Marianne Kearney, Jakarta – Each week, as a Toyota landcruiser roams the streets of Jakarta consuming half a tank or 50 litres of petrol, the Indonesian government is subsiding its rela

Susan Long, Jakarta - You know surrealism is a way of life here when your mobile phone begins trilling as you peer into the smoky cauldron of the active volcano Bromo in East Java.

Train crashes, crumbling schools, power blackouts and children begging on crowded intersections – these are legacies of Indonesia's budget crunch in recent years.

Jakarta – An avalanche of red tape caused by Indonesia's attempts to devolve power to the local authorities has left business leaders fuming.

Joanne Collins, Jakarta – Indonesia's new government handed down its 2002 budget on Friday, walking a tightrope between fiscal prudence and stimulating growth in a bid to keep the debt-

Robert Go, Jakarta – Indonesia is already hard-pressed to meet asset-sale targets of over 33.5 trillion rupiah (S$6.7 billion) this year, but President Megawati Sukarnoputri's Budget pr

Joanne Collins, Jakarta – Indonesia will unveil on Friday a draft budget constrained by a mountain of debt that has left President Megawati Sukarnoputri's government with barren coffers

Jakarta – Indonesia's chief economics minister said on Thursday the haggard economy would be hard pressed to grow more than five percent next year, signalling more hardship ahead for mi

At the Toko Lay hardware store in central Dili, Charles Tan was checking a newly arrived generator to sell to the burgeoning construction industry.

Vamasae – In one of the thousands of charred and gutted buildings that still scar East Timor's landscape, 200 villagers squat before the man who won a Nobel peace prize crusading for th

Jakarta – Drastic restructuring measures introduced by the new leadership of the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) to improve the agency's efficiency has left the agency mired

Jakarta – Following are the key points of Indonesia's agreement with the International Monetary Fund Monday.

Jakarta – Indonesia's crude oil output is expected to fall by an average 100,000 barrels per day (bpd) next year due to security disruptions in its fields, a senior mines and energy min

Tom Wright, Jakarta – Indonesia's independent debt restructuring review body issued a report late Thursday criticizing key deals which it said favored debtors over the government.

Jakarta – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Monday drew a "clear commitment" from the Indonesian government to accelerate its economic reform programs.

The International Monetary Fund was fiercely criticised for its failure to salvage the Indonesian economy in 1997-98. Much of the criticism was justified.

Robert Go, Jakarta – Indonesia will sell assets cheaply, if necessary, to meet state-budget targets and to conform to the prescriptions of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), said th

Michael Schuman – A deteriorating Indonesian economy could constrain new President Megawati Sukarnoputri's efforts to pursue much-needed reforms.

Robert Go, Jakarta – Market players do not expect miracles, but they see the quick signing of Jakarta's next agreement with the International Monetary Fund as a major test of President

Robert Go, Jakarta – By drafting respected technocrats and businessmen into her economic dream team, President Megawati Sukarnoputri made clear her intentions of reclaiming the internat

Jakarta – Indonesia said on Wednesday tax collection in the first seven months of 2001 was above target, raising hopes the government would be able to meet the full year tax revenue tar

Jakarta – The World Bank's private sector arm said on Wednesday it had temporarily frozen all funding to Indonesia mainly because of a court ruling over one of its debtors.

Jakarta – The World Bank yesterday welcomed the appointment of Ms Megawati Sukarnoputri as Indonesia's new president, and urged her to assemble a strong economic team to tackle the coun

Jakarta – The Indonesian rupiah spiked to around 9,800 to the dollar on Thursday and the stock market gained 1.40 percent, welcoming Muslim politician Hamzah Haz as the country's new vi

Hong Kong – Megawati Sukarnoputri may well put Indonesia on the path to political stability, but even then it may not be smooth enough to tempt back emerging market investors whose sent

Joanne Collins, Jakarta – The International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday it was still aiming to release a delayed $400 million loan to Indonesia next month, erasing fears an agreement

G.K.

Robert Go, Jakarta – A new draft agreement between the International Monetary Fund and Indonesia will impose fewer conditions and targets for the country, in what is perhaps an admissio

Robert Go, Jakarta – A long-delayed International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan tranche to Indonesia, worth around US$400 million (S$728 million), would be released next month.

Jakarta – Indonesian legislators have asked the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to write off the country's foreign debts, including those to other donors recommended by the Fund.

John McBeth, Jakarta – Smartly dressed in a suit, tie and polished shoes, the nervous Indonesian visa applicant gave the American consular official interviewing him a strange feeling th

Sadanand Dhume, Jakarta – If the script had unfolded as planned on June 30 officials at the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency, or IBRA, would have been popping champagne and posing f

Robert Go, Jakarta – While the KPPU anti-monopoly commission is concerned that mini-mart chains such as Indomaret are driving out smaller retailers, the views expressed by individual sh

Robert Go, Jakarta – Mini-marts selling everything from cold drinks and milk to bread and snacks in colourful packages are changing the way Indonesian consumers shop for their daily nee

Robert Go, Jakarta – Finance Minister Rizal Ramli advised the IMF yesterday to stop micromanaging Indonesia's economy and refrain from setting deadlines for restructuring agency Ibra's

Achmad Sukarsono, Kediri – Juniarsih has been hand-rolling tobacco for the last 17 years at a big factory run by Gudang Garam, Indonesia's largest cigarette maker, but with little hope

Bill Guerin, Jakarta – Board or alight wherever and whenever they like. In the middle of the road, or, if there's no room, at the roadside.

Jakarta – The IMF said on Tuesday it would resume a vital $5 billion loan programme with Indonesia if the government agreed to delay a debate on controversial central bank law revisions

Gde Anugrah Arka, Jakarta – Indonesia's floundering president has sacked the widely respected head of the bank restructuring agency (IBRA), in yet another shakeup at one of the troubled

Marianne Kearney, Jakarta – Eddie, a former waterside thug, is not too worried about a local council's recently declared intention of clearing the city of illegal businesses such as his

Robert Go, Jakarta – Indonesia would gain an additional 60 trillion rupiah (S$10.8 billion) a year if citizens paid their proper taxes, according to an aide to new Finance Minister Riza

Robert Go, Jakarta – It is getting harder to hide the extent of one's wealth in Indonesia these days.

Joanne Collins, Jakarta – The IMF said on Wednesday it was optimistic Indonesia's willingness to revise controversial central bank law amendments would end a six-month deadlock on a vit

G. K. Goh, Jakarta – Fears of social unrest in Indonesia continued to chip away at consumer confidence in May, state brokerage Danareksa said its latest survey showed on Wednesday.

Canberra – Economic prospects for East Timor remained low in the medium term, the World Bank said ahead of a two-day meeting of donors to the emerging nation that began in Canberra on T

Joanne Collins, Jakarta – The IMF on Wednesday urged Indonesia's new economic team to forge ahead with the revised 2001 budget, saying it was an important precursor to mending frayed re

Aloysius Bhui, Jakarta – The revised budget currently being debated in parliament designed to contain the fiscal deficit to 3.8 per cent of GDP should be enough to satisfy the Internati

Robert Go, Jakarta – The economic crisis, as much as fashion, is responsible for the current fad among Indonesians for wearing body-hugging, belly-button-baring clothes.

Robert Go, Jakarta – For cabby Sutardjo, the petrol-price increase scheduled for this coming Friday could erode his daily take-home earnings of around 40,000 rupiah (S$6.80) by as much

Jakarta – Indonesia's Parliament wants stiffer cuts in petrol subsidies and price hikes more drastic than the 30 per cent jump already slated by the government – a development that coul