008-05-11 03:43:00
Indonesia could have reaped great profits from the current high world crude oil prices and would not have plunged into its present difficult situation if it had managed its oil potentials well, oil industry observer Dr Kurtubi said.He said Indonesia`s failure to manage its oil wealth properly in the past few years had caused its crude oil production to decline and led to its dependence on oil imports which had now placed the country in a difficult position.Dr Kurtubi made the remarks in an interactive discussion on fuel oil prices which was organized by the Regional Representatives Council (DPD) here Saturday. Kurubi said that as a result of the improper management of the country`s oil potentials, the government was now facing difficulties in maintaining the state budget amid the sky-rocketing of crude prices in the world market. "Indonesia could have reaped huge profits from the world crude price hikes but mismanagement of our oil potentials has caused us to face difficultie...
More About: Indonesia , Energy , Observer

Plan for Bali peace park at bomb site rejected
2008-05-11 03:38:00
THE Sari Club - where dozens of Australians were killed in the Bali bombings - will remain derelict after authorities rejected a plan to make the site a peace park.It was hoped the site would become a memorial to the 202 people - 88 of them Australians - who died in the October 2002 terrorist attack.But Balinese officials said this week they could not accommodate the park in Kuta.The news has devastated Dallas Finn, whose five-year campaign heading the Peace Park Foundation has cost him $300,000 in lost wages and money that he has pumped into the scheme."It was all go. We had the support of government departments - and now this," said Mr Finn, who moved to Bali for 18 months to organise the campaign and work with community leaders.Indonesia News Blog: http://indosnesos.blogspot.com
More About: Terrorism , Site

Indonesia on alert for unrest over fuel prices
2008-05-10 02:37:00
INDONESIA'S police have been told to be on alert for any signs of unrest over fuel prices ahead of an expected price hike, a spokesman said yesterday.'The police chief has instructed all provincial police chiefs to anticipate anything that could happen before the oil price hike and detect any possible unrest,' said police spokesman Abubakar Nataprawira.There have been almost daily protests in many parts of the country since the government announced plans to raise subsidised fuel prices to protect the state Budget from the soaring cost of oil.Most have been peaceful, but on Tuesday two policemen and two students were injured in a violent protest in front of a university in the South Sulawesi city of Makassar.Indonesia News Blog: http://indosnesos.blogspot.com
More About: National , Energy , Fuel , Alert

Digital divide a threat to Indonesia's unity: president
2008-05-10 02:32:00
The yawning divide between the haves and the have-nots of the digital revolution is a "threat to national unity" and even world security, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said Friday.Yudhoyono told an audience including Microsoft chairman Bill Gates that information technology posed "formidable" challenges as well as great opportunities for developing countries like Indonesia."There is a real danger that the world's poor will be virtually excluded from the emerging knowledge-based global economy, with dire consequences to global peace and security," he said."In Indonesia... we can ill afford a digital divide across and within communities. There is a threat to national unity that we must effectively manage."Indonesia News Blog: http://indosnesos.blogspot.com
More About: National , Tech , Digital , Unity

Indonesia's inflation could exceed 10% this year
2008-05-10 02:31:00
The Indonesian central bank of Indonesia forecast Friday the inflation rate could be more than 10 percent this year if the government raises oil price by up to 30 percent."Inflation can reach a double digit if the oil price is raised, " Hartadi Sarnowo, deputy governor of the Bank of Indonesia, told reporters at the Jakarta Convention Center on Friday.The deputy said that the hike of oil prices could lead inflation rate to increase by 2 to 3 percent.Indonesia's cumulative inflation by April reached 4.01 percent and the year-on-year increase of inflation in April is 8.96 percent, according to the National Statistic Bureau.Indonesia News Blog: http://indosnesos.blogspot.com
More About: Business , Economy , Year