Aditya Suharmoko, Jakarta – Growth in the manufacturing sector may be better in the second quarter this year as companies start producing again after seeing a still-high consumption gro

Teguh Prasetyo & Dian Ariffhami – The European Union has taken a firm step against illegal logging by adopting stricter certification rules on timber sold within the bloc's markets,

Jakarta – State companies have failed to settle at least Rp 15 trillion (about US$1.3 billion) in matured overseas debts, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) says.

Muhamad Al Azhari & Janeman Latul – In yet another warning that Indonesia is far from being immune to the global economic turmoil, the government has once again cut its target for d

The government plans to sell shares in 30 state owned companies next year, most of them through the initial public offering (IPO) scheme, Deputy State Minister for State Enterprises Muh

Jakarta – Indonesia plans to offer tax incentives in 2009 to help labour-intensive industries as it seeks to boost Southeast Asia's biggest economy amid slowing global demand, a governm

Mustaqim Adamrah and Aditya Suharmoko, Jakarta – The manufacturing sector grew slower in the third quarter of the year, due to a decline in output in some of the country's top industrie

Mustaqim Adamrah and Desy Nurhayati, Jakarta – The government has unveiled plans for aggressive nontariff barriers aimed at protecting the domestic industry from an influx of overseas g

Dili – It's no secret that charity clothes cast off from rich countries end up on the backs of some of the poorest people on earth.

Aditya Suharmoko, Jakarta – The government has not supported the steady growth of labor-intensive industries over the last six quarters, missing a vital opportunity to reduce unemployme

Jakarta – The country's packaging industry, which boasts revenues of Rp 20 trillion (US$2.18 billion) a year, is suffering from low imports and disrupted local supply due to power cuts,

Johannes Simbolon, Jakarta – The rise in oil prices is happening at the "wrong time" for Indonesia – at a time when the country is struggling to stop or reverse the decline in its oil p

Jakarta – Only 25 of 139 state enterprises managed to book profits last year, although overall profits had risen significantly from a year earlier, according to an NGO report released S

Aditya Suharmoko and Rendi A.

Jakarta – The government needs to place more focus on the development of labor-intensive manufacturing industries, and the agricultural and mining sectors in order to maintain sustainab

Jakarta – With illegal logging of ever-increasing concern, the country's plywood industry has suffered an acute shortage of raw materials, threatening to close almost half of the compan

Andi Haswidi, Jakarta – Hit by rising oil prices, many factory-gate prices will have to rise by up to 10 percent early next year unless the government can reduce its chronic red tape so

Jakarta – Foreign joint venture companies, with greater capitalization at their disposal, dominated the country's non-bank financial services last year, controlling the majority of tota

Ary Hermawan, Jakarta – The government finally unveiled Tuesday its long-awaited package of new economic policy reforms that will, among other things, provide tax incentives for publicl

Andi Haswidi, Jakarta – To help make state companies more efficient and competitive, the government plans to reduce the number of nationalized firms to 69 over three years from the curr

Ary Hermawan, Jakarta – The losses suffered by manufacturing firms due to the floods that have paralyzed the capital since last Friday may reach more than Rp 1 trillion (US$105.2 millio

Ika Krismantari, Jakarta – The government needs to formulate and implement policies that promote the speedy growth of the real sector, and labor-intensive industries in particular, to h

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – Private labor exporters are unhappy with a new government policy that requires the businesses to have a minimum capital of Rp 3 billion and pay a Rp 500 mi

Urip Hudiono, Jakarta – The country's state-owned-enterprise (SOE) sector is still in poor shape, with its overall financial performance in 2005 only showing a slight improvement over t

Jakarta – Following the deadly anti-Freeport riot in Papua last week, at least two more serious incidents targeting foreign companies have taken place in different areas of the country.

Anissa S.

Tito Sianipar, Jakarta – Muhammad Said Didu, Secretary to the State Minister of State Owned Enterprises (SOEs), has stated that 85 percent of SOE shares already listed on the stock exch

Leony Aurora and Anissa S.

Jakarta – With the World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations on freer trade of non-agricultural products to be finalized in April, local industries must immediately make preparations

Jakarta – When it comes to the forestry industry, development and conservation always seem to be at loggerheads.

Rusman, Samarinda – The timber industry in East Kalimantan is on the brink of collapse due to rising production costs and a lack of raw materials, an executive with a timber firm associ

Jakarta – The massive blackouts that swept parts of Java and Bali have caused industries to suffer billions of rupiah in financial losses due to disruptions in their operations.

Rendi A.

Jakarta – About two-thirds of the nation's wood-based industry has collapsed, with a "high cost economy" and aging machinery making them uncompetitive against more efficient economies s

Zakki P.

Zakki P.

John Mcbeth (Straits Times, Asia News Network), Singapore – The recent oil strike by Australian-owned Santos off the coast of East Java and major untapped oil and gas deposits in ExxonM

Veronica Brooks – East Timor's bid to establish a viable oil and gas exploration industry has received robust early interest from multinational petroleum companies, according to the nat

Jakarta – The government aims to boost growth in the country's manufacturing sector – the largest contributor to gross domestic product (GDP) – to an average of 8 percent per year in th

Rendi A.

Rendi A.

Tony Hotland, Jakarta – Worldwide oil prices that have zipped over historical highs are beginning to take a toll on domestic manufacturers, inevitably forcing them to jack up prices.

Zakki P.

Bill Guerin, Jakarta – With interest rates at a record low, and plenty of cheap credit floating around, it is hardly surprising that there is substantial optimism in the Indonesian auto

Zakki P.

Dadan Wijaksana, Singapore – Indonesia's pulp and paper industry still has plenty of room for improvement if it wants to be internationally competitive, according to a major player.

Jakarta – The Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) said that it would transfer all remaining unsold assets to new companies operating under the Office of State Minister of State

Jakarta – Plans by a large number of foreign companies here to relocate their operations to other countries is an apparent reaction to their frustration over the slow progress by the go

Jakarta – The Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) warned on Tuesday that more foreign companies were set to relocate their operations here to other countries due to the worsening inves

Jakarta – Twenty companies in the Tangerang municipality have stopped operations due to the slow business over the past few years, causing 36,108 people to lose their jobs, an official