Jakarta – Hunched over in brightly lit assembly lines, 300 women churn out 60,000 pairs of sports shoes a month at a factory in Tangerang, an hour's drive from Indonesia's capital.

Jakarta – The World Bank has approved new long-term loans worth $1.1 billion to Indonesia, most of which will be targeted at improving the investment climate in Southeast Asia's biggest

The Asian Development Bank raised its growth forecasts for Indonesia on Tuesday, as it did for regional heavyweights China and India, saying the region is leading a global recovery but

Elisabeth Oktofani – Previously known as an area of conflict, East Timor is becoming a land of opportunity.

April Aswadi & Muhamad Al Azhari – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has broken his long silence over the controversy surrounding the Bank Century bailout, saying he had officially

Indonesia's foreign and local-currency sovereign debt ratings were upgraded on Wednesday to Ba2 from Ba3 at Moody's Investors Service, which cited the nation's economic resilience.

Dili – Dili's gleaming new Presidential Palace and Foreign Ministry, gifts from China, stand in stark contrast to nearby burned-out buildings and are symbols of how the energy-hungry su

The differing priorities of Australia and East Timor have come to the fore, at a major oil and gas industry conference.

The kiosks at the Mercado Market tell the whole story: almost everything here, from toothpaste and household appliances, to clothing to seasoning commodities like turmeric, comes from I

Mark Dodd – East Timor has called for an end to delays over the development of the oil and gas-rich Greater Sunrise field in the Timor Sea after new interest from investors in Malaysia,

The new law on local government taxes drew a mixed reaction from the country's business leaders on Tuesday, with some cautiously welcoming the legislation and others saying they needed

Mustaqim Adamrah, Jakarta – The second quarter of this year saw the manufacturing sector grow at its slowest rate since the start of the crisis, regardless of the increase in domestic s

Mustaqim Adamrah, Jakarta – Bank Indonesia's key rate is yet to affect lending rates despite its drop by 300 basis points to 6.5 percent since late 2008, says the House of Representativ

Ika Krismantari, Jakarta – The latest data from the Indonesian Central Securities Depository (KSEI) shows that foreign investors controlled 66.1 percent of assets in the local stock mar

Muhamad Al Azhari – The economy grew at a slower pace in the second quarter of 2009 compared to the previous quarter largely due to lower private consumption and an anticipated contract

John Aglionby, Jakarta – Most analysts believe last month's double hotel bombing in Jakarta is unlikely to have much permanent impact on Indonesia's economy, provided it was not the sta

Muhamad Al Azhari – Annual inflation is expected to have eased further in July after falling to its lowest level in nine years in June, on the back of falling food prices and also due t

Indonesia, Asia's third-fastest expanding major economy, needs to gradually build its foreign reserves and follow a "cautious" monetary policy stance to keep investor confidence, the In

Shamim Adam – Indonesia will announce initiatives to spur investment, improve infrastructure and enhance social safety nets within the first 100 days of the next administration taking o

Aditya Suharmoko, Jakarta – The rupiah may continue to strengthen in the second half of this year as exports look likely to improve due to a global rise in demand, following the possibi

Benget Besalicto Tnb, Jakarta – Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand – the world's three largest rubber producers – may further cut their rubber exports this year due to the continuing slum

Aditya Suharmoko, Jakarta – The Trade Ministry estimates the contraction in the volume of exports will be smaller than previously forecast due to improving global economic conditions.

Jakarta – Indonesia's healthy economic growth and market resilience will sustain the damaging impact of blasts that ripped through the JW Marriott and the Ritz-Carlton hotels on Friday,

Jakarta – Total investment of US$7.3 billion (inward and domestic) in the first semester indicated brighter prospects, although lower than figures for last year, the Investment Coordina

Mustaqim Adamrah, Jakarta – A new regulation which lays down a one-stop service for the processing of investment licenses is a step forward in making Indonesia more attractive, but it a

Jakarta – Indonesia's consumer confidence index rose to its highest in 4 years in June, boosted by spending ahead of a presidential election and a resilient economy, a central bank surv

Katrina Nicholas, Singapore – Indonesia's improving economic outlook has pushed it out of the world's 10 riskiest issuers of sovereign bonds, according to credit-default swap prices fro

Jakarta – The retail sector is doing better than most, but weakened purchasing power could dampen demand, so 2009 full-year growth in sales could fall below 10 percent, despite double-d

Muhamad Al Azhari & Dion Bisara – Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati has forecast that foreign direct investment for 2009 will be $6.2 billion, less than half of last year's tot

Alfian, Jakarta – With the implementation of the new mining law, the government will require foreign shareholders with 100 percent of participating interest in mining companies to sell

Aditya Suharmoko, Jakarta – Indonesia may see slower economic growth in the second quarter of this year compared to the previous quarter based on a seasonal trend, Bank Indonesia (BI) d

Lilian Budianto, Jakarta – Preparations for the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Indonesia and New Zealand under the ASEAN framework have been progressing well despite the economic do

Frank Jordans, Geneva – East Timor's president said Wednesday that venture partners in a vast underwater oil and gas field would be better served if they choose to lay a deep sea pipeli

Aditya Suharmoko, Jakarta – Indonesia could expect a significant jump in investment, in particular coming from overseas, as foreign investors have shown more confidence in the country's

Dion Bisara – Legislators and businessmen on Monday criticized the government for the slow disbursement of stimulus funds, and argued that the delay could jeopardize national economic g

Aditya Suharmoko, Jakarta – Rupiah lending has continued to grow up to the end of April, following a rising trend in the previous two months after slumping in January when the impact of

Aditya Suharmoko, Jakarta – Indonesia's economy may grow by as much as 7 percent in 2011 as it recovers from the impacts of the global financial crisis, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Ind

Aditya Suharmoko, Jakarta – Overseas debts have continued to increase in recent years, but the government guarantees prudent debt management, using the loans mostly to help spur growth,

Muhamad Al Azhari, Ardian Wibisono & Dion Bisara – Credit rating agency Moody's Investors Service has upgraded Indonesia's sovereign credit rating outlook to positive from stable, c

Aditya Suharmoko, Jakarta – Indonesia's economy in the next six months will be supported by strong consumption and more investment, acting Coordinating Minister for the Economy Sri Muly

Infrastructure in Indonesia remains a crucial problem hampering growth, the government admitted recently in response to an assessment conducted by the Swiss-based International Institut

Nana Rukmana and Fadli, Cirebon, Batam – The Cirebon City Council is demanding the city administration stop issuing development permits for modern retailers, as their mushrooming presen

Aditya Suharmoko, Jakarta – The rupiah fell below 10,000 against the US dollar Friday for the first time since last October, as strong economic growth amid the global economic downturn

Jakarta – The resilience of Indonesia's economy, which posted the third-fastest growth rate in Asia in the first quarter of 2009, has led the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to revise

Manila – The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said Thursday it has lent Indonesia one billion dollars to help maintain spending on social services in the wake of the global financial crisis

Jakarta – Indonesia's central bank cut its key interest rate by a quarter percentage point to 7 percent Wednesday, seeking to spur spending amid a sharp economic slowdown.

Aditya Suharmoko, Jakarta – Indonesia's exports in the first four months of 2009 contracted by 29.51 percent from the same period last year, the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) announce

Muhamad Al Azhari & Dion Bisara – Exports contracted in April for the sixth consecutive month, year-on-year, off by nearly 22.6 percent from April 2008 and down 1.8 percent from Mar

Fadli, Batam – The status of Batam, Karimun and Bintan as being among the country's top investment destinations is under threat as inconsistent regulations are eroding its competitivene

Jakarta – The government expects Indonesia's economy to expand as much as 6 percent next year, widening the 2010 budget deficit to accelerate growth.