Indonesia - The Enemy Within

Islamic Extremists And Their Dreams of a New Caliphate


Truth that is not organized can be defeated by evil that is. So
goes an old Sufi saying.
Moderate Muslims in Indonesia are working to get organized for a
war with hard-liners who are misinterpreting the Koran as a
political ideology that is driving the direction of Islam across
the world.
With around 200 million Muslims, the world’s most populous
nation of adherents to the faith is a tempting prize for
proponents of a new caliphate, and the hard-liners are busy
infiltrati n g mosques, communities, business, the bureaucracy
and government here.
The latest initiative to fight this hard-line push is backed by
the country’s two major Muslim organizations, the traditionalist
Nadhlatul Ulama and the modernist Muhammidiyah. Together, they
command the allegiance of an estimated 70 million people.
It should be no surprise that former President Abdurrahman
Wahid, who was once chairman of the NU, is leading the drive.
Also lined up are Ahmad Syafii Maarif of Muhammadiyah and,
perhaps most important of all, KH A. Mustafa Bisri of the NU,
two leading names among Muslims here and abroad.
They are backing the LibForAll Foundation, the brainchild of
former US telecoms whiz kid C. Holland Taylor, in rolling out
books, television programs and, unapologetically, even a
Holocaust Conference with the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s Museum
of Tolerance that attracted worldwide attention.
Taylor got out of a career in which he was credited with pushing
deregulation of the global telecom business and into the culture
and religion of Java and Islam in general. He believes a
two-year research program conducted by LibForAll in Indonesia
has unearthed a massive conspiracy driven by Salafist groups
such as Saudi Arabia’s Wahabis, the Muslim Brotherhood and
Hizbut Thahrir.
He says petrodollars are flowing into the country and being used
together with funds raised locally in an attempt to hijack
Indonesia’s innately tolerant Islam.
“You’re looking at a virulent ideology which uses the symbols of
Islam in order to attract support and also to intimidate into
silence their opponents,” Taylor says.
“The superficiality of the use of symbols and the aggressiveness
of the ideology facilitates obtaining cooperation from
opportunistic political parties and politicians who find it
easier to go along with the extremists rather than stand in
their way and be accused of being anti-Islam themselves. This is
particularly effective in a democratic era.”
Taylor argues that those who believe the hard-liners cannot
succeed in transforming Indonesia into an Islamic state only
need to look at Germany’s pre-Nazi Weimar Republic, a democratic
government overthrown by terror and intimidation is service to a
hard-line minority.
Solo in Central Java Province has already fallen to the
hard-liners, much as Germany fell to the Nazis. There, the
faculty of Muhammadiyah University is dominated by active
members of the Prosperous Justice Party, or PKS, and Hizbut
Tahrir.
While Muhammadiyah issued a decree in 2006 closing its doors to
PKS members following the publication of an expose on the
hard-liners’ tactics written by Muhammadiyah deputy chairman
Haeder Nashir, Taylor says the decree came too late for Solo.
“They cannot implement the Muhammadiyah decree effectively
banning the PKS from using its facilities because they wouldn’t
have a university left,” he says.
Two years of field research was conducted by LibForAll in 17
provinces, recording interviews with 591 mainly extremist
leaders and unearthing a distinct agenda to establish a
narrow-minded concept of Shariah law, Taylor says. “What we
found was that the extremists universally had the agenda of
imposing their understanding of Shariah on the Indonesian public
and destroying Pancasila.”
The results of the research have been published in “The Illusion
of the Islamic State: The Expansion of the Transnational Islamic
Movement in Indonesia.” The book is in Indonesian but will be
issued at a later date in English.
Many of those interviewed were simultaneously members of a
radical organization and a mainstream group. While they belonged
to 58 separate hard-line groups, 75 percent were also members of
Muhammadiyah, a sign that it has been deeply penetrated by the
radicals.
LibForAll also argues that the hard-line movement has been
working steadily toward its goal for decades. Beginning with the
Tarbiyah movement of Islamic study groups in universities, it
has now blossomed into a range of organizations, from the
violent to the peaceful.
These organizations include PKS, with its deep links in the
Muslim Brotherhood movement. Others, including the Crescent Star
Party, or PBB, are of older lineage, springing from the legacy
of the Islamist Masyumi Party of the Sukarno era.
The release of social shackles with the end of Suharto’s New
Order allowed the various groups within the hard-line movement
to flourish. Taylor warns that their success has been so
dramatic that Muhammadiyah is at risk of total collapse.
“If this is allowed to continue apace, Muhammadiyah may cease to
exist as it has been; it may continue to exist but it will be
controlled by the PKS,” Taylor says.
“Not only that, Muhammadiyah as a pillar of Indonesian society,
upholding Pancasila and the 1945 Constitution and the unitary
state of Indonesia, is likely to crash and at that point
Pancasila can disappear and the Indonesian nation state can
disappear, all as a consequence of PKS infiltration of
Muhammadiyah.”
Taylor argues that it is a matter of public record that people
associated with the Wahabi movement and the Muslim Brotherhood
are in positions of power.
He sees a conspiracy of loosely related groups, from JI through
the Islamic Defenders Front, or FPI, and from Hizbut Tahrir to
PKS and the quasi-governmental Indonesian Council of Ulema, or
MUI.
“The government has good relations with parties including the
PKS and the PBB. It is a matter of public record that there are
people associated with Saudi Arabia and the Muslim Brotherhood
who are a part of this administration,” Taylor says.
His campaign hopes to make others in the government aware of the
danger.
Hodri Ariev, a young NU leader from Jember in East Java Province
who helped expel hard-liners from his own community, points to
the new governor of West Nusa Tenggara, M. Zainul Majdi, as
potentially a hard-line infiltrator into what is supposed to be
a moderate religious organization.
Zainul recently ruled to reject the resettlement of Ahmadiyah
refugees and is pushing for a complete ban on the sect in his
province, which would become only the second after South Sumatra
to do so.
As part of LiBForAll’s drive, a television series featuring
international examples of moderate Islam is expected to be
screened nationally and copies will be distributed to religious
schools across the country. Different versions will also be
produced for distribution in other Muslim societies to expand
the work of LibForAll.
Sadanand Dhume, Asia Society Fellow and author of the recently
published “My Friend the Fanatic: Travels with an Indonesian
Islamist,” agrees that there is a major threat to Indonesia’s
mainstream moderate Islam.
“While Indonesia remains the most liberal and tolerant Muslim
culture in the world, the past 30 years have witnessed the rise
of a determined and well-organized radical movement that
ultimately seeks to organize both society and the state
according to Islamic Shariah law,” he says.
“Whether the country’s pluralistic and nonconfrontational Islam
will prevail, or whether radical forces such as the PKS will
acquire a greater voice in politics and public life, will be the
single biggest determinant of Indonesia’s future,” he says.
Can Indonesia’s moderate Islam withstand the push from the
hard-liners?
NU’s Hodri Ariev believes the only way forward is to fight back.
“There needs to be the creation of a network between members of
the younger generation of Muslims, especially with those who are
strongly oriented to spiritual understanding so that they cannot
be influenced by the hard-liners,” he says. “This is a
generation of Muslims who are not narrow-minded, who understand
Islam as a path and not as a goal.”

Keith Loveard
The Jakarta Globe
Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Keith Loveard is a Jakarta-based writer and political analyst.

Business,Trade, Oil, Gas, Mining updates from Jakarta

- Bank Danamon: Raised IDR3.98 Trillion In Rights Issue
- BTN Secures Indonesian Parliamentary Approval To Launch IPO
- Bank Internasional Indonesia Projects 20% Increase In 3rd Party Funds In 2009
- Four Investors Interested In Indonesia's Bank Muamalat Shares
- Index to soar above 1,700 this year: Mandiri
- Humpuss Intermoda To Sell Up To 20% Stake To Public In 2H
- Indonesia Invest Board Seeks 15-Yr Tax Holiday For Investors
- Indonesia's Bakrie Group Says Will Repay All Debts This Year
- Indonesia's BEI Suspends Trading In OKAs Shares
- TABLE-Details of Indonesia's planned SBI, sharia debt auction
- Era Indoasia To Buy Four Offshore Ships From China
- Indonesia's Trada Maritime To Buy Six New Tankers
- Indonesia's Lion Air Now Flies Boeing 737-300 To Ternate
- Cement Price Hike Quite Reasonable: Indonesian Cement Makers
- Indonesia Hopes To Boost Shoe Exports To Europe
- Indonesian CPO Producers Say EU Directive Discriminatory
- Minister Cautions Indonesian Construction Firms In Middle East
- - Aneka Tambang Cuts First-Quarter Ferronickel Production 15%
- Indonesia's Aneka Tambang Optimistic Of Reaching Targets
- Indonesia Won't Impose Tin Export Quota In 2009 - Official
- Japan's Tepco seeks to switch Oil power plant feedstock from
Minas
- Indonesia's PLN Sets Thermal-Powered Electricity Rates
- Indonesia's Pertamina To Build 6 Bulk Gas Filling Stations In
Riau
- Indonesian Coal Miner PTBA Sees Two Fold Jump In Q1 Net Profit
(courtesy Joyo News Service)

Bank Danamon: Raised IDR3.98 Trillion In Rights Issue
JAKARTA (Dow Jones)--Bank Danamon Indonesia (BDMN.JK),
Indonesia's fifth-largest bank by assets, Tuesday said it raised
IDR3.98 trillion in Indonesia's largest banking and financial
services rights issue.
"The capital inflow resulting from the rights issue is
approximately US$372 million, which reflects foreign investors'
confidence in Danamon and the country. As reflected in the 2008
full-year results, Danamon continues to have a strong capital
level, fairly liquid position and sound loan quality," Danamon
President Director Sebastien Paredes said in a written statement.
Danamon said it sold about 3.31 billion new shares at IDR1,200
each.
Danamon said its unaudited Tier One capital ratio would increase
to 21.16% and its consolidated capital adequacy ratio to 22.7%
as of March 31 as a result of the fundraising.
It said 99.9% of the rights shares were subscribed and total
demand was over 110% of the offer size.
Tracey Woon, Singapore-based head of global banking at
Citigroup, said in the statement that Danamon's rights issue was
the largest banking and financial services rights issue ever
conducted in Indonesia.
Citigroup Global Markets Singapore Pte. Ltd. and Morgan Stanley
Asia (Singapore) Pte. were standby purchasers for the issue.
Danamon, which is majority-owned by Singapore's Temasek Holdings
Pte. Ltd., held the rights offer from April 7 to April 14.
--------------------------
BTN Secures Indonesian Parliamentary Approval To Launch IPO
JAKARTA, April 21 Asia Pulse - Indonesia's PT Bank Tabungan
Negara (BTN) finally secured an approval from the Commission VI
of House of Representatives to launch initial public offering
(IPO).
The state lender hopes to raise at least Rp2 trillion (US$180
million) from the IPO, delayed since 2007, to be held before the
end of this year , BTN President Iqbal Lantaro said.
BTN also hopes to raise more funds this year by planning to
issue bond valued at Rp1.5 trillion and securitization of assets
valued at Rp500 billion.
The bank already named underwriters including Mandiri Sekuritas,
Danareksa and Trimegah Securities to help process the bonds this
week.
The bank said the funds will be used to finance its business
expansion to strengthen its credit financing capacity, the
newspaper Investor Daily said.
----------------------------
Bank Internasional Indonesia Projects 20% Increase In 3rd Party
Funds In 2009
JAKARTA, April 21 Asia pulse - PT Bank Internasional Indonesia
(JSX:BNII) (BII) estimates that third party funds it will
collect in 2009 will increase 20 per cent to Rp55 trillion from
Rp44 trillion a year earlier.
"We are optimistic that we can collect Rp55 trillion in third
party funds in 2009 after seeing positive public response to a
number of new products we have launched," Chief National Sales
Officer of PT BII Hevi Angweita said here on Monday.
Angweita sad that the bank was hoping to collect Rp500 billion
from its Women One and Super Kidz saving schemes
The Women One saving scheme is expected to net 30,000 clients
with an average saving fund of about Rp20 million to Rp30
million each while the Super Kidz has the target to win about
45,000 depositors with an average saving of about Rp1 million
each, she said.
Angweita said that BII in the first four months has the target
to collect Rp300 billion from the saving scheme, and if this was
realized the amount of funds that would be collected from the
two types of saving schemes would exceed Rp500 billion.
"We look this as a big opportunity because bank customers are
now serious in looking for new saving schemes to save their
money," she said.
with regard to the constraint faced in the current global
financial crisis, Angweita said that it relatively had no
serious impact on Indonesia. The country's economic growth which
was previously predicted at 3 per cent could reach 4.5 per cent.
Looking at the market development conditions, BII was optimistic
that it would be able to collect public funds from various
products it had launched.
On the meantime, BII Wealth Management and Funding Business
officer Stefanus Willy Sukianto said that BII's Women One saving
scheme provided a solution to the various needs of Indonesian
women such as annual administration cost, female care insurance
protection, smart saving with high interest and smart spending.
-----------------------------
Four Investors Interested In Indonesia's Bank Muamalat Shares
JAKARTA, April 20 Asia pulse - Four investors -- three of them
foreign -- are interested in buying shares in Indonesia's Bank
Mualamat, the bank's, president director, A Ridwan Amin, said
here Monday.
"Three of them are foreign and one a local investor," said
Ridwan after the dedication of the bank's Kuala Lumpur branch
office and 33 service offices in Jakarta.
According to him, many investors were actually eager to buy
shares in the Syariah (Islamic law) based bank. Some offers had
been received not only from foreign but also from local
investors.
However, the issue of selling some of the bank's shares to
interested parties would be left to the shareholders to decide
in the sense whether they were ready to share the bank's
ownership with other parties, he said.
At present, the capital adequacy ratio (CAR) of Bank Muamalat
was still above eight per cent. In fact, according to Ridwan,
the bank's CAR has reached the level of nine per cent.
"Over eight per cent and perhaps nine per cent.. yes," he said,
adding that his bank did not need capital because its business
activity was profitable. However, the regulation on CAR issued
by the Bank Indonesia should also be met by his side.
Ridwan himself said he has yet to mention the exact amount of
funds from the four investors. But he only said that at least 50
per cent of Bank Muamalat's capital which had reached Rp500
billion.
"I don't know the details," said Ridwan when asked on the shares
to be bought by prospective investors.
Three Bank Muamalat's shareholders are among other the Islamic
Development Bank (IDB) with 28 per cent in the ownership of the
bank, Boudyan Bank Kuwait with 21.28 shares and Atwill holdings
Limited 15.3 per cent.
------------------------------
The Jakarta Post [website]
April 21, 2009
Index to soar above 1,700 this year: Mandiri
Aditya Suharmoko, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The Jakarta Composite Index may soar above 1,700 by the year's
end led by banking stocks, if the rate of bad loans is better
than market expectation, Mandiri Sekuritas says.
"Now the index is about 1,650. It can pass 1,700, led by banking
stocks, which may happen if the rate of non-performing loans
(NPLs) decreases," Ari Pitoyo, the head of equity research, said
in a press conference Tuesday.
As of April 17, the index has so far regained 20.6 percent, led
by mining and agricultural stocks. Finance stocks rose 15.2
percent.
"Stocks that are considered sensitive (to the global financial
crisis) have increased," he said.
-------------------------------
Humpuss Intermoda To Sell Up To 20% Stake To Public In 2H
JAKARTA (Dow Jones)--Shipper PT Humpuss Intermoda Transportasi
(HITS.JK) plans to increase its free float on the Indonesia
Stock Exchange by selling a stake of up to 20% to the public.
"We plan to sell our 6.63% of treasury stocks in the second half
of this year," Humpuss Chief Executive Antonius Widyatma
Sumarlin told reporters Tuesday.
He said the remaining 13% will come from Humpuss Intermoda
shareholders. "Our shareholders are still discussing the plan,"
he added.
Humpuss Intermoda is 60.83%-owned by PT Humpuss, controlled by
former President Suharto's family, 9.43% by Humpuss Inc., 5.57%
by Lincoln Circle Ltd., 5.16% by Astonville International Ltd,
5.17% by PT Investa Dharma Putera and 7.20% by the public.
After the stake sale, the free float will increase to 27.2%.
---------------------------
Indonesia Invest Board Seeks 15-Yr Tax Holiday For Investors
JAKARTA, April 21 (Dow Jones)--Indonesia's investment
coordinating board has asked the government for a 15-year waiver
of income taxes for new investors in certain industries, its
chief Muhammad Lutfi said Tuesday.
The Investment Board chairman told reporters that his office has
proposed the tax holiday for a range of industries including
downstream oil and gas, energy, rubber, and agriculture.
"If we can give such a tax incentive, we can compete with other
countries (in attracting investors)," Lutfi said.
He said in February that he expected the growth of actual
foreign direct investment in Indonesia to slow to 20% this year
from 44% last year amid the global downturn.
Actual FDI was $14.87 billion in 2008.
-----------------------------
Indonesia's Bakrie Group Says It Will Repay All Debts This Year
JAKARTA, April 21 Asia Pulse - PT Bakrie & Brothers (JSX:BNBR)
said it will settle its remaining debts of Rp4.2 trillion
(US$390.6 million) which are already restructured by the end of
this year.
The debts, which have been reduced from Rp16.06 trillion
originally, will be repaid with internal fund and new loans, a
company director Dileep Srivastava said.
Srivastava said the Bakrie Group has never asked for the debt to
be reduced but only wants a roll over of the debts that include
debts under repurchase agreements.
Based on data at Bakrie & Brothers, the group had repurchase
agreement debts totaling Rp443.7 billion by January, 2009, the
newspaper Investor Daily said.
------------------------------
Indonesia's BEI Suspends Trading In OKAs Shares
Jakarta, April 21 Asia pulse - The Indonesian Stock Exchange
(BEI) has suspended trading in PT Ancora Indonesia Resources Tbk
(OKAS) shares in the regular and cash markets as of April 21,
2009, until further notice.
The suspension was conducted following a significant increase in
the company's stock price cumulatively, which went up Rp400 or
210.53 percent on April 20, 2009, according to BEI's Share
Trading Devision Chief Abdul Mun'im.
He appealed concerned parties to always follow information
openness presented by the company.
-----------------------------
TABLE-Details of Indonesia's planned SBI, sharia debt auction
JAKARTA, April 21 (Reuters) - Indonesia's central bank plans to
raise 30.3 trillion rupiah ($2.8 billion) in an auction of
1-month, 3-month and 6-month debt paper (SBI), as well as
1-month sharia SBI, on Wednesday.
The yield for 1-month sharia SBI refers to the weighted average
interest rate of 1-month SBI.
Following are details of the auction:
For SBI Maturities : 1-month (29 days) 3-month (91 days)
6-month (182 days) Maturing date : 1-month (May 22) 3-month
(July 23) 6-month (Oct 22) Window time : 1200-1400 (0500-0700
GMT) Settlement date : April 23 For Sharia SBI Maturities :
1-month (28 days) Maturing date : May 20 Window time :
1000-1200 (0300-0500 GMT) Settlement date : April 22
(Reporting by Sonya Angraini; Editing by Sara Webb)
------------------------------
Era Indoasia To Buy Four Offshore Ships From China
JAKARTA, April 21 Asia Pulse - Shipping company PT Era Indoasia
Fortune has ordered four offshore vessels valued at US$48
million from a Chinese shipbuilding company.
Era President Paulis D. Djohan said the delivery of the ships
will take place between June and November this year.
The off shore vessels being built by Yuexin Shipyard will
strengthen support for offshore oil and gas industry , Paulis
told the news paper Bisnis Indonesia.
He said the procurement of the vessels is financed by PT PANN
Multifinance.
-----------------------------
Indonesia's Trada Maritime To Buy Six New Tankers
JAKARTA, April 21 Asia Pulse - Inodnesian publicly traded cargo
shipping company PT Trada Maritime (JSX:TRAM) plans to buy six
units of tankers worth Rp400 billion (US$36.3 million) this year.
The company which operates in liquid cargo and dry bulk
transport will expand to business to transport of clean
petroleum product and coal, its finance director Danny De Mita
said.
Last year, the company was the largest provider of floating
storage and offloading (FSO) service in the country with a
market share of more than 25 per cent.
Its customers include PT Medco E&P Indonesia, Pertamina and
Camar Resources Canada Inc, the newspaper Investor Daily said.
-----------------------------
Indonesia's Lion Air Now Flies Boeing 737-300 To Ternate
TERNATE, April 21 Asia pulse - Indonesia's Lion Air starting
today, April 21, flies a Boeing 737-300 to Ternate, North
Maluku, to promote air transport service to the local population.
"The Boeing 737-300 is serving the Ternate-Manado route every
day," Mohdar Assagaf of PT Almas Mega Travel (which takes care
of Lion Air ticket sales in North Maluku) said in Ternate
Tuesday.
With enough room for 149 passengers, the plane left Manado's Sam
Ratulangi airport at 10 a.m local time, and from Ternate's
Babullah Airport at noon local time.
He said with the operation of the Boeing 737-300, the Dash 8-300
planes of Wings Air (Lion Air group) which had been flying Lion
air passengers from Ternate to Manado and vice versa, stopped
flying.
While Lion Air is now flying Boeing 737-300 aircraft over the
Ternate-Manado route, it did not change its previous airfares
ranging from Rp500,000 to slightly more.
In the meantime, a number of Ternate citizens who often flew by
Lion Air, warmly hailed the operation of Boeing 737-300s, as it
means more flying comfort.
"Lion Air had been flying Dash 8-300 planes over the route.
Sorry to say, but Dash planes are propeller planes, and very
small, Ade, Ternate citizen, said.
Other airline companies like Express Air, Merpati and Batavia
Air, which are also flying to and from Ternate, had already long
been flying Boeings for pioneer flights in North Maluku, while
Merpati is still using small planes.
The national airline companies had started considering North
Maluku as a potential area for air transportation. Garuda and
Sriwijaya Air are also planning to start flying to and from
Ternate.
--------------------------
Cement Price Hike Quite Reasonable: Indonesian Cement Makers
SURABAYA, April 21 Asia pulse - Indonesian cement producers felt
that the cement price hike was quite reasonable as it was based
on many acceptable reasons.
"One of the reasons is the energy component, which is very
decisive to setting cement prices," communications chief of
state cement company PT Semen Gresik Tbk (JSX:SMGR) Saifuddin
Zuhri said here Tuesday.
He said Semen Gresik is now using coal energy. Since the price
of coal had been raised recently, this should not be ignored by
the Business Competition Supervisory Commission in setting
cement production cost.
Earlier, he said, on April 7, 2009, KPPU communications director
A Djunaidi said that there has been allegations that the price
of Semen Gresik cement was 30-40 per cent higher than those of
other producers, whereas the KPPU had collected its information
based on data on 2007 international cement prices, while the
price of Indonesian cement reached US$83.8 per ton.
He also said that the cement prices in Malaysia stood at US$62.6
per ton, in the Philippines US$84.5 per ton, in Vietnam US$57.75
and in Thailand US$67.87 per ton.
This he said meets the definition of a cartel. He added that
fuel oil is used merely for cement distribution, not to mention
the loss due a difference in exchange rates.
"It is crystal clear we have been buying coal with the US
dollar, in addition to the constantly increasing wages in
certain periods. As we wish out employees to be leading a good
life, we raised their wages on the basis of the inflation
index," he said.
"Corporate Communications Manager of PT Holcim Indonesia Tbk,
Budi Primawan said the price of the commodity has been set on
standard procedures, namely taking into account energy cost of
transportation and production.
"We have our responsibilities to the stakeholders and employees
in making higher profits each year, while the percentage of
profit is also set reasonably," he said.
The highest price hike, he said, was among things caused by an
increase in the price of energy resources, which contributed
45-50 per cent of production cost.
"In addition there is also the loss in exchange rate differences
because our purchases are in the greenback," he said.
----------------------------
Indonesia Hopes To Boost Shoe Exports To Europe
JAKARTA, April 21 Asia Pulse - Indonesia hopes to boost shoe
exports by 10 per cent to Europe this year with the plan of the
European Commission to cut import duty from 17 per cent to 13.5
per cent on Indonesian shoe products.
Last year, Indonesia had only a 3 per cent share of shoe market
in the European Union or below the quota of 7 per cent, an
official of the industry ministry said.
Despite the falling demand as a result of the global financial
crisis, Indonesia's shoe exports to the EU could still increase,
Multifarious Industry Director Budi Irmawan said.
The Indonesian footwear association said the country's exports
of shoes were valued at US$1.87 billion last year and exports to
the EU accounted for or US$692 million, the newspaper Bisnis
Indonesia said.
-----------------------------
Indonesian CPO Producers Say EU Directive Discriminatory
JAKARTA, April 21 Asia Pulse - Indonesian producers of crude
palm oil (CPO) have complained about alleged discrimination by
the European Union (EU) against CPO-based Indonesian biofuel
products.
Under the EU directive, biodiesel will account for 5.75 per cent
of fuel requirement in Europe in 2010 and for 10 per cent in
2020.
The EU Directive, however, calls for ban on the use of CPO
-based biofuel in the 27 member countries of the EU as CPO
production has contributed to destruction of natural forests.
Indonesia has been accused of destroying natural forests by
converting large forests into oil palm plantations, the
newspaper Bisnis Indonesia said. .
The Indonesian association of palm oil companies , however, said
the EU was trying only to find an excuse to protect their
domestic industry.
-----------------------------
Minister Cautions Indonesian Construction Firms In Middle East
JAKARTA, April 21 Asia pulse - Indonesia's State Enterprises
Minister Sofyan Djalil has cautioned state-owned construction
companies operating in the Middle East to be more careful as the
world financial crisis is starting to affect property business
in that region.
"The property industry in the Middle East region is facing
problems and therefore constrcution companies must be careful
when carrying out projects there," Djalil said at his office
here on Monday.
He said his office had summoned among others PT Adhi Karya
executives to ask for a report on the development of its
projects in the region.
Adhi Karya is now carrying out hotel and shopping mall
development projects worth Rp969 billion (US$90.1 illion) in
Oman, which are expected to finish in May 2009.
Previously, Adhi Karya developed Hotel Shangri-La in Qatar.
Another state-owned company carrying out projects in the Middle
East is PT Wijaya Karya.
The company is currently constructing a tunnel in Palem Jabrali
in Dubai. It has also been entrusted with an East-West toll road
development project strecthing up to 1,400 kilometer long in
Algiers. The company constructed 18 bridges in the country
before.
Sofyan Djalil said based on the reports from the state-owned
construction companies anticipatory measures could be taken with
regard to indications of collapsing in property business in the
region.
The minister said however that so far there had not been any
cancellation of projects.
------------------------------------------
Aneka Tambang Cuts First-Quarter Ferronickel Production 15%
By Bambang Dwi Djanuarto and Naila Firdausi
April 21 (Bloomberg) -- PT Aneka Tambang, Indonesia’s
second-largest publicly traded metal producer, said its first-
quarter ferronickel output dropped 15 percent from a year ago
because of slowing demand.
The company, known as Antam, produced about 3,700 metric tons of
ferronickel, 700 kilograms of gold and 200,000 tons of bauxite,
President Director Alwin Syah Loebis told reporters last night
in Jakarta. In the first quarter of 2008, the company produced
4,362 tons of ferronickel, 935 kilograms of gold and 181,141 wet
metric tons of bauxite.
“Our production performance in the first quarter for ferronickel
and gold hit the target,” Loebis said. Bauxite output, which was
only a fifth of the 1 million-ton full-year target, “was lower
than target because of slowing demand.”
Antam earlier this year said it expects to cut annual
ferronickel output to 12,000 tons from 17,566 tons, and its
bauxite output to 1 million tons from 1.15 million tons.
Nickel futures declined 56 percent on the London Metal Exchange
last year, a record annual drop, on concern that the global
economic slowdown would cause demand for the metal used in
steelmaking to slump.
------------------------
Indonesia's Aneka Tambang Optimistic Of Reaching Targets
JAKARTA, April 21 Asia Pulse - Indonesian state mining company
PT Aneka Tambang said it was optimistic to reach its production
targets for ferronickel and gold in the first quarter of this
year.
The publicly traded company targeted to produce 3,000 tons of
ferronickel; and 0.7 ton of gold in the first three months of
this year.
Company President Alwin Syah Loebis said the production target
for the whole of the year is set at 12,000 tons for ferronickel
and 2.8 tons for gold.
The ferronickel production target is set much lower than
production of 17,000 tons last year with the price fall of that
commodity.
The company is yet to set production target for bauxite as
demand for which declined in the first quarter of this year ,
the newspaper Bisnis Indonesia said.
---------------------------
Indonesia Won't Impose Tin Export Quota In 2009 - Official
JAKARTA (Dow Jones)--Indonesia won't impose a quota restriction
on tin exports that was scheduled to start this year, in light
of falling demand for the metal, a senior government official
said Tuesday.
The quota regulation was deemed unnecessary this year, as
globaltin prices have fallen sharply and exports have dropped
from the time the regulation was first mooted, said Bambang
Setiawan, a director general at the Energy and Mineral Resources
Ministry.
However, the policy to impose a restriction on the volume of tin
exported from Indonesia will be resurrected when tin prices are
high, as a means of preventing markets from being flooded with
the commodity, he said.
Indonesia fears market participants will rush to export tin when
prices are high, resulting in further environmental damage to
the islands of Bangka-Belitung, where Indonesian tin is mostly
mined.
Setiawan said imposing a quota when prices are high would also
help prevent prices from falling too much as a result of an
oversupply of tin in themarket.
The quota would limit exports to at most 100,000 metric tons a
year. Last year, Indonesia produced 71,610 tons of tin and
exported more than 80% of its output.
Tin prices have fallen sharply from a record high of $25,500/ton
last May. Tin on the London Metal Exchange was last offered
Monday at $12,045-$12,050/ton.
The falling tin prices have made tin mining unprofitable for
many small-scale miners, with several Indonesian smelters
halting production.
-------------------------
Platts Commodity News April 20, 2009
Japan's Tepco seeks to switch Oi power plant feedstock from Minas
Tokyo -- Japan's largest power utility, Tokyo Electricity Power
Company, is in talks with the Tokyo Metropolitan Government to
switch the fuel it burns at its Oi thermal power plant from
Indonesia's Minas crude to other crude oils, a source from the
company said late last week.
Under the current agreement with the Tokyo government, Tepco is
allowed to use only Minas crude, which contains less than 0.1%
sulfur, at the Oi plant in order to protect air quality.
However, the production of Minas crude is declining, and Tepco
wants approval to seek other feedstocks.
"We are now negotiating to change the fuel to other crude oils
such as Su Tu Den in Vietnam or Western African crude oils to
diversify the sources," the source said.
Oi thermal power plant has three units, with a capacity of 350
MW each.
Atsuko Kawasaki, atsuko_kawas...@platts.com
-------------------------
Indonesia's PLN Sets Thermal-Powered Electricity Rates
JAKARTA, April 21 Asia Pulse - State-owned power utility PLN
said the tariff for a thermal power plant (PLTP) it would buy
from electricity producers would be set at a range from 6.5 to
8.5 US cents per Kwh.
PLN director for planning and technology affairs Bambang
Praptono said here on Tuesday that the electricity tariff as
mentioned above was better than the previous one which was set
at 4.5 US cents per kWh.
"With a better tariff rate it was expected that many investors
would become interested in building thermal power plants," he
said adding that the tariff would be set based on the plants'
capacity.
Plants with small capacity could have their rates set at 8.5
dollar cents per kWh, those of the middle capacity at 7.5 US
cents and the large ones at 6.5 US cents per kWh, he added.
"So, the rate now is better than the previous one which was set
at 4.5 US cents per kWh," Praptono said.
The government through a ministerial decree No.5 / 2009 has left
the rates of power tariff of all kinds of generating plants to
PLN to decide, including the tariff rates of electricity it
would purchase from cooperatives or other businesses.
The decree revised a previous ruling which decided that the
tariff rate of a PLTP would be decided by the government and was
limited to 4.5 US cents per kWh.
Praptono said that PLN in the near future would also sign a head
of agreement (HoA) with state-owned oil and gas company (PLN) to
build PLTPs which were part of the accelerated second phase of
the government's 10,000 MW power projects.
The HoA will include provisions where Pertamina will build power
plants in upstream areas and PLN in downstream ones, or else
Pertamina will do it all in upstream and downstream areas.
-----------------------------
Indonesia's Pertamina To Build 6 Bulk Gas Filling Stations In
Riau
PEKANBARU, April 21 Asia Pulse - Indonesia's state oil and gas
company Pertamina plans to build six more bulk lequified
petroleum gas filling stations (SPBEs) in Riau province to
support a kerosene-to-gas conversion program in the region.
The province now had three SPBEs, namely in Pekanbaru, Pasir
Putih and Kulin, Pertamina Corporate Communications Vice
President Anang Noor said on Monday.
"The three SPBEs supply around 70 tons of LPG to customers per
day. The gas comes from the RU II Dumai refinery," he said.
The province will launch a kerosene-to-gas conversion program in
September 2009. Under the program, stoves, hoses and cylinders
will be distributed among 514,000 households free of charge.
Anang said once the program was launched in the province, the
LPG supplies would be raised from other refineries in
Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, Cilacap, Central Java, and
Balongan, West Java.
The Dumai refinery was only able to produce 120 tons of LPG per
day, he said.
Earlier, Pertamina Corporate Secretary Toharso said the
kerosene-to-gas conversion program launched in Java in 2008 had
reached 15 million households, enabling the country to save
Rp5.3 trillion in fuel subsidies.
He said the program would target around 23 million households
this year.
"This year the kerosene-to-gas conversion programs in Java and
Bali will be completed. The programs will be continued in other
areas. Hopefully, the programs will affect all areas in Sumatra,
Sulawesi and Kalimantan by the end of 2010," he said.
------------------------------
Indonesian Coal Miner PTBA Sees Two Fold Jump In Q1 Net Profit
JAKARTA, April 21 Asia Pulse - The net profit of PT Tambang
Batubara Bukit Asam (JSX:PTBA) in the first quarter of this year
was estimated to surge more than 100 per cent from Rp286.3
billion (US$26.62 million) in the same period last year.
Sales by the state coal mining company were also estimated to
double from Rp1.23 trillion , company secretary Eko
Budhiwijayanto told the newspaper Investor Daily.
Eko attributed the improvement in financial performance to
increase in sales and price of coal.
He said demand for coal is still strong in both domestic and
international market and the coal price may still increase this
year.
This year the company plans to produce 10.5 million tons of coal
from its mines in South Sumatra, the newspaper Investor Daily
said.
------------------------------------------

The Right to Die in Singapore

From a proud tower in the town/Death looks gigantically down/On
the island republic
Singapore may have not a reputation for opening its doors to
outspoken activists but in an intriguing move, next month it
will host a seminar by one of the world’s most controversial
speakers, Philip Nitschke, the Australian campaigner for
voluntary euthanasia and assisted suicide known, like Dr Jack
Kevorkian in the United States, as "Dr Death".
What makes the visit of the renowned pro-euthanasia campaigner
even more surprising is the legal status of suicide in
Singapore, where attempting to take your own life remains a
criminal offence. Those who have slashed their wrists or taken
an overdose but failed to kill themselves are routinely
handcuffed to their beds when they are brought into hospital by
the police. Assisting a suicide is considered an even more
serious crime, with a mandatory jail term for anyone found
guilty of such an offence.
Nitschke has played a key role in driving the global debate
about voluntary euthanasia and in 1996 he became the first ever
doctor to administer a fully-legal, voluntary lethal injection
under the right-to-die law in Australia’s Northern Territories.
His campaign group, Exit International, regularly holds seminars
around the world in which it discusses voluntary euthanasia and
tells over 50s and the seriously ill how they can end their
lives in a reliable, painless and cost-effective manner.
However, his vigorous advocacy for euthanasia has earned him
many critics, who oppose assisted suicide on moral, religious or
social grounds.
With an irony not lost on Nitschke himself, he will be welcomed
in Singapore, a state that places strict limits on public
discourse, just weeks after he was turned away by the Oxford
Union, the famous university debating society that likes to
think of itself as the "last bastion of free speech in the
Western world".
"We get repeated requests for information from Singapore so we
think it would be reasonable to see what the interest really
is," Nitschke told Asia Sentinel from his base in Darwin. "We’re
unclear about the reaction but we’ll see how things go."
The Singaporean government argues that it is necessary to place
restrictions on freedom of speech when it comes to sensitive
political and religious issues in order to prevent outbreaks of
social disorder. The fact that the government is willing to
allow in someone such as Nitschke, whose views have prompted
furious opposition from religious groups in the past, is
indicative of its desire to push forward the debate about end of
life issues in a nation that has one of the world’s most
rapidly-ageing populations.
By 2030, one in five Singaporeans will be over 65, up from 1 in
12 today, according to the Ministry of Community, Development,
Youth and Sports’ latest report on the ageing population. This
graying of Singapore, which is being driven by a low birth rate
and ever-increasing life expectancy, will put even greater
pressure on the island’s already-stretched healthcare and social
services.
Singapore has also been flirting with ways to increase the
number of organ donors for those with failing kidneys or other
organs. As Asia Sentinel reported in January, the government has
decided to legalize the payment of compensation to organ donors,
who can be reimbursed for their medical expenses and loss of
earnings. Although the figure has yet to be finalized, the sum
could be at least S$50,000 (US$33,179.69 after Singapore’s most
recent devaluation).
In a widely reported speech last year, health minister Khaw Boon
Wan called for an open public discussion about the end of life
issues including palliative care and the right to a "good
death". While not openly endorsing euthanasia, he said that he
had been moved by accounts of terminally ill people who wanted
the right to end their lives.
"I do not know if Singaporeans are ready for euthanasia," he
explained. "But I do know that aging will throw up many more
human stories of agony and suffering. All societies will have to
prepare for longer life spans and the many dilemmas that they
will have to confront. We must seek a humane way out of such
dilemmas."
In light of these comments, it becomes easier to understand why
Singapore is welcoming Nitschke with such open arms. His
seminar, which will take place on May 13, is being hosted by the
National Arts Council, in the ultra-modern National Library
building.
Nitschke says that while there is a chance that the event will
fall apart because he still needs to obtain a public
entertainment license, he is hopeful that there will be no
hitches. He is mindful of the legal climate surrounding suicide
in Singapore and concedes that he will be modifying his usual
program as a result.
"We'll be taking a great deal of notice of the legal situation
and we won't be presenting the same sort of material as we do in
the UK, for example," he says. "We’ll mostly be talking about
the advantages and disadvantages of moving toward legislation
for providing legal assistance to die."
Nitschke says he will not be running his workshop on how to
commit suicide painlessly, although he will happily direct
Singaporeans to such information, which is widely available on
the Exit International website and elsewhere on the internet, if
they ask.
"I would imagine that there'll be private discussions with
people who want to know how to end their lives and I’d point
them in the right direction without necessarily sitting down and
saying this is what you do," he explains.
The main aim of his trip is to generate support for the
establishment of a branch of Exit International in Singapore.
"We’d like to see a branch of our organization set up in
Singapore and I’ll be interested in talking to people who want
to help us do that," he says.
Although the right-to-die law in the Northern Territories was
overturned after just a few months, a number of other
jurisdictions - including Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands,
Switzerland and the US states of Oregon and Washington - have
since enacted similar legislation.
Nitschke is hopeful that he can persuade more governments to
bring in right-to-die laws, which he believes are much needed.
"There’s an awful lot of tragedy going on around us," he adds.
"I see people every day caught up in medical nightmares who are
desperate for help. But people are fearful to provide that help
because of the legal climate we all find ourselves operating in."
He thinks it is an "inevitability" that right-to-die laws will
eventually become commonplace around the world and that it is a
question of "when not if". Judging by the government’s unusually
open-minded approach, perhaps Singapore will be next.
------------------------------------------
Asia Sentinel

Crisis in Sri Lanka

CRISIS IN SRI LANKA
The following statement was issued by the Board of Trustees of the International Crisis Group meeting over the weekend in Washington, DC:
A humanitarian tragedy is unfolding in Sri Lanka involving the possible deaths of tens of thousands of civilians trapped between government and insurgent LTTE (Tamil Tiger) forces in a tiny strip of land not much bigger than Central Park in Manhattan.
As many as 150,000 or more1 civilians are so trapped. Their living area is being shelled by the Sri Lankan military, and the Tamil Tigers are using them as human shield hostages. Dozens are dying every day, and there are grave shortages of food, water, and medical treatment. Available reports suggest 5,000 civilians, including at least 500 children, have died since mid-January, and 10,000 have been injured.
With both the government forces and Tamil Tigers abdicating their responsibility to protect civilians from mass atrocity crimes, urgent, determined, and united international action is necessary to ensure their safety — by the United Nations Security Council, other multilateral organisations, and individual countries with relations with Sri Lanka.
The International Crisis Group urges that the following specific steps be taken:
• The Sri Lankan government should halt its offensive and accept a humanitarian pause monitored by the UN and the ICRC of at least two weeks to give a chance for relief supplies to get in and a humanitarian corridor to be established for civilians to get out.

• UN agencies and the ICRC should be allowed to conduct a needs assessment, and based on the actual number of those trapped in the so-called "no fire zone", bring in the relief supplies needed so long as civilians remain.

• UN agencies and the ICRC must be allowed full access to all areas and at all locations where either civilians or surrendered Tamil Tiger fighters might cross over into government controlled areas. Both civilians and fighters who agree to lay down their arms need stronger international guarantees of their safety. Only international supervision, unhindered by the government, can provide the necessary level of protection.

• The Tamil Tigers should immediately allow civilians to leave the area and cease forced recruitment.

• All means of influencing the Tamil Tigers must be explored, particularly stepped up restrictions on foreign financing and support for the group. The Tamil diaspora has an important role in persuading the LTTE to agree to an internationally supervised pause and allow the trapped civilians to leave the target area.
o But continuing intransigence by the Tigers should not be an excuse for delaying a humanitarian pause, or the government forces acting in a way that results in the death and maiming of their own citizens.

• It should be made very clear by relevant governments and international organisations to leaders of both the Tamil Tigers and the Sri Lankan government that they are liable to be held personally accountable for breaches of international humanitarian law.

• Sri Lanka's development partners should make clear that continued non-emergency funding will not be available if the war ends in a bloodbath.

________________________________________
1. UN satellite imagery as of 23 March 2009 shows more than 30,000 tents in the area: estimates of the number of men, women and children at risk vary depending on assumptions about the average numbers in each tent.

Indonesia's Muslims Position for Power

Don't count them out despite their overall falling numbers
Despite a fall in the overall vote for Islamic and
religious–inspired parties from 38 percent in 2004 to about 28
percent in 2009, and negative comments in the press, a cluster
of Islamic parties are positioning to join the emerging
Indonesian governing coalition for the next five years.
Indonesia just completed legislative elections on April 9. The
Democratic Party led by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono won
with 20 percent of the votes and is forecast to win 141 seats in
the House of Representatives, as against 56 last time.
There will be presidential elections in July after which a new
government will be formed. The incumbent president and his party
are in the best position to form a winning coalition and several
religious parties are negotiating to join this prospective new
government.
The Golkar Party, led by Vice President Jusuf Kalla, won only 14
percent of the votes and is forecast to win 97 seats, down from
127 last time. The Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), led by
Megawati Sukarnoputri also won 14 percent and is forecast to win
102 seats this time, as against 107 last time.
The next four parties were Islamic or religious-inspired, won
about 26 percent of the votes, and are forecast to win 166 of
the seats, as against 208 seats last time. The Prosperous
Justice Party (PKS) won 8 percent of votes and is forecast to
win 52 seats, against 45 last time. The National Mandate Party
(PAN) gained 6 percent of the votes and is forecast to win 41
seats having held 53 last time. The United Development Party
(PPP) and the National Awakening Party (PKB) both gained 5
percent of the votes. The PPP is forecast to hold only 37 of the
58 seats it held last time and the PKB, following a party split,
is forecast to only hold 36 of the 52 seats it held last time.
This data is based on exit polls and quick count tallies, with
the latter updated as the results are slowly confirmed. These
predictions on seats were published by Harry Su of Bahana
Securities in local media . The PKS is forecast to hold 31
percent of the religious party seats compared to 22 percent last
time, with the more traditional religious parties losing ground.
Bahtiar Effendy writing in The Jakarta Post (17.04.09)
interprets these results to mean that the Islamic parties are at
an impasse and no longer an important factor in Indonesian
politics.
If the religious parties are so unimportant, why are some
observers attacking so hard the prospect of a continued
coalition between the Democratic Party (DP) and the PKS?
Detractors emphasis PKS links with the Muslim Brotherhood. But
others worry that a coalition between the private sector and the
religious parties led by a stronger DP could mean a continuing
Presidential push against corruption and for reform.
But why are some public comments so bleak on the prospects for
the Islamic parties? The answer of course is politics. Firstly,
the politics of news orientation during the formation of
political coalitions, which may seek to influence the political
game it reports.
For example, warning that "embracing the Islam-based PKS could
cost Yudhoyono a second term" as argued by James van Zorge in
the Asia Sentinel, despite the fact that the President led the
same coalition in his first term, and is a lot stronger now !
Second, the politics of restructuring the Islamic parties and
the relationships between them. The old conservatives are
fighting a losing battle and internationalized radicals are
making gains. But this is not new and the same cycles have
happened in Indonesia before 9.11.
Finally there are concerns about a discernable international
influence, reflecting different views on how to handle the rise
of a new generation of internationalized political Islam, not
only in Indonesia, but also in Malaysia, Egypt, Turkey and
Palestine and elsewhere in the Muslim world.
The shape of the next Indonesian ruling coalition will shake out
in the next few weeks and Indonesia will continue to prove that
it can cope with political Islam in a democratic framework.
Terry Lacey is a development economist who writes from Jakarta
on modernization in the Muslim world, investment and trade
relations with the EU and Islamic banking.
------------------------------------------ Asia Sentinel
April 17, 2009 Written by Terry Lacey

Oil, Gas, Mining , Business and Trade Updates from Indonesia

- 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 , FR0019 , FR0020 ,
FR0026 and FR0027 .
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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