- Mobil Cepu May Miss Target To Boost Crude Output -Report
- Freeport Indonesia Hopes To Produce More Gold And Copper
- Indonesia's Pertamina Eyes 37pct Stake In Elnusa
- Pertamina Buys Low-Sulfur Crude Oil Cargoes for June Delivery
- Indonesia's Pamapersada Sets Capital Spending At $350 Mln
- New Geothermal Plant Units Launched In Indonesia
- Indonesia's Federal Finance sells 1 trln rph of bonds
- Indonesia Trade Min: Export Volume To Fall 5%-10% In 2009
- Indonesia Needs New Export Markets: Minister
- Indonesia c.bank receives no bids in reverse-repo auction
- Indonesian Banks Still Have High Financing Capacity: Central Bank
- Indonesia's Bank Mandiri Considers Selling More Shares
- World Bank Finance Indonesia's Community Empowerment Program
- Indonesia Bank Gov Positive Foreign Capital Inflow Will Continue
- Indonesia has no plan to increase global sukuk - fin min
- Indonesia's Reliance Adds 3 Mln Subscribers In March
- Indonesia's Trikomsel Posts 10pct Rise In Income In Q1 2009
- Growing Consumption Forecast To Boost Indonesian Growth
- Indonesia Needs $6.5 Bln To Fully Implement Cabotage Principle
- Indonesia Needs 3,000 Heavy-Duty Equipment Mechanics This Year
- Indonesia's Smart Corp To Build New CPO Refinery
- Indonesia may keep CPO export tax at zero pct in May
- Central Sulawesi Exports 14,250 Tons Of Cacao In Jan-Feb
- NGOs Vow To Protest Against ADB Meeting In Bali In May
- Indonesian Exports To Vietnam To Become More Difficult: Govt
- Holcim Indonesia To Buy Holcim Sdn Bhd For $50 Mln
- Indonesia USD Sukuk Informal Guidance Mid-9% Area -Source
- Indonesia's Wika Awarded New Contracts Valued At $245 Mln
- Indonesia's PT Prudential Life Posts 80% Fall In Profit
- Sharp Rise In Indonesian Bond Issues Expected In H2
- Indonesian Budget Surplus Shows Stagnation In Fiscal Stimulus
- Indonesian Govt Achieves Tax, Excise Revenue Target
- Indonesian Food Expo Turnover Expected To Reach 500 Mln Rupiah
- Indonesia's Cacao Production Forecast To Fall
- Exports From Indonesia's Batam Rise Almost 5% In 2008
- Governor Park Promotes S Korean Investment In C Sulawesi
(Courtesy Joyo News Service)
Mobil Cepu May Miss Target To Boost Crude Output -Report
JAKARTA, April 16 (Dow Jones)--Mobil Cepu Ltd. won't likely meet
its target to ramp up crude oil output at its Cepu block to
20,000 barrels a day by June due to the delayed completion of a
storage facility, Bisnis Indonesia reported Thursday.
"The production hasn't been on track to reach the target," Abdul
Mui'in, a deputy chairman at the upstream oil and gas regulator
BPMigas, said in the report.
The block, which straddles the provincial border between Central
Java and East Java, produced around 50 barrels per day in
February, the newspaper said.
Mobil Cepu is a joint venture between Exxon Mobil Corp.(XOM) and
state-owned PT Pertamina.
--------------------------
Freeport Indonesia Hopes To Produce More Gold And Copper
JAKARTA, April 16 Asia Pulse - PT Freeport Indonesia hopes to
produce 2.4 million tons of gold and copper this year or an
increase of 0.5 million tons from last year.
The US company, which has large copper and gold mine in Papua,
hopes to sell more copper and gold this year, a company official
said.
Wawa J Sungkawa, its manager for government relations, said
copper concentrate to be produced this year from the Grassberg
mine will have higher grade.
Sungkawa said Freeport hopes to sell at least 1.3 billion pounds
of copper and 2.1 million ounces of gold this year, up from 1.1
billion pounds and 1.2 million ounces respectively last year.
Freeport is ready to supply concentrate to a number of copper
and gold processing plants to be built in the country , he was
quoted as saying by the newspaper Investor Daily.
---------------------------
Indonesia's Pertamina Eyes 37pct Stake In Elnusa
JAKARTA, April 16 Asia Pulse - State oil and gas company PT
Pertamina is eyeing the acquisition of a 37% stake in oil
drilling company PT Elnusa (JSX:ELSA) from PT Tridaya Esta.
PT Tridaya has been reported that it wanted to sell its stake at
an estimated price of US$92 million.
Other investors like Malaysia's Petronas (KLSE:PETR), US
Northstar Pacific and Japan's Nippon Oil Corp. (TSE: 5001) have
also indicated interest in the stake.
Pertamina, which already owns 41.1% of Elnusa, wants to become a
strong majority shareholder, a company official told the
newspaper Investor Daily.
A Pertamina spokesman Anan Rizkani Noor confirmed that Pertamina
was studying the plan, but he said he could not give more
details.
-----------------------------
Pertamina Buys Low-Sulfur Crude Oil Cargoes for June Delivery
By Christian Schmollinger and Alexander Kwiatkowski
April 16 (Bloomberg) -- PT Pertamina, Indonesia’s state- owned
oil company, bought cargoes of Nigeria’s Qua Iboe crude oil,
Malaysia’s Kikeh, Azerbaijan’s Azeri Light, and Algeria’s
Saharan Blend for delivery in June, said two people familiar
with the purchase.
Details of Pertamina’s purchases including shipping costs and
are as follows:
---------------------------------------------------------------
Crude: Qua Iboe, Nigeria Quantity: 950,000 barrels Seller: BP
Plc Price: Dated Brent +$3.40 a barrel Delivery: June
----------------------------------------------------------------
Crude: Saharan Blend Quantity: 950,000 barrels Seller:
Mitsubishi Corp. Price: Dated Brent +$2 a barrel Delivery: June
----------------------------------------------------------------
Crude: Kikeh, Malaysia Quantity: 600,000 barrels Seller:
Pertamina Energy Trading Ltd. or Petral Price: Tapis **OSP +70
cents a barrel Delivery: June
----------------------------------------------------------------
Crude: Azeri Light Quantity: 950,000 barrels Seller: Gold Manor
Price: Dated Brent +$2.15 a barrel Delivery: June
----------------------------------------------------------------
**OSP = Official Selling Price
Pertamina usually seeks low-sulfur, or sweet crude oil, which
has less than 0.5 percent sulfur by weight. The oil is more
expensive than so-called sour crude oil, which has more than 0.5
percent sulfur.
--------------------------
Indonesia's Pamapersada Sets Capital Spending At $350 Mln
JAKARTA, April 16 Asia Pulse - Indonesian mining service company
PT Pamapersada Nusantara said it has set aside US$350 million
for capital spending this year.
Eighty per cent of the fund will be used to buy heavy equipment,
a company deputy director Dwi Priyadi said.
The company will put up 30 per cent of he fund from its own cash
and standby loan provided by a consortium of 20 foreign and
local banks will cover the rest, Dwi said.
The company will buy around 90 per cent of the equipment from
its parent company PT United Tractors, a heavy equipment sole
agent and assembler.
The company, which operates mainly in coal mining service, needs
additional equipment for expansion, he was quoted as saying by
the newspaper Investor Daily.
---------------------------
New Geothermal Plant Units Launched In Indonesia
JAKARTA, April 16 Asia Pulse - The second and third units of the
Lahendong geothermal power plant have come on stream and are
expected to guarantee power supply in North Sulawesi.
The two units, launched yesterday, were built at a cost of US$64
million, with funds from the Japan Bank for International
Cooperation (JBIC) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
The ADB financed the construction of the 20-megawatt second unit
- built at a cost of US$28 million - and JIBIC provided US$36
million for the 10 MW third unit, the newspaper Investor Daily
said.
Construction of the two facilities was handled by PT Rekayasa
and Sumitomo Corp, in cooperation with PT PLN, with geothermal
steam supplied by PT Pertamina Geothermal Energy.
------------------------------------------
---
Indonesia's Federal Finance sells 1 trln rph of bonds
JAKARTA, April 16 (Reuters) - Indonesian motorcycle financing
firm, PT Federal International Finance increased the size of its
planned bond issue to raise 1 trillion rupiah ($92.8 million)
for working capital, the firm's president director said on
Thursday.
"We received strong demand for our bonds and we wanted to take
advantage of that," Suhartono told Reuters.
Suhartono said it had received bids up to 1.2 trillion rupiah,
doubling its initial target of 600 billion rupiah for the bonds,
which are priced to yield between 12.55-14.6 percent.
Federal -- owned by PT Astra International Tbk , Indonesia's
largest automotive distributor -- said the bonds would be
offered in three tranches, with maturities ranging from one to
three years.
PT Indo Premier Securities, PT Kresna Graha Sekurindo and PT
Trimegah Securities were the underwriters.
Indonesia's annual domestic vehicle and motorcycle sales fell
27.4 percent and 10.8 percent respectively in February as
Southeast Asia's biggest economy slowed. ($1 = 10,780 rupiah)
(Reporting by Dicky Kristanto Editing by Sara Webb)
--------------------------
Indonesia Trade Min: Export Volume To Fall 5%-10% In 2009
JAKARTA, April 16 (Dow Jones)--Indonesia's export volume is
likely to fall 5% to 10% this year due to weaker external
demand, but will rebound next year, the country's trade minister
said Thursday.
"We forecast that exports in 2010 will achieve a 5% rise in
volume, in line with the forecast improvements in the global
economy," Mari Elka Pangestu told reporters.
"For this year we are working to prevent our exports from
falling too far."
Earlier Thursday, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati told
reporters the value of exports will fall 30% this year.
Indonesian exports rose 20% to $136.76 billion last year.
Exports contribute around 30% to the nation's gross domestic
product.
---------------------------
Indonesia Needs New Export Markets: Minister
April 16 (AFP) --Indonesia should find new markets to sustain
its economy as exports are expected to drop by 30 percent in
2009 due to the global financial crisis, a minister said
Thursday.
Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said the country had to
explore Central Asian markets and new opportunities in Southeast
Asia to reduce its dependence on the United States, Japan and
Europe.
Indonesia's main export destinations have felt the harshest
impacts of the global crisis as demand is battered.
Exports contribute around 30 percent to Indonesia's gross
domestic product, which is projected to slow from six percent to
around four percent this year.
Overseas trade plunged by almost a third in February and 36
percent in January compared to a year ago.
But the trade surplus increased to 2.52 billion dollars from
1.98 billion in January as imports dived even faster, the
Central Statistics Agency said earlier this month.
Despite the gloom in the world economy, Trade Minister Mari
Pangestu said Indonesia's trade should rebound as soon as next
year.
"We forecast that exports in 2010 will achieve a five percent
rise in volume, in line with the forecast improvements in the
global economy," she said.
"For this year we are working to prevent our exports from
falling too far."
Indonesia's central bank forecast Tuesday that domestic growth
would gradually climb back to 6.0-7.0 percent in 2014.
-----------------------------------
Indonesia c.bank receives no bids in reverse-repo auction
JAKARTA, April 16 (Reuters) - Indonesia's central bank received
no bids in its 21-day reverse-repo auction, according to its
website on Thursday.
Bank Indonesia had held the auction in order to absorb excess
cash from commercial banks and aimed to absorb 2 trillion rupiah
($185.5 million) from the auction.
It planned to sell treasury bills SPN20090731, SPN20100114,
SPN20100218 as well as fixed-rate bonds FR0002
FR0010
FR0026
Bank Indonesia held 23.88 trillion rupiah worth of government
bonds as of April 15, up from 21.32 trillion rupiah at the end
of March, finance ministry data showed. ($1 = 10,780 rupiah)
(Reporting by Sonya Angraini; Editing by Sara Webb)
---------------------------
Indonesian Banks Still Have High Financing Capacity: Central Bank
JAKARTA, April 16 Asia Pulse - Indonesian banks still have high
capacity to finance loans despite the global financial crisis, a
Bank Indonesia official said.
Indonesian banks could safely disburse up to Rp500 trillion
(US$50 billion) in the next two years although the capital
adequacy ratio will be reduced to 13 per cent, head of the
financial system stability Wimboh Santoso said.
Based on the Indonesian Bank Statistics data the CAR of
Indonesian banks averaged 18.04 per cent in February , well
above the minimum level of 8 per cent, the newspaper Investor
Daily said.
Wimboh said the liquidity of the country's banking industry has
increased as a result of weak demand for credits in the first
quarter of this year.
----------------------------
Indonesia's Bank Mandiri Considers Selling More Shares
JAKARTA, April 16 Asia Pulse - PT Bank Mandiri (JSX:BMRI), the
country's largest lender, is considering a plan to sell off 7%
more of its shares in the market, increasing its shares held by
the investing public to 40%.
Agus D.W. Martowardojo, the president of the state bank, said
that with a 40% stake held by the investing public, the bank
would receive a tax incentive that would contribute Rp400
billion ($US36.7 million) to its net profit a year.
Under the banking regulation, the tax burden of the bank would
be reduced to 25% from 30% at present if the public shares rose
to 40%, he said.
Last year, the bank recorded the third largest net profit at
Rp5.31 trillion , up from Rp4.34 trillion in the previous year.
The largest net profit was recorded by Bank Rakyat Indonesia
(BRI) at Rp5.95 trillion , followed by Bank Central Asia at
Rp5.77 trillion last year, the newspaper Bisnis Indonesia said.
BRI and BCA received incentives in the form of a 5% tax that
contributed to their profit as they already have more than 40%
of their shares in the hands of investing public, he said.
----------------------------
World Bank Finance Indonesia's Community Empowerment Program
JAKARTA, April 16 Asia Pulse - The World Bank has disbursed
US$415 million in loans to finance Indonesia's National Program
for Community Empowerment this year.
The loan will be repayable in 24.5 years with a grace period of
9 years, the bank board of directors said in a statement.
Around US$300 million of the fund will cover program operating
cost to focus on increasing the rural community resources and
the rest to finance the expansion of the capacity of the program.
The World Bank said the program deserves to be made permanent as
it is considered successful with low level of misspending or
corruption in its implementation, the newspaper Investor Daily
said.
----------------------------
Indonesia Bank Gov Positive Foreign Capital Inflow Will Continue
JAKARTA, April 16 Asia pulse - Bank Indonesia (BI) Governor
Boediono said he was optimistic foreign funds and capital will
continue to enter the country and enable the rupiah to
strengthen further.
"I am always optimistic. So, if the domestic situation is like
this, better than in other countries, I think many (investors)
will be interested in coming to Indonesia," Boediono said at the
finance ministry on Wednesday.
He said the rupiah's exchange rate depended on global
conditions. At present global sentiment toward Indonesia was
positive but this could change any time, he said.
"However, we want to guard the rupiah so it will not fluctuate
too often," he said without mentioning the ideal level of the
rupiah's exchange rate.
In response to a press question, Boediono said that it was
possible that the political situation in Thailand was affecting
the exchange rate of the Indonesian currency.
"It's possible, but I cannot be positive because I am not a
political expert," he said.
He said there were foreign funds entering the country but they
must find the most profitable place with minimum risk.
BI Senior Deputy Governor Miranda Goeltom said at present the
local currency was strengthening thanks to foreign capital
inflow.
The implementation of the legislative elections on April 9,
which were quite peaceful, had also boosted the country's
economic conditions, she said.
-----------------------------
Indonesia has no plan to increase global sukuk - fin min
JAKARTA, April 16 (Reuters) - Indonesia received strong demand
for its global sukuk, or Islamic bond, but does not plan to
increase the amount due to the value of its underlying assets,
Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said on Thursday.
(Reporting by Adriana Nina Kusuma; Writing by Sonya Angraini;
Editing by Sara Webb)
--------------------------
Indonesia's Reliance Adds 3 Mln Subscribers In March
NEW DELHI, April 16 (Asia Pulse/PTI) - Telecoms service provider
Reliance Communications (BSE: 532712) on Wednesday said it had
added about three million new subscribers during March 2009,
taking its total subscriber base to over 72 million across the
country.
During the January-March quarter RComm had added 11.3 million
new subscribers, achieving a 113 per cent growth in
quarter-on-quarter subscriber additions, the company said in a
statement.
In March, the Anil Ambani Group company had added about three
million GSM and CDMA customers, it added.
RComm's President (Wireless Business) SP Shukla said: "The
customer response to our recently launched nationwide GSM
services has enabled us to bag 26 per cent market share and
experience over 113 per cent growth in quarterly net additions."
RComm had reported 5.3 million new subscriber additions during
the October-December quarter.
The company had started commercial operations of its nationwide
GSM service on December 30, 2008.
---------------------------
Indonesia's Trikomsel Posts 10pct Rise In Income In Q1 2009
JAKARTA, April 16 Asia Pulse - PT Trikomsel Oke (JSX:TRIO)
reported a 10% increase in income to Rp1.2 trillion (US$109
million) in the first quarter of this year, amid the general
slump.
The company, selling telecommunications gadgets, hoped to chalk
up a 10% increase in net profit this year, its President Sugiono
Wiyono said.
Business in gadgets was expected to remain brisk with the launch
of many new products, Sugiono said.
Last year, the company chalked up Rp100 billion in net profit,
the newspaper Bisnis Indonesia said.
---------------------------
Growing Consumption Forecast To Boost Indonesian Growth
JAKARTA, April 16 Asia Pulse - Stronger growth in private
consumption and growing overseas demand will lead to higher
Indonesian economic growth next year, Bank Indonesia said.
In its economic outlook report for 2009-2014, the central bank
predicted economic growth to be between 4.5 and 5.5% in 2010.
The forecast was in line with the government's recent figure of
about 5%.
The GDP of the southeast Asia's largest economy was valued at
US$433 billion last year, the newspaper The Jakarta Post
reported.
Bank Indonesia estimates that private consumption, including
household consumption, will grow by 4-5% next year, up from
3.2-4.2% this year.
Private spending accounted for an average of 64% of the
country's GDP in the period of 1998-2008, up from 58% in the
previous decade.
---------------------------
Indonesia Needs $6.5 Bln To Fully Implement Cabotage Principle
JAKARTA, April 16 Asia Pulse - Indonesia needs US$6.5 billion
for the procurement of new ships to take over the role of 127
foreign ships in oil and gas transport in the country, the
Indonesian national Ship owners' Association (INSA) said.
Foreign ships earned around US$1,385 million a year from their
operations in the country serving offshore and oil and gas
transport, it said.
INSA chairman Johnson W Sutjipto said an investment of US$6.5
billion will be needed in five years .
Under the cabotage principle adopted by the country foreign
ships are banned from operating in the country in 2010, but it
is doubted the country could fully take over the job from
foreign ships.
Local banks sets difficult requirements that shipping companies
have a long term transport contract and equity financing of 30
per cent, the newspaper Bisnis Indonesia said.
Johnson said loans are ready to come from foreign banks if the
country has ratified an international regulation allowing
detention of ship without legal process in the event of default.
---------------------------
Indonesia Needs 3,000 Heavy-Duty Equipment Mechanics This Year
SOROWAKO, S Sulawesi, April 16 Asia pulse - Indonesia needs
around 3,000 mechanics for heavy-duty equipment this year, PT
United Tractor (JSX:UNTR) Sorowako spokesman Wahyudi said at PT
Inco's (JSX:INCO) nickel mining area here on Wednesday.
Whayudi made the statement on the sidelines of a Heavy Equipment
Training Program for Mechanics (PKPMA) as part of cooperation
between Budi Utomo foundation and PT United Tractor which was
held at Budi Utomo Vocational School (SMK) in Sorowako, Luwu
Timur district, South Sulawesi.
Besides the demand of mechanics for heavy equipment at home,
Wahyudi said Australia, India, the Philippines, and other
countries had asked for some 200 mechanics from PT United
Tractor.
Meanwhile, Budi Utomo Foundation chairman Anwar Idy said the
foundation provided the place for the training program while PT
United Tractor provided the instructors and teaching aids during
the six-month training.
"For the first phase this time we train only 12 alumni of SMK
Budi Utomo but we hope in the next phase we will accommodate
more students," Anwar Idy said.
Commenting on the training program for the mechanics, Luwu Timur
deputy district head H Saldy Mansur expressed hope that the
program would continue to accommodate more students.
"I hear that the salary of a mechanic in Australia is around
A$4,000 per month (US$2,889) and thus it serves as a good
motivation for the students participating in the mechanical
training to be more serious," Saldy Mansur said.
----------------------------
Indonesia's Smart Corp To Build New CPO Refinery
JAKARTA, April 16 Asia Pulse - PT SMART Corp. (JSX:SMAR) plans
to build a crude palm oil refinery to cost up to US$50 million
in Jakarta in the second half of this year.
The project was originally to be carried out in May, 2008,
company investor relations Pintasari Chandra told the newspaper
Investor Daily.
Pintasari said the new plant will have a processing capacity of
800 tons of oil palm fruits per day.
It will produce CPO derivatives including olein, margarine, and
cooking oil, the newspaper Investor Daily said.
-----------------------------
Indonesia may keep CPO export tax at zero pct in May
JAKARTA, April 16 (Reuters) - Indonesia may keep its palm oil
export tax at zero percent in May, despite a recent rise in palm
oil prices, Trade Minister Mari Pangestu said on Thursday.
"It looks like CPO exports in May will not be taxed. In other
words, the export tax will be kept at zero percent," Pangestu
told repoters.
"Based on our calculation, the average CPO price over the past
month was still below $700," she added.
Indonesia does not tax palm oil exports until the minimum
reference price hits $700 a tonne.
The government uses the average spot price of crude palm oil in
Rotterdam, Europe's vegetable oils market, during the preceding
month, as the reference price. On Wednesday, the CPO price in
Rotterdam edged down $15 to $705.
Palm oil physical prices normally track Malaysian palm futures,
which have surged 46 percent this year amid fears of sharp falls
in palm stocks in the world's second-biggest producer.
Indonesia, the world's top producer of palm oil -- which is used
in a wide range of products, from soap to biodiesel -- is
forecast to produce 19.7 million tonnes of the commodity in
2009, against 18.7 million in 2008, the government has
estimated. [ID:nJKF000183] (Reporting by Yayat Supriatna;
Writing by Aloysius Bhui; Editing by Sara Webb)
------------------------
Central Sulawesi Exports 14,250 Tons Of Cacao In Jan-Feb
PALU, Sulawesi, April 16 Asia Pulse - Central Sulawesi in the
January-February 2009 period has exported 14,250 tons of cacao
beans.
Head for Exports and Imports of the Central Sulawesi Industry
and Cooperatives Agency Abd Muin said in Palu Wednesday, the
cacao exports had contributed more than US$25 million to the
region, although it was slightly lower than that last year's
same period.
The 4,250 tons of cacao beans had been exported by seven
exporters based in Palu, the provincial capital. They are PT
Tanah Mas Celebes, PT Hikawa Mandiri, PT Nedcommodities, PT Jaya
Bumi Mandiri, PT Olam Indonesia, PT Cacao Perkasa, and PT
Comextra Majora.
He also said that cacao is still a leading non-oil/gas export
commodity of the province, and expected to contribute more
foreign exchange revenue in the coming years.
It was the first time in 1994 that the province exported cacao
beans, and the exports from 1998 to the end of 2008, had been
the biggest foreign exchange earner for the province.
In the last five years, Central Sulawesi's cacao exports had
been more than 140,000 tons per year.
While the exports until February 2009 had only reached 14,250
tons, Muin still believed this year's cacao exports will
continue to increase.
The current price of cacao beans in Palu reached Rp26,000
(US$2.39) to Rp27,000 (US$2.48) per kg.
The growers had hoped that the price of the commodity would
increase until the grand harvest in July 2009.
In the second week of February 2009, the price of the commodity
had reached Rp28,000/kg.
--------------------------
NGOs Vow To Protest Against ADB Meeting In Bali In May
JAKARTA, April 16 Asia Pulse - Non-governmental organizations
(NGOs) have vowed to launch a large rally during the annual
meeting of Asian Development Bank (ADB) in Bali from May 2 to
May 5.
The protest will focus on the bank's failure to help get poor
and developing Asian countries out of a vicious cycle of debt
entrapment, a labor leader said.
The number was expected to reach 1,000 protesters from Indonesia
alone, chairman of the Indonesian farmers' union for foreign
affairs Muhammad Ikhwan said.
"We have coordinated with fellow NGOs from other Asian countries
to join the rally," Ikhwan said.
Dani Setiawan from the Anti Debt Coalition opposed the signing
of new foreign loan agreement during the crisis.
Dani said international monetary institutions like the ADB, with
their massive distribution of foreign loans to third world
countries, had resulted in periodic financial crises since the
1980s.
According to the coalition, at least 16.4% of Indonesian
government debts were owed to the ADB, while another 13.% were
owed to the World Bank, the newspaper The Jakarta Post said.
-----------------------------
Indonesian Exports To Vietnam To Become More Difficult: Govt
JAKARTA, April 16 Asia pulse - The Indonesian government has
predicted that it would be increasingly difficult for Indonesia
to export its commodities to Vietnam, as that country has become
increasingly inclined to protect its domestic market.
"It appears that Vietnam has started imposing non-tariff
barriers for national treatment including making a distinction
between its own businesses and foreign enterprises," Head of the
National Agency for Export Development (BPEN) Bachrul Chairi
said in Jakarta Wednesday.
The non-tariff barriers included permission for setting
pharmaceutical prices and for the issuance of trade marks,
Bachrul said.
Therefore, he added, in the Indonesia-Vietnam joint commission
meeting scheduled on April 23 to 24 in Vietnam, the government
will suggest Indonesian businesspeople who already had business
contacts with their Vietnamese counterparts to give inputs to
the relevant Vietnamese authorities regarding the impact of
their policy.
"We hope the government would give inputs to the Vietnamese on
the implications of the issue. Further steps would be taken by
the government," Bachrul said.
In the meantime, the businesspeople of the two countries would
also have to meet business prospects which they could develop
together. Bachrul said the businesspeople to take part in the
joint commission meeting will include those engaged in the
construction, electronic, pharmaceutical, food and beverage
industries.
Vietnam is an important Indonesian trading partner, ranking the
18th biggest non-oi/gas importer and exporter from and to
Indonesia.
In 2007, Indonesia's non-oil/gas exports to Vietnam reached
US$1.355 billion, and its imports US$608.9 million.
------------------------------------------
Holcim Indonesia To Buy Holcim Sdn Bhd For $50 Mln
JAKARTA, April 15 (Dow Jones)--Cement maker PT Holcim Indonesia
(SMCB.JK) said in a prospectus Wednesday that it plans to buy
all of Malaysia's Holcim Sdn. Bhd., or HSB, from Holderfin BV
for $50 million.
Holcim Indonesia said that it will seek shareholder approval on
May 18 for the acquisition plan.
The acquisition is aimed at ensuring the continuity of Holcim
Indonesia's annual 500,000 metric tons of clinker exports to HSB
and to cope with the stiffer competition in the region, the
company said.
Holcim Indonesia, which is 77.33%-owned by Holderfin BV, said
that it plans to seek loans from Indonesian banks to finance up
to 85% of the total transaction.
It said it will use internally generated cash to finance the
remainder of the cost.
---------------------------
Indonesia USD Sukuk Informal Guidance Mid-9% Area -Source
SINGAPORE, April 15 (Dow Jones)--Indonesia is sounding out a
yield in the mid-9% range for its benchmark five-year U.S.
dollar global sukuk, a person familiar with the deal said
Wednesday.
The issuer will announce official guidance on the offering
later. Pricing of the bond is expected as early as this week.
The deal - rated Ba3 by Moody's Investors Service, BB- by
Standard & Poor's Ratings Services and BB by Fitch Ratings -
represents Indonesia's first foray into the international
Islamic debt market.
Barclays Capital, HSBC and Standard Chartered Bank are in charge
of the sale.
--------------------------
Indonesia's Wika Awarded New Contracts Valued At $245 Mln
JAKARTA, April 15 Asia Pulse - Indonesian construction company
PT Wijaya Karya (JSX:WIKA) said it has secured a new contract
valued at Rp2.71 trillion (US$245 million) in the first quarter
of 2009.
WIKA Finance Director Ganda Kusuma said the company secured a
construction contract valued at Rp195 billion and another
contract valued at Rp1.9 trillion to supply coal to state
electricity company PLN.
Meanwhile, a number of subsidiaries of the state company have
also been awarded contracts -- PT Wika Beton with project valued
at Rp300.83 billion, PT Wika Intrade Rp79.09 billion, PT Wika
Realty Rp110.77 billion, PT Wika Gedung Rp90.54 billion and PT
Wika Insan Pertiwi Rp35.07 billion. to supply President.
Altogether the WIKA Group holds new contracts valued at Rp10.5
trillion, he newspaper Investor Daily said.
---------------------------
Indonesia's PT Prudential Life Posts 80% Fall In Profit
JAKARTA, April 15 Asia Pulse - PT Prudential Life Assurance net
profit after tax in 2008 plunged by 80 per cent to Rp120 billion
(US$11 million) from Rp642 billion in 2007, despite high
increase in pre tax profit, a company official says.
The company posted Rp987 billion in profit before tax, up 54 per
cent from the previous year, its finance director William Kuan
said Tuesday.
The company, however, had large tax liability arising from
unrealized investment losses, Kuan was quoted as saying by the
newspaper The Jakarta Post .
The company said it suffered around Rp3 trillion in investment
losses in 2008 as against an investment gain of Rp1.9 trillion
in the previous year.
Company President Kevin L. Holmgren said its premium revenue
totaled Rp7 trillion in 2008, up 28 per cent from the previous
year.
Holmgren said the company which has a market share of 33 per
cent in the country is financially healthy with risk based ratio
of 206 per cent.
----------------------------
Sharp Rise In Indonesian Bond Issues Expected In H2
JAKARTA, April 15 Asia Pulse - The number of bond issues in
Indonesia is expected to increase sharply in the second half of
this year as a result of the cut in Bank Indonesia benchmark
interest rate (BI Rate).
This year bonds issued are predicted to reach Rp15 trillion
(US$1.36 billion) in value, the Indonesian Stock Exchange (BEI)
said.
BEI director Guntur Pasaribu told the newspaper Investor Daily
the interest in issuing bonds is high.
Market observers said bonds are the favorite instrument to raise
funds amid the high credit interest and tight bank liquidity.
Companies still find it difficult to raise funds from the market
either through initial public offering or rights issue, they
were quoted as saying by the newspaper Investor Daily.
They said for companies seeking funds for expansion, long-term
bonds will be preferable to short term or medium term credits
that could be offered by banks.
In the first half of 2009, corporate bonds are estimated to
reach Rp5 trillion in value exceeding the target of Rp4 trillion.
--------------------------
Indonesian Budget Surplus Shows Stagnation In Fiscal Stimulus
MEDAN, April 15 Asia pulse - A surplus of Rp2.9 trillion
(US$266.8 million) in Indonesia's state budget this year could
be perceived as a stagnation in the function of fiscal stimulus,
and not merely as an achievement.
"A surplus can happen as there is no spending, so that the
government is in a hurry to categorize it as an achievement,"
Jhon Tafbu Ritonga, a North Sumatra economic observer, said here
on Tuesday.
With a spending of about Rp159.7 trillion (16.2 per cent), the
government has collected from the people tax and non tax revenue
amounting to Rp162.6 trillion, thus prompting the finance
minister to see it as a surplus of Rp 2.9 trillion.
"So a surplus is actually no achievement, but a weakness of the
government who can not spend on the basis of the capability of
the people to pay tax and other payments," he said.
Unfortunately, the government's weaknesses gained no response
from the House of Representatives whose members were busy of
struggling to gain a seat.
---------------------------
Indonesian Govt Achieves Tax, Excise Revenue Target
JAKARTA, April 15 Asia pulse - Indonesia's Directorate General
of Taxes and Excises achieved its revenue target for the first
quarter of 2009 although the target figure was raised
significantly.
"We have achieved our target for the first quarter of this year.
This year's target was raised from Rp49.49 trillion (US$4.553
billion) to Rp54 trillion," Taxes and Excises Director General
Anwar Suprijadi said here on Tuesday.
He said state income from excises and taxes in the first quarter
of this year reached Rp14.81 trillion or almost 25 per cent of
the target this year.
"In the first quarter of this year, the target of about 24 per
cent tax receipts has been surpassed as it has reached 25 per
cent. So, it is already above the target," he added.
The director general said that the tax target was raised in
order to support the government's call for reduction of smoking
to help improve the health of the people.
When asked whether there would be new policies with regard to
the efforts to boost excise receipts, the director general said
that the government had no plan yet to raise cigarettes taxes
again.
"We are also still considering the function of cigarette
companies in absorbing workers. What we are doing is to enforce
the law on illegal companies. Up to now, we have no plan to
raise retail cigarette sale prices as well. We want to give the
industry business certainty," he added.
In the meantime, the revenue targets from import duties and
export taxes were respectively set at the state budget for 2009
at Rp16.66 trillion and Rp9.34 trillion.
The targets were later raised, however, to Rp14 trillion and
Rp2.5 trillion respectively, the director general said.
Anwar Suprijadi said that in the first quarter of 2009, the
realization of import duty receipts reached Rp4.27 trillion and
that of the export taxes accounted for Rp26.22 billion.
----------------------------
Indonesian Food Expo Turnover Expected To Reach 500 Mln Rupiah
JAKARTA, April 15 Asia pulse - The Indonesian industry ministry
estimates that the turnover of a light food expo organized by
small- and medium-scale industries here April 14-17 will reach
about Rp500 million (US$46,000).
"It's good because the expo's turnover is expected to reach
between Rp400 million and Rp 500 million," Fauzi Azis, the
medium-and small-scale industries (UMKM) director general, said
here Tuesday after opening the food expo taking place at the
ministry's plaza.
Food and beverage products have become the community's source of
economic power because they are able to meet the needs of the
domestic markets, Azis said.
According to him, the product packaging system was categorically
good, and most of the processed products at the expo bore
household industrial product labels.
"It means that the drug and Food Supervisory Agency (BPOM) has
admitted the UMKM) light food products have met the market
requirements," Fauzi said.
Industry Minister Fahmi Idris in his written speech on the
occasion hoped that this kind of food industries could step up
their product competitiveness especially relating to the
quality, cost and delivery in a bid to compete with those of
China, Malaysia, Thailand and Japan.
The light food expo was participated in by 48 participants who
exhibit around 92 light food and drinks.
---------------------------
Indonesia's Cacao Production Forecast To Fall
JAKARTA, April 15 Asia Pulse - The Indonesian Cacao Association
has predicted the country's cacao production will fall this year
compared to last year.
Cacao bean production would not exceed 490,000 tons ,
association chairman Halim Razak said, adding we are lucky if we
could produce 490,000 tons.
Earlier this year Indonesia set a production target of 490,000 -
500,000 tons.
Halim said the country's cacao production has been on the
decline since 2006 -- from 590,000 tons in 2006 to 530,000 tons
in 2007 and to 490,000 tons last year.
Weak demand in the past several year discouraged growers, he was
quoted as saying by the newspaper Bisnis Indonesia
Earlier Halim said the price of cacao beans was predicted to
rise to US$2,600 per ton this year from US$2,300 last year on
shrinking supply on deficit in supply.
Deficit in supply is estimated to reach 100,000 tons this year
as production sinks deeper than demand, the Indonesian cacao
association said.
-----------------------------
Exports From Indonesia's Batam Rise Almost 5% In 2008
BATAM, Apr 15 Asia pulse - Exports from Indonesia's Batam island
last year reached over US$6.361 billion, a rise of about 4.96
per cent compared to that of 2007 which stood at US$6.061
billion, with Singapore as the main destination of 63 per cent
of the total exports.
The other four destinations are Japan with 5.8 per cent,the
United States 6.62 per cent, Malaysian 4.32 per cent, and China
3.46 per cent, Chief of Batam Authority's marketing and public
relations Rustam H Hutapea said here on Tuesday.
The Batam's exports last year consisted electric equipment and
tools (25 per cent), automotive spareparts (13.09 per cent),
steel (10.52 per cent), audio-visual products (7.91 per cent),
and other manufactured goods (10.20 per cent).
In the meantime, the 18 applications for new foreign investment
projects in Batam for the January-March 2009 period had already
been approved by the Capital Investment Coordinating Agency, was
valued at US$16,649,493 and expansion projects US$6,259,344.
The Foreign investment projects came from Singapore, Britain,
Australia, Malaysia, India, Luxemburg, Taiwan, Japan, China, the
Netherlands and South Korea.
-----------------------------
Governor Park Promotes S Korean Investment In C Sulawesi
PALU, April 15 Asia pulse - Governor of Jeollanam-do, South
Korea, Park Joon-yung, promised to increase his country's
investment in Indonesia's Central Sulawesi province to realize
the sister province cooperation between the two regions on
different countries.
"Starting today, I will try to draw capital from Korea for
investment in Central Sulawesi," he said on the occasion of the
signing of a Letter of Intent (LoI) for business relations
between the two regions in Palu, Monday night.
He also said he will try to promote investment in Central
Sulawesi in view of South Korean President Lee Myung-bak's
efforts to expand relations with Indonesia.
President Lee in March 5, 2009, paid an official visit to
Jakarta and had a meeting with his Indonesian counterpart Susilo
Bambang Yudhoyono to discuss economic and investment cooperation.
The occasion, attended by numerous South Korean company
presidents and CEOs, as well as local government officials and
businesspeople, Governor Park hoped the cooperation agreement
between the Indonesian province and South Korean province had
already been signed in the form of an LoI, could be promoted
into long-term business and investment contracts.
Park praised Central Sulawesi Governor Badjela Paliudju's
efforts in boosting investment in the province with a view to
promote the living standard of the local population.
Governor Paliudju had said earlier that the province has 10
regencies and a city and vast natural resources, but as yet to
manage and exploit optimally.
Therefore Governor Paliudju hailed the Jeollanam-do governor's
visit along with scores of Korean businesspeople planning to
invest in fisheries, agriculture and plantations serving
bio-energy, mining, and forestry.
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