Urip Hudiono, Jakarta – Another survey – this time from the World Bank – has confirmed that starting a business in Indonesia has become more difficult due to additional red tape, despit

Urip Hudiono, Jakarta – The effort to speed up the registration of businesses by delegating powers to the local level appear to have backfired, as the process of starting a business in

Tito Belo, Dili – Chinese businessmen want to invest more than $100 million in East Timor over the next 10 years in a range of sectors from banking to agriculture, a Chinese business de

Urip Hudiono, Jakarta – Rising prices and uncertain job prospects are still dampening the confidence of Indonesia's consumers, although there are hopes of clearer skies ahead, the lates

Yuli Tri Suwarni, Bandung – Employees of Bandung-based state aircraft company PT Dirgantara Indonesia (PTDI) urged to the government Wednesday to intervene in the firm's bankruptcy case

Tony Hotland and Yuli Tri Suwarni, Jakarta/Bandung – State-owned aircraft manufacturer PT Dirgantara (PTDI) was on Monday declared bankrupt by Indonesia's commercial court system.

Ika Krismantari, Jakarta – Energy analysts have called on the government to issue clear-cut rules to ensure that the cost recovery system used in the country's oil and gas industry does

Jakarta – Despite its high population and large economic size, Indonesia is among the least attractive countries for foreign retailers to invest in, according to a survey conducted rece

Urip Hudiono, Jakarta – Eight of the 10 factions at the House of Representatives have criticized the government's 2008 budget bill as being overly ambitious and failing to support the e

Urip Hudiono, Jakarta – Boosting infrastructure development to help drive growth and create jobs, while improving education and public health services, will be the government's priority

Nabiha Shahab, Jakarta – Indonesia and Japan inked a wide-ranging free trade pact Monday during a visit by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who is on the first stop of a three-nation

Fitri Wulandari and Lewa Pardomuan, Langkat – Palm oil prices might be going through the roof and making investors and businessmen rich, but the soaring prices have not improved the lot

Andi Haswidi, Jakarta – Mixed verdicts greeted President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's speech on the 2008 state budget bill Thursday, which highlighted figures and assumptions many analyst

Alice Coster, Jakarta – The Indonesian court system was the worst of all Indonesian government institutions and required a "complete overhaul", said a foreign lawyer speaking at a panel

Urip Hudiono, Jakarta – The economy grew 6.3 percent in the second quarter compared to a year ago, the fastest level in two years, on continued increases in exports, consumption and inv

Jakarta – Indonesia's tobacco kings have topped this year's rich list, with the country's oil, construction and energy tycoons coming in a close second.

Urip Hudiono, Jakarta – Although the chances of another crisis crippling Indonesia's economy may be slimmer now due to the improvements made to the banking sector and monetary policy, c

Denpasar – Australia and Indonesia have agreed to launch a feasibility study on a free trade pact, their leaders said Friday after meeting on the Indonesian resort island of Bali.

Urip Hudiono, Jakarta – Government officials will just have to put up with their cramped offices and bring their own pens into work next year as the government plans to divert money awa

Urip Hudiono, Jakarta – Recent improvements in Indonesia's macroeconomic indicators are bringing about confidence in the economy as a whole, with the central bank's latest survey showin

Urip Hudiono, Jakarta – The government hopes to reduce unemployment and poverty by diverting some routine spending in 2008 to help finance infrastructure development in the regions.

Andi Haswidi, Jakarta – Despite strong protests from the business community, the House of Representatives will press ahead with its plan to make corporate social responsibility (CSR) le

Urip Hudiono, Jakarta – Despite major improvements over the past few years, the country's banking sector has yet to fully recover from its worst crisis in living memory 10 years ago, th

Urip Hudiono, Jakarta – The government is upbeat that Indonesia's economy will continue to pick up momentum this year, with growth of between 6 and 6.11 percent year-on-year anticipated

Ary Hermawan, Jimbaran, Bali – Indonesia will continue to adopt a society-oriented economic system aimed at guaranteeing an equal distribution of wealth to all citizens but remaining op

Hariyanto Kurniawan, Jakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's speech stating other economic systems have failed and so they have chosen an open economic system that incorporates s

Urip Hudiono, Jakarta – Having learned the hard way from the financial crisis about the importance of managing lending risks, Indonesia's banking sector has now improved significantly,

Andi Haswidi, Jakarta – After four months of improvement, consumer confidence fell in June amid concerns about cooking oil, milk and other food-product prices, a survey reveals.

Jakarta – An economic think tank has warned the government of a possible sudden reversal in short-term capital inflows, which it says could destabilize the economy and cause even more c

Urip Hudiono, Jakarta – A group of economists have criticized the government for being "overly pro-market" and abandoning its own pro-poor policies, claiming that these were the underly

Jakarta – An unclear division of responsibilities between local and central government is hampering both from reaping more benefits from fiscal decentralization, international experts s

Debnath Guharoy, Consultant – Whichever way you look at it, not many people in Indonesia have real disposable incomes.

Andi Haswidi – The upcoming Negative Investment List has infuriated some foreign investors, who fear they may lose some of their shares and have fewer options for further investment.

Jakarta – The government stepped into a controversial quagmire Monday when it announced that only six businesses met the criteria for classification as a military business from among th

Andi Haswidi, Jakarta – The latest trade figures show that Indonesia's monthly exports declined 3.7 percent in April to US$8.85 billion from $9.19 billion a month earlier.

Urip Hudiono, Jakarta – Indonesia's real sector is still hampered by poor infrastructure and access to financing, resulting in continued slow growth despite stable macroeconomic conditi

Anissa S.

Ary Hermawan, Jakarta – The government's expectation that the banking industry will be able to increase lending by 33 percent by 2008 in order to meet its economic growth target of 7 pe

Washington – The United States and Indonesia are to launch a set of initiatives aimed at boosting bilateral trade and investment ties, their trade ministers said after talks here Monday

Andi Haswidi and Hendarsyah Tarmizi, Jakarta – It is still unclear whether the mistake was the finance minister's or the media's, but the recent remarks by Sri Mulyani appear to have pu

Ary Hermawan, Jakarta – The chairman of the National Banks Association (Perbanas), Sigit Pramono, has pinned the blame squarely on the shoulder of businesses for the slow lending growth

Urip Hudiono, Jakarta – Following Vice President Jusuf Kalla's latest criticism of the reluctance of local banks to provide more lending to the real sector, the central bank has pitched

Urip Hudiono, Jakarta – It appears to be payback time for Indonesia's banks, with the Vice President again urging them to do their part in helping finance the country's development need

Urip Hudiono, Jakarta – With encouraging increases in consumption, exports and investment during the first three months of this year, the Indonesian economy is well on track for higher

Cirebon, West Java – Traditional market traders, backed by members of the Cirebon municipal council, have urged the municipality administration to stop issuing building licenses for min

Urip Hudiono, Jakarta – While the government and central bank need to be on alert against the backdrop of a recent surge in overseas borrowing by the private sector, they should avoid d

Andi Haswidi, Jakarta – A number of legislators are insisting that certain sectors of the economy remain closed to foreign investment despite the fact that the newly enacted 2007 Invest

Ika Krismantari, Jakarta – Modern retail outlets in the country such as hypermarkets and minimarkets do not pose any threat to wet markets and traditional grocery stores despite their m

Andi Haswidi, Jakarta – Both local and foreign investors are seeking clarification from the government on its commitment to providing a more conducive investment climate amid growing de

B. Gunawan, Jakarta – Believe it or not, although the monetary authority has continued to lower the interest rate, loans for the real sector have not increased.