IIPAC launches Indonesia Business Lobby

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Fri, 01/29/2010 9:33 PM

The Indonesia Israel Public Affairs Committee (IIPAC) launched an Indonesian Business Lobby on Friday, aiming to facilitate Jewish investment from all over the world in Indonesia.

IIPAC executive director Benjamin Ketang said his committee would work with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) in Australia.

So far there have been 19 Indonesian and Israeli businesspeople have joined the forum, he said.

Benjamin said he was not worried about business relations with Israel, despite it being a sensitive issue in Indonesia.

“No problem, we’re ready,” he said, as quoted by tempointeraktif.com when asked about any possible protests among Muslims.

IIPAC was established in 2002 and operates from an office in South Jakarta.

Envoy: Palestine, Indonesia move to concrete cooperation

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Palestinian Ambassador to Indonesia Fariz Mehdawi said the visit of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was successful as the two nations had agreed to embark on concrete cooperation.

Palestine and Indonesia signed a number of Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) which would be implemented and followed by concrete actions, Ambassador Mehdawi told ANTARA News after the conclusion of the state visit of President Mahmoud Abbas to Jakarta, from October 21 to 23, 2007.

The MoUs signed by the two countries last Monday were on news exchange between ANTARA News Agency and Wafa News Agency, training and courses for Palestinian diplomats and policemen, sister-city cooperation between Al Quds (Jerusalem) and Jakarta, and regular consultations between the two administrations.

The ambassador said the two nations decided to move forward to concrete cooperation from their previous efforts which were mostly political and moral in nature.

The sister-city cooperation was important and Jakarta could help develop the infrastructure of East Jerusalem and prevent Israel from making it a Jewish city, he said.

Mehdawi also said that cooperation between both nations` media was significant, particularly to enable Indonesian journalists to witness the situation in Palestine directly.

He said at present a number of Indonesian chief editors, including Endy Bayuni of the Jakarta Post, Uni Lubis, and those from Tempo and Metro TV, were in Israel at the invitation of the Jewish Community in Australia.

Before leaving for Israel, they held a meeting with the Palestinian ambassador to ask about the latest situation and seek possibilities to meet Palestinina sources, he said.

Mehdawi said although the journalists` visit was not at the invitation of Palestine, he knew that the Indonesian media always supported Palestine.

Touching on the conflict between Hamas and Fatah, the Ambassador said Indonesia had offered to help resolve their dispute. Several religious and political figures such as Nur Hidayat Wahid, chairman of the People`s Consultative Assembly, and a leader of the PKS (Prosperous Justice Party) who had contacts with Hamas, could convince Hamas to return to the situation before Hamas` coup d`etat last June 14, 2007, the ambassador said.

Mehdawi said that despite their conflict, Hamas and Fatah had the same objective, namely to fight against Israeli occupation and to strive for an independent and sovereign Palestinian nation.

Israeli money likely to see biofuel production in Kupang

Yemris Fointuna, The Jakarta Post, Kupang

Despite strong opposition from circles in Jakarta, Israeli money is set to pour into East Nusa Tenggara after Kupang's administration this week gave the green investment light to the Israeli-based international project development company Merhav Group.

Kupang Regent Ibrahim Agustinus Medah said Tuesday he had discussed the US$700-million business committment with various parties and he had been assured the business venture "had nothing to do with diplomatic relations between two countries".

"Like Taiwan, for example ... it has no diplomatic relations with Indonesia, but its investments are nearly everywhere (in Indonesia)," Medah said.

Medah said he had been told the Israeli company would not operate directly in the field, but would be represented through a company based in Uzbekistan.

The Merhav Group of companies operates on a global scale and through various subsidies is traded on NASDAQ and owns 51 percent of Israel's second largest commercial television station.

"The Kupang regental administration will provide facilities and give principal license to PT Manhattan Capital, a local broker which will cooperate with the Uzbekistan's firm," Medah said.

"But the Kupang regental administration will still ask for permission from the central government (if) it can ahead with the plan."

Medah said Merhav Group would develop jatropha nut plantations for biofuel production. Jatropha oil is extracted from the plant's seeds as a vegetable oil and involves just one stage to convert to biodiesel.

The Israeli group would also develop ornamental plants for export.

The last meeting held between Medah and Merhav Group executive Gideon Weinstein and directors Jacgues Eshel and Yosef Ziv Sudiro was to discuss details of the investment plans.

The two parties agreed to set up a team to manage a feasibility study in five districts for the jatropha plantation.

Medah said the group wanted to develop jatropha plantations on 50,000 hectares in the districts of East, West and South Amarasi, Amarasi and Sulamu, with an initial investment commitment of US$350 million.

If the first stage is successful, the plantations would be expanded to cover 100,000 hectares, with a total investment commitment of $700 million.

Israel's Merhav Group considers $700 million biofuel investment in East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia

Biopact.com

Jatropha curcas trees raised in Indonesia's East Nusa Tenggara province have a big potential to yield biofuel feedstocks, prompting Israel's project financing company Merhav Group to consider an investment of up to US$700/€517 million.

Merhav Group's president Gideon Weinstein outlined the plan during a coordination meeting with Kupang district head Ibrahim Agustinus Medah, after visiting a jatropha plantation established by the local administration there in 2006.

On the occasion, Weinstein was accompanied by Jacques Eshel and Yosef Ziv, other executives of Merhav Group, and officials of PT Manhattan Capital comprising Sudiro Andiwiguna, Setiawan Sudei, Muhammad Ansor and Herman Ndoen. Jakarta-based PT Manhattan Capital is a national company partnering with the Merhav Group for the development of biodiesel energy sources in Indonesia.

The Merhav Group, which invests in energy, infrastructure, agriculture and agro-industrial projects globally, would in a first stage invest US$350/€257 million in 50,000 hectares (124,000 acres) of jatropha plantations in Kupang district. In the longer run, the company would increase its investment to US$700 million to establish 100,000 hectares (247,000 acres) in the same region.

The Kupang district is located on the island of Timor in the southeast of the province (map, click to enlarge), where the climate is dry tropical. With leading expertise in agricultural water and irrigation management derived from Israeli research, the company is confident that the biofuel crop can be grown in the relatively arid region with a minimal input of water.

Weinstein said his company would invest in the entire production chain, including transportation facilities from energy plantations to warehouses and biodiesel production plants. A team will be sent to East Nusa Tenggara to prepare a feasibility study for the large project:

PT Manhattan Capital has told Indonesia's agriculture minister and the energy and mineral resources minister about the projet, adding that the companies would want to cooperate with state-run agriculture firm PT Rajawali Nusantara Indonesia (RNI) to develop the jatropha curcas plantations.

Meanwhile, Weinstein said a port would have to be developed to allow the biofuels to be exported. This facility would be built on five hectares of land. Ibrahim said the Kupang district administration would organise a meeting with the relevant agencies to study the feasibility of such a dedicated port in the Sulamu area.