Tony Hotland, Jakarta – The government must establish a "country borrowing strategy" and improve the distribution mechanism of foreign loans to regional administrations to ensure the ef

Low competitiveness in the country's manufacturing products is a major obstacle in the efforts to push economic growth, according to a senior economist.

Jakarta – The rupiah, having weathered a huge shock last week following the latest bomb attack in the country, is likely to move within a narrow range this week with pressures slowly dw

Although the financial market in Jakarta did not panic after Thursday's bomb attack – ear the Australian embassy compound, it is no longer business as usual in so far as the market's pe

Bill Guerin, Jakarta – Six years after a banking bail-out that cost some US$60 billion (Rp555 trillion), Bank Permata, Indonesia's second-largest bank and the last of the nationalized b

Kiki Verico, Jakarta – On July 31, 2004 in Geneva, Director General Supachai Panitchpakdi successfully led the meeting of 147 WTO member governments to approve "the package of framework

Phar Kim Beng – With the price of oil hovering around US$40 per barrel, it is easy to assume that the oil-producing countries are laughing all the way to the bank.

Bill Guerin, Jakarta – "Of course the risks are high.

Dadan Wijaksana and Tony Hotland, Jakarta – Renewed debate on whether to retain the hugely costly national fuel subsidy remerged on Wednesday, following a proposal by the government to

Jakarta – Indonesian officials and businessmen have welcomed the government's plan to abolish the unpopular exit tax next year, saying it would facilitate business expansion overseas.

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Jakarta – Car ownership is not for the faint-hearted in Indonesia – fuel supplies are erratic, the roads are often awful and price tags on cars are almost hilariously high.

Indonesian economic growth slowed in the three months to June, raising fresh concerns over country's hefty debts.

Medan – It would be difficult for Indonesia to reach a 7 percent growth target in the next two years, a senior minister said on Saturday.

Bill Guerin, Jakarta – Foreign businesses say a planned new policy on taxation, still winding its way through the corridors of power, coupled with high corporate tax rates, currently at

Jakarta – Oil prices remained high on Thursday but fell from record peaks, reviving fears over a ballooning fuel subsidy and widening state budget deficit.

Sisira Jayasuriya and Chris Manning, Canberra – The recent announcement by the Investment Coordinating Board Chairman that foreign direct investment (FDI) was down by one-third in the f

Jakarta – Although the government has yet to issue regulations on the gas sector, private firms have started building a network for gas distribution, showing great confidence in the fut

Tony Hotland, Jakarta – Aside from solving the existing problems that hamper investment, the government could also provide tax incentives for both local and foreign investors to lure th

Shawn Donnan, Jakarta – BP has completed the relocation of villagers at the future site of its Tangguh liquid natural gas project in the remote Indonesian province of Papua and expects

Jakarta – Revenue from oil and gas sector is expected to reach US$11.3 billion this year, a top oil and gas industry official said on Friday.

Jakarta – Approved foreign direct investment in value terms in Indonesia fell 34.4% during the first half of the year to U$3.05 billion from $4.65 billion a year ago, the official inves

Fitri Wulandari, Jakarta – State oil and gas firm PT Pertamina is requesting a government guarantee to facilitate crucial fuel import plans as the company faces cash flow problems.

Bill Guerin, Jakarta – Just as the liquefied-natural-gas industry in the Asia-Pacific region is poised for takeoff, Indonesia, the world's biggest LNG producer, needs to import up to 30

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The Supreme Court, as widely expected, duly overturned the Jakarta Commercial Court's bankruptcy ruling of April 23 against the Indonesian subsidiary of British insurance company Pruden

Jakarta – Sales of new vehicles in Indonesia jumped 41% on year in May to 39,955 from 28,272 in the same month a year ago, the Indonesian car assemblers' association Gaikindo said Monda

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Laksamana.Net – Divestment of the country's largest banks may not proceed as the government or the central bank plan as Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI) gears up to expand through a merger a

Indonesia's Supreme Court has overturned a bankruptcy ruling against the local insurance unit of British financial services giant Prudential.

Indonesia's currency has fallen to two-year low, prompting the country's central bank to announce measures to stabilise the rupiah.

Apriadi Gunawan, Medan – A range of cheap merchandise, allegedly smuggled from Malaysia and Singapore, can be found on sale openly at Belawan Port, some 20 kilometers from the North Sum

Jakarta – Pertamina may have caused the further depreciation of the rupiah against the US dollar, as it reached Rp9,500 on Wednesday, an official from Bank Indonesia said.

Jakarta – Jakarta shares plunged on Friday amid lingering worries of the sharp depreciation in the value of the rupiah against the US dollar and rising political tension ahead of next m

Jakarta – Bank Indonesia's plan to halt rupiah speculation in the banking sector should be helpful in curbing the depreciation of the embattled rupiah, analysts said, but only temporari

Jakarta – The Indonesian rupiah fell sharply against the dollar Wedneseday, extending early losses to break the 9,500 mark amid concerns over the domestic political situation, dealers s

Dadan Wijaksana, Jakarta – Aside from global concerns over a possible hike in US interest rates, the rupiah's sharp drop should also be blamed on excess liquidity in the domestic bankin

Jakarta – Indonesia's state-owned oil and gas company, PT Pertamina, is broke and it has asked for a government bailout, as excessive costs have put the company's operating cash flow, a

Dadan Wijaksana, Jakarta – The rupiah continued to falter on Thursday and ended at a fresh 19-month low, showing no sign of a rebound at a time when other currencies in the region start

Bill Guerin, Jakarta – "It's all over for Cemex, and as far as we're concerned they can go back to Mexico," said Titi Nazif Lubuk, deputy leader of the West Sumatra legislative assembly

Dili – Fledgling nation East Timor is making good progress in rebuilding its shattered infrastructure, cutting its budget deficit and making laws to stimulate its moribund economy, inte

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Bill Guerin, Jakarta – The Asian Development Bank has predicted that Indonesia's economy will grow by only 4.5 percent in 2004 and 2005, and warned that foreign direct investment (FDI)

Dadan Wijaksana, Jakarta – As the central bank moved to tighten the rules on foreign exchange transactions to minimize speculation on the rupiah, the local unit slumped on Friday to a f

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Tony Hotland, Jakarta – The Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) has concluded that the dissolved Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) performed its duty of restructuring the majority of t

Dadan Wijaksana, Jakarta – The central bank announced on Wednesday a decline in the banking sector's non-performing loans (NPLs) in March, but warned of a rise in months to come.

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The country's exports increased by 3.43 percent in March to US$5.07 billion from $4.90 billion in February, the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) reported on Tuesday.