Quake decree calls for expert hiring

Evi Mariani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

After a series of recent earthquakes including the 2006 Yogyakarta earthquake, Indonesia has become more aware of the danger they pose.

A new decree, effective Jan. 1, 2008, will require developers of high-rise buildings to hire soil experts. The city administration wants to ensure buildings higher than eight stories will survive earthquakes and tremors.

"In December a group of geotechnicians will give information to developers and construction companies on the importance of soil and surface analysis," head of the city's building supervisory agency, Hari Sasongko, said Thursday.

He said geotechnicians would advise construction firms and developers about characteristics of soils at construction sites. They would advise safe designs, systems and materials for each high-rise building.

Hari said the decree was not necessarily issued because current buildings were not up to safety standards. "Most buildings of more than eight stories in Jakarta are designed to sustain earthquakes of up to magnitude 8 on the Richter scale,"

Attending this weeks Asia Megacities Forum on building sustainable and safer cities, Hari said the decree was an additional precautionary measure.

Geophysicists have said Jakarta is unlikely to be at the epicenter of a major quake, however, due to the continual shift of tectonic plates along eastern Sumatra and southern Java, Jakarta will likely bear the impact of earthquakes nearby.

This year Jakarta felt a number of tremors. During the earthquake in Bengkulu in September, employees working in Jakarta's high-rise buildings felt the earth move, sending hundreds downstairs in panic.

Hari said the new national standards would complying with an international code. The standards had already been introduced but had not been enforced due to the high costs involved.

"We would incorporate new design standards into the construction cost, using new materials and designs. The cost of construction would increase considerably," he said.

At the same forum, Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo announced Thursday Jakarta's participation in the Earthquakes and Megacities Initiative (EMI), a meeting of representatives from 20 Asian cities based in Quezon City, the Philippines.

Jakarta's participation marks a new approach to earthquakes as a potential hazard facing the city.

However, Fauzi said, the main hazard and utmost concern facing Jakarta was floods.

"Although we are not likely to be at the epicenter of a quake, we must be prepared to reduce risks."

Govt to help promote local brands overseas

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Indonesian companies are currently suffering from a lack of recognition in the international market with only 25 local brands currently known worldwide, a senior executive of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) revealed on Thursday.

"The Trade Ministry is therefore targeting at least 200 Indonesian brands to gain exposure by 2009," Kadin's vice chairman for marketing and product development, Handito Hadi Joewono said.

Speaking after the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Kadin and the Indonesian Export Training Center at the Indonesian Trade Expo in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta, he said the local companies' awareness of promoting brands globally remained low as most of them feared that promoting brands overseas would be too costly.

Under the memorandum, the government, through the export training center, will teach educate small and medium enterprises and other Indonesian businesses how to promote exports.

According to the head of the National Export Development Agency, Bachrul Chairi, participants will be trained in export strategies, market research and export documentation.

"We hope this initiative will help locally well-known businesses to also project their identity abroad," Handito said, as quoted by detikFinance.

Essenza Tiles, Mulia Ceramics, Olympic Furniture and Indah Kiat Pulp and Paper, are currently among the ranks of locally famed brands that have ventured successfully into the world market.

PT Inti Keramik Alamasri Industry and PT Muliakeramik Indahraya, the two companies behind Essenza Tiles and Mulia Ceramics, respectively, were also among the eight recipients of this year's Primaniyarta awards, which are given to companies with outstanding export performances.

The 22nd Indonesian Trade Expo, which is scheduled to run until Oct. 27, generated a total of US$6.5 million in sales on its second day, while total transactions on the opening day amounted to $1.7 million.

The government had earlier expected to generate up to $200 million in sales from this year's event. (09)

$10 billion energy deals to be signed next week

Ika Krismantari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The government and a number of companies are set to sign energy contracts worth about US$10.125 billion at the opening of the Asia Pacific Oil and Gas Conference and Exhibition (APOGCE) 2007 here Monday.

"The signing of the contracts will be witnessed by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono," Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry secretary-general Waryono Karno said Thursday.

According to a document received by The Jakarta Post, the agreements cover finance and development of oil and gas projects, power projects and natural gas sales.

The highest value deal to be signed relates to sales agreements for 1.641 trillion British thermal units of gas worth about $5.5 billion.

Other projects include agreements governing development of the Oyong (oil) and Ujung Pangkah (oil and gas) fields in East Java, respectively worth an estimated $303 million and $930 million.

The Oyong field, operated by Australia-based Santos, is expected to produce 6,000 barrels of oil per day, while Ujung Pangkah, operated by US-based Hess, is to produce 6,000 barrels per day and 10 million cubic feet of gas per day.

During the event, state-owned electricity company PLN will also sign five power purchase agreements with independent power producers and agreements for the construction of five coal-powered plants to be built outside of Java as part of the government's crash program to produce 10,000 additional megawatts (MW) of electricity by 2010.

The five new plants are in North Sumatra (400 MW), Lampung (200 MW), North Sulawesi (50 MW), Gorontalo (50 MW) and West Nusa Tenggara (50 MW).

"We will also see the signing of the second stage loan agreement for the Tangguh project which is worth $884 million," Waryono said.

The loan will be provided by a consortium of lenders led by China's Fujian bank.

Tangguh operator BP Indonesia, the Indonesian arm of BP Plc, signed first tranche facility agreements worth $2.6 billion in August last year with Japan Bank for International Cooperation, Asian Development Bank and a consortium of international commercial lenders.

Chocolate Expo coming to town

JAKARTA (The Jakarta Post): An international chocolate expo is coming to town and will be held at the Semanggi Expo center, South Jakarta, from Nov. 1 to 3, organizers said Tuesday.

The Jakarta Chocolate Expo has been held biannually since 2001, with chocolate producer Tulip claiming to be the "Embassy of Chocolate" for the event.

Some 31,000 people visited the last exhibition, which was held in 2005, said Elvira Koto, the company's marketing manager.

Elvira said 50 companies that produced chocolate-related products would participate in the expo.

A giant chocolate house loaded with various chocolate candies, a fountain, biscuits and ice cream will be located in a playground at the expo for child visitors under 16.

The house will be made from more than 1.5 tons of dark, milk and white chocolate, Elvira said.

"Only children will be allowed play inside the house. Adults can enjoy looking at the exterior of the house from a viewing area."

BP may build more LNG processing units at company's Tangguh plant

Ika Krismantari, The Jakarta Post, Babo, Papua

Amid surging domestic and foreign demand, the Indonesian subsidiary of Anglo-American energy giant BP is considering constructing more liquefied natural gas (LNG) processing units at the company's Tangguh plant in Papua.

Tangguh project executive vice president David Clarkson said here Tuesday the company had set up a special team to study the possibility of new trains, as LNG production lines are called, at the existing plant.

"We have determined a site that can be used for up to eight trains," he told journalists visiting Tangguh.

Clarkson said the new trains would be built to increase LNG production from two other trains currently nearing completion.

"We are concentrating on getting these (two trains) finished. We are also looking at further development and opportunities for building more trains," Clarkson said.

BP began construction of the two trains in March 2005. The first is expected to begin commercial operation in January 2009 and the second is to come online five months later. As of September, the project stands 82 percent completed.

Tangguh will sell LNG to four overseas buyers -- China's Fujian (2.6 million tons a year), South Korean K-Power and Posco (1.11 million tons a year) and Sempra Energy on the western coast of Mexico (3.6 million tons a year).

Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro has said he would like to see BP sell LNG from the trains under consideration.

Upstream Oil and Gas Regulatory Agency (BPMIGAS) chairman Kardaya Warnika has said that some domestic companies -including state-owned electric company Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) and state gas distributor Perusahaan Gas Negara (PGN) -- have shown interest in buying gas from Tangguh.

In response, Clarkson said BP had not yet decided where it would sell LNG from the planned trains. "We still want to see where the best business opportunity is."

Tangguh is a major multinational project with a lifespan of more than 30 years that exploits gas fields in the rugged, mountainous Bintuni Bay region. The gas fields, with proven reserves of 14.4 trillion cubic feet, were discovered in the mid-1990s.

The project's operator is BP Berau Ltd, which also owns a 37.16 percent stake in the project. The other owners are China's CNOOC (16.9 percent), MI Berau (16.30 percent), Nippon Oil Exploration of Japan (12.23 percent), KG Berau (10 percent) and LNG Japan Corporation (7.35 percent).

Meanwhile, BP group reported Tuesday a 29 percent slump in third-quarter net profit due to higher maintenance costs and outages at key refineries.

The company posted a net profit of US$4.4 billion for the three months ending Sept. 30, down from its $6.2 billion profit for the same period in 2006. Revenue rose 2.7 percent to $72.6 billion.

Pertamina to hold tender for LPG stoves

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

State oil and gas company Pertamina will hold a tender next month for the supply of 18 million LPG stoves as part of its kerosene-to-LPG conversion program planned for next year.

"LPG stove producers are requested to participate in the tender, to be held in November," Ansari Bukhari, a director general at the Industry Ministry, said Wednesday.

The kerosene-to-liquefied petroleum gas conversion program was rolled out by the government in December last year, with Pertamina taking the lead in implementation.

The goal of the program is to slash subsidy spending on kerosene, which costs the state about Rp 40 trillion (US$4.3 billion) a year.

Pertamina hopes to distribute 28 million free gas stoves and LPG cylinders to low-income households over the next four years.

For this year, the program is targeting Greater Jakarta and West Java, and will gradually expand to all of Java and Bali by 2009.

However, the program has run into some problems with reports of a lack of LPG supplies as well as defects in some of the stoves and cylinders.

Ansari said he expected no further hiccups next year.

"In 2008, Pertamina will be more experienced so there will be no problems. In 2007 we were all still learning."

The program is also supported by the State Ministry for Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises.

In the 2008 state budget, the government will allocate some Rp 2.4 trillion for the purchase and distribution of LPG stoves and gas cylinders.

One kilogram of LPG is roughly equal in energy content to three liters of kerosene. (JP/AW)

CO2 emission reduction 'not working' for RI

Adianto P. Simamora, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

While India and China have seen fortunes moved through their carbon markets, none of Indonesia's carbon projects have received certification from the United Nations for carbon emission trade with developed nations, an official said Tuesday.

Indonesia has since last year listed nine carbon projects to the UN Executive Board for approval.

"No certificates on carbon emission reductions (CERs) have been issued to Indonesia because project hosts have not implemented activities as stated in the clean development mechanism proposal," Liana Bratasida, assistant minister for global environmental and international cooperation at the state ministry of environment said.

Liana, who is also member of the UN Executive Board for the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), was a speaker at a discussion on CDM projects Tuesday, attended by dozens of business players.

Carbon credits are measured by CERs which are issued by the UN Executive Board for approved CDM projects.

One CER is equal to one ton of carbon dioxide reduction (CO2) and one ton of CO2 is worth between US$5 and $10 on the carbon market.

Liana said from August, the UN had approved 819 projects worldwide -- 34 percent in India and 15 percent in China.

"We are left far behind India and China in terms of CDM projects," she said.

"The UN has so far issued 77 million CERs globally to countries including India, China and Brazil.

From this figure, 52 million CERs have been sold to Annex I countries, while 1.5 million CERs were given for adaptation funds," she said.

The CDM is part of commitments made within the Kyoto Protocol and allows developing countries to host projects that would reduce CO2 emissions, including through the use of alternative fuels.

Under the protocol, the host project must allocate 2 percent of approved CERs for an adaptation fund.

The CERs can be traded to 38 developed nations with an obligation to cut carbon emissions as per the Kyoto Protocol.

The Indonesian government has so far approved 24 carbon projects, nine of which are waiting for approval from the UN Executive Board.

The nine projects include PT Petromat Agrotech which is promoting a solar stove project in Aceh; PT Indocement Tunggal Prakarsa Tbk with its alternative fuel project; PT Multimas Nabati Asahan and its bio-mass condensing steam turbine project in Asahan, North Sumatra; PT Murini Sam Sam with a bio-mass condensing steam turbine project in Riau; and PT Indotirta Suaka with a methane capture and combustion from swine manure treatment project in Riau.

The World Bank said the global carbon market trade volume was worth less than $1 billion in 2004.

But the value skyrocketed to $11 billion in 2005 and to more than $30 billion last year.

The state ministry for the environment said Indonesia could supply 2 percent of the global carbon trading market, or equivalent to reducing 125 million tons of CO2.

Liana said the lack of attention from financial institutions had discouraged companies to host carbon projects.

"It is different in India and China where their financial institutions are very active and push local companies to host CDM projects," she said.

"Local business players should start CDM projects because the Kyoto Protocol will end in 2012."

UI to build brain & neural hospital in Depok

Depok, W Java (ANTARA News) - The University of Indonesia (UI) will build an international standard hospital (RSUI) on 20 ha of land in Depok, West Java, as a center for stroke patient treatment, the UI rector said.

University of Indonesia (UI) rector Prof Gumilar Rusliwa Somantri during a post-Ramadhan fasting month get-together at the UI campus here on Wednesday said construction of the hospital, starting in mid-2008, will cost some US$ 200 million.

"RSUI will become a Brain and Neural Center," Gumilar said, adding that the money for building the project take the form of a Japanese assistance.

Gumilar said the construction of the hospital will take about two years, and in 2011 the UI medical faculty in Salemba, Jakarta, will be moved to the campus in Depok.

According to him, the RSUI with sophisticated medical equipment will provide a quick and accurate health services especially in handling brain and neural disorders.

"The UI campus in Salemba will be used only for post graduate programs," Gumilar said.

The rector said that apart from the treatment of patients, the RSUI in Depok will also be provide facilities for education and research, and for the development of medical science.

The RSUI will also serve as a public health center for Depok which has population of about 1.4 million people.

The hospitals in Depok have only 900 beds, Gumilar said.

Governments Targets Self-Sufficiency in Beef by 2010

Monday, 22 October, 2007 | 13:02 WIB

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta: The Director General of Husbandry at the Agriculture Department, Tjeppy Daradjatun, is targeting self-sufficiency in beef by 2010.

We actually have the potential,” he said last week.

In order to reach this target, the government will bring in productive female cow from abroad.

“Australian cows have climatic and territorial similarities with those of Indonesia,” said Tjeppy.

The implementation is that productive female cows as acceptors will be increased in number.

“It is not a question of slaughtering productive cows,” said Tjeppy.

Currently, many cow breeders sent their productive female cows to be slaughtered for economic reasons.

“Thus, an assortment is necessary,” he said.

For breeder who have productive female cows and intend to sell them, the cows will be purchased by the government.

Then, the cows will be sold back to other breeders on condition that they are not sent to be slaughtered.

As regards the area for female cow breeding, this will probably be in Eastern Indonesian as it is near Australia.

Aguslia Hidayah

Indonesian Army to buy 13 helicopters from Russia

Surabaya, East Java (ANTARA News) - Indonesian Army Chief of Staff Gen Djoko Santoso said the Army would buy 10 MI-17 and three MI-35 helicopters from Russia.

"Besides, we will also buy some missiles from China and Poland," he said after officiating at ceremony marking the transfer of duties of the Brawijaya Command chief from Maj Gen Syamsul Mappareppa to Maj Gen Bambang Suranto here on Wednesday.

But to meet its need for weapons and combat equipment the Army would rely on products of the local arms industry, namely state-owned PT Pindad which was already capable of making long-barrel arms, mortars and combat vehicles.

He said the needed money would be from the state export credit budget (US$120 million) and other budgets (Rp500 billion).

Among those who attended the transfer-of-duties ceremony were also former East Java governor M Noer and former Brawijaya Command chief Lt Gen Moergito.

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.

Indonesia Total unit plans $1.5 bln investment

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The Indonesian unit of French oil and gas firm, Total SA , said on Wednesday it plans to invest $1.5 billion in the Southeast Asian nation's oil and gas sector next year.

Indonesia, Asia Pacific's only OPEC member, has stepped up efforts to lure more foreign investment into the energy sector in a bid to increase the country's dwindling output.

"We will develop existing, as well as, new production, fields," Ananda Idris, Total's spokesman, was quoted by Reuters as telling reporters.

He did not elaborate.

Total said on Oct. 10 it had made two new gas discoveries in the southern part of the offshore Mahakam block, about 45 km (28 miles) from Balikpapan in Indonesia's East Kalimantan province. It expects the field to start producing in 2012.

Total supplies approximately 80 percent of the feed gas for the Bontang liquefaction plant in Indonesia, the world's biggest LNG facility, the firm said on its Web site (www.total.com).

The gas supplied to Bontang comes from the Mahakam block along with the Tambora, Tunu and Peciko gas fields.

Total, which holds 50 percent of the Mahakam block, pumped nearly 2.6 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas from the block in first-half 2007.

Idris said the firm expected to maintain production at a steady level in 2008.

Japan's Inpex also holds a 50 percent share in the block.

IPB, Taiwan open university farm in Bogor

Bogor, W Java (ANTARA News) - The Bogor Institute of Agriculture (IPB) in cooperation with Taiwan`s technical mission in Indonesia here Wednesday opened an agribusiness development center, University Farm, in Cikarawang village, which will help the products of Indonesian farmers gain access to both local and international markets.

The center`s opening was marked by a ceremony attended by IPB Rector Prof Dr Ir Ahmad Ansori Mattjik, the chairman of the Taipei Economic and Trade Office (TETO) Indonesia, Yang Chin Tien, and the secretary general of the Taiwan International Cooperation and Development Fund (ICDF), Chen Cheng Chong.

Chen said the 10-hectare agribusiness center would serve as an agribusiness model, training venue for students and farmers as well as a marketing center for agricultural products.

He said the center would not only be a research center for academics but also for the overseas marketing of agricultural products.

Therefore, the center`s development would take years, he said.

He also expressed hope there would be cooperation between the two parties in the field of agriculture.

University Farm was built on land provided by IPB. Taiwan provided US$300,000 in funds for its physical development while its facilities and experts were contributed by IPB.

Ahmad Ansori Mattjik, meanwhile, said the agribusiness center was a realization of the concept of ABGC (Academic, Business, Government for Community) developed by IPB.

"We hope what we will develop here can be passed on to local farmers," he added.

The head of University Farm IPB, Anas D Susila, said the center would soon organize a training course on asparagus and organic vegetables cultivation.

The cooperation between IPB and Taiwan will last six years and end in 2011.

South Sumatra villagers turn abandoned land into profit

Khairul Saleh, The Jakarta Post, Palembang

When Zahir and Asom first came up with the idea to plant cucumbers, or timun suri, on a large plot of idle land in their South Sumatra village, they were laughed at by their neighbors.

However, the middle-aged men from Ogan Ilir regency refused to give in, planting their first crop early this year.

It was no easy task to encourage villagers from the Beti and Muara Meranjat villages to help plant the initial crop.

"Other residents were reluctant to join in. We did all we could though and didn't give up," Zahir told The Jakarta Post at his home in Muara Meranjat village recently.

After two months of trial and error, their initial efforts bore fruit. It was only after witnessing the potential success of the project that other villages agreed to lend a hand.

Before filling the entire eight-hectare plot of vacant land with cucumbers, the villagers carried out a trial run near Lebung Karangan village.

It was successful, and today the farming involves some 30 workers to plant and harvest cucumbers, paying them Rp 30,000 per day.

This is a remarkable success story, considering the idea to grow timun suri on the land was suggested by Zahir after he found a pile of cucumber seeds in the Jalur 26 irrigation area in Sungsang.

While various other fruits and vegetables could be grown on the land, the villagers plan to stick with timun suri as their primary cash crop.

"We will always grow timun suri ahead of the fasting month due to an increased demand for it at that time," Asom said, adding that demand for the fruit was significantly lower outside the fasting month.

Zahir said rice could also be planted on the land, but without a hand tractor and startup capital the task would be difficult.

"The land would be more efficient if we were able to use a hand tractor because we could grow more crops, except for in the rainy season when the ground becomes waterlogged," he said.

To plant crops, farmers in the village collect cucumber seeds from mature fruits. The seeds are then rinsed, dried and kept in bottles filled with ash until they are eventually planted.

Growing cucumbers is not difficult, Zahir said.

Organic fertilizer is used to loosen the soil and make it fertile, with chemical fertilizer added 10 days later. Two seeds are placed in each of hundreds of small holes that are dug, and within two months the plants are ready to be harvested.

A hectare of farmland can usually produce 7,000 cucumber plants, which have the potential to generate Rp 50 million (approximately US$5,550) in profit.

During the month of Ramadhan, a kilogram of timun suri can fetch up to Rp 2,400. At this time, farmers sell more than 50 tons of timun suri per day to buyers in various cities across South Sumatra.

"Breaking the fast with a cucumber drink is very refreshing," a resident of Meranjat village explained.

"The drink quenches my thirst in an instant, especially if it contains condensed milk and syrup."

Indofood set to acquire London Sumatra at a cost of Rp 8.4 trillion

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

PT Indofood Sukses Makmur, the world's largest instant noodle maker, will take over PT London Sumatra Indonesia Plantations (LSIP) in a transaction that could cost some Rp 8.4 trillion (US$913 million).

Under the plan, Indofood will acquire a 64.4 percent stake in LSIP from major shareholders and hold a tender offer to buy the other 35.6 percent from public investors, Indofood vice president Franciscus Welirang said.

Franciscus said the acquisition plan has been approved by Indofood shareholders and would be executed through its subsidiaries PT Salim Ivomas Pratama (SIMP) and Indofood Agri Resources Ltd. (IndoAgri), which is listed in Singapore.

"We, through SIMP, will buy 500.09 million LSIP shares from Singapore-based First Durango and London-based Ashmore Funds as well as LSIP's US$47 million mandatory convertible notes, which could be converted into 269.34 million shares, at a total cost of Rp 5 trillion.

"Those transactions will be equal to a 56.4 percent stake," he said after an extraordinary shareholders meeting Tuesday.

The publicly listed company will also spend Rp 711.9 billion to buy Eddy Kusnadi Sariaatmadja's 109.52 million LSIP shares valued at Rp 6,500 each, equal to an 8 percent stake.

It will then hold a tender offer to buy the other 35.6 percent of LSIP's shares from the public at Rp 6,900 each.

Thomas Tjhie, Indofood financial director, said to finance the acquisition Indofood would use Rp 5.71 trillion from a bank loan secured by SIMP, Rp 1.2 trillion in internal funds controlled by the company's edible oil and fat (EOF) division and Rp 1.45 trillion in a stand-by loan.

The SIMP loan will likely come from seven banks, including BCA, ING of the Netherlands, Standard Chartered Bank of England and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation of Japan.

Thomas said the acquisition would make Indofood's EOF division the largest palm plantation owner in Indonesia with around 387,000 hectares of land, comprising 224,000 hectares controlled by IndoAgri and 163,000 hectares by LSIP.

"We now produce 640,000 metric tons of crude palm oil (CPO) per year, a bit lower than 690,000 metric tons needed by Indofood's cooking oil and margarine division," he said.

LSIP is an Indonesia-based publicly listed plantation company supported by operational branch offices in Medan, Palembang, Makassar, Surabaya and Samarinda. It is engaged in the planting and developing of oil palms, rubber, cocoa, coconut, tea and coffee.

It also develops palm oil plantations on behalf of local smallholders. It has two subsidiaries: PT Multi Agro Kencana Prima, a plantation, processing and trading company, and Lonsum Singapore Pte Ltd., a trading and marketing company based in Singapore.

Iceland seeking opportunities to invest in geothermal development

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Iceland is seeking opportunities to invest in geothermal development in Indonesia, an Indonesian official said.

"They are offering cooperation to develop geothermal-based energy projects," Industry Minister Fahmi Idris said after accompanying President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in receiving Iceland`s Minister of Industries Ossum Skarphedinsson here on Tuesday.

Iceland had expertise in geothermal development, he said.

Iceland which was one of world`s poor countries when the second world war broke out now had a per capita income of US$44,000 and become one of the rich countries because of its success in developing geothermal industries, he said.

Fahmi said at the meeting with President Yudhoyono Minister Skarphedinsson disclosed six companies in his country had expressed an interest in investing in Indonesia.

He said Iceland also expressed interest in processing bauxite ore imported from Australia in Indonesia using geothermal energy.

"So far they ship the commodity to Iceland. That is too far. Now they are thinking of processing it in Indonesia. The strategic location for it is naturally in the eastern region which is close to Australia," he said.

Fahmi said there had not been any further discussion about it but he still had to receive Minister Skarphedinsson at his office on Wednesday.

In the Indonesia-Iceland Geothermal Forum in Reykjavik on September 12-13, the two countries wished they would have had concrete cooperation in the field of geothermal development in Indonesia at the time when they commemorated the 25th anniversary of their diplomatic relations.

The two countries will make geothermal development one of the priorities for cooperation because of their large geothermal potentials.

While 72 percent of electricity need in Iceland is supplied by geothermal energy the use of the energy in Indonesia is still only around three percent of the country`s potential which is the largest in the world ,namely around 40 percent.

Government to Launch Wi-Max Indonesian-version

Tuesday, 23 October, 2007 | 15:21 WIB

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta: The government will launch the worldwide interoperability for microwave access (Wi-Max) technology, the Indonesian version. The research and development of this technology has started and it is expected that the prototype will be launched in late 2009.

Information and Communication Minister, Muhammad Nuh, said Wi-Max technology of the Indonesian version will be launched on National Awakening Day on May 20 next year. According to the Director of Standardization and Telecommunication, Azhar Hasyim, the Wi-Max research and development as well as its application has started.

“We continue pushing the research so it is faster, but regarding the plan's prototype, it will be out in the end of 2009,” said Azhar in Jakarta some time ago. The research program is divided into subgroups: chipset, Rf modul, terminal, antenna and OSS driver based on an open source.

The research involves several institutions, state universities and industries including the National Institute of Sciences (LIPI), the Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT), PT LEN, PT Inti, Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB), University of Indonesia, Hariff and Quassar with the program manager from the Post and Telecommunication Directorate General.

Azhar explained that the assessment device was provided by the Post and Telecommunication Directorate General. As regards purchasing the measurement device and equipment worth Rp3.75 billion, it is being carried out through a tender. “Already 10 companies are ready to join the tender,” he said.

Dian Yuliastuti

Multibreeder to get fund injection of $55 million

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Publicly-listed grandparent and parent stock breeding company PT Multibreeder Adirama Indonesia will obtain an injection of US$55 million in fresh funds from its controlling shareholder PT Japfa Comfeed Tbk to repay debts and expand business.

Japfa which now controls 73.06 percent of Multibreeder`s shares will inject US$55 million in loans to the latter, Multibreeder said in a statement on Tuesday.

Of the total, US$38.21 million will be used to repay debts due on December 31, 2011, and US$16.78 million to buy assets and working capital, it said.

Multibreeder`s products consist of day-old chicks (DOC), namely Parent Stock Broiler, Parent Stock Layer, Final Stock Broiler, Final Stock Layer Male and Final Stock Layer Female, while its by-products include culling chicken and consumable eggs.

Cost of developing Aceh gas field rises to US$600 mln: Medco

Jakarta (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - PT Medco E&P said the cost of developing the gas reserve in A Block, Naggrie Aceh, is estimated to rise 33.3 per cent from previous forecast of US$450 million to US$600 million.

Medco E&P president Lukman Mahfoedz said Monday the three partners in the venture including Medco as a 41.67 per cent owner, Premier Oil, a 41.666 per cent shareholder and and Japex 16.67 per cent will provide the fund.

The fund will be used to develop the block including construction of facilities and drilling which will start next year until 2010, Lukman said.

Experts to gather in Jakarta to discuss RI transportation woes

Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Transportation businesspeople and planners from China, Britain, Malaysia and Japan will attend a conference in Jakarta from Wednesday to Friday to discuss how Indonesia can solve its land, air and sea transportation problems.

The three-day international conference and exhibition, which is slated to be opened by Vice President Jusuf Kalla at the Jakarta Convention Center, will discuss infrastructure issues on Wednesday, transportation problems on Thursday and logistics on Friday.

Kalla will deliver the keynote speech at the opening of the conference, titled "Indonesian Transportation & Logistics Excellence: Enhancing Industry Competitiveness".

"We have had a series of problems in the transportation sector recently. Beside, as a venue for extending business ties in the transportation sector, we hope our businesspeople and officials can draw lessons from these events," said HM Syukur Sakka, president director of PT Wahyu Promo Citra, which is organizing the conference.

A series of air, land and sea accidents in the country have claimed hundreds of lives, drawing heavy criticism of the country's transportation management system.

The European Union has banned Indonesian carriers from flying into its member states, and has advised citizens in the EU from using Indonesian carriers.

China Railway Engineering Group president Li Changli, British Port & Terminal Group director Ken Gibbons, En N Sankunny of AGM Logistics Northport Malaysia, Ryuichi Yoshimoto of Japan Institute for Logistics System and Tetsuo Shibata of Japan External Trade Organization are among the international experts and businesspeople scheduled to speak during the conference.

Indonesian officials, including Transportation Minister Djusman Syafii Djamal, director general for sea transportation Harijogi, director general for land transportation Iskandar Abu Bakar and director general for air transportation Budi Mulyawan Suyitno, will share their experiences in dealing with the country's transportation problems.

There will also be an exhibition of the latest technology in the transportation sector.

"Some 65 international and local transportation and logistics companies have confirmed their participation in the expo so far," Syukur said.

Pertamina eyes Iran oil block after success in Qatar

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

After winning an oil and gas tender in Qatar recently, state oil and gas company PT Pertamina is now setting its sights on an exploration right in Iran.

"We are biding for the Laleh block," Pertamina upstream director Sukusen Soemarinda confirmed Monday, referring to one of 17 oil and gas blocks that the Iranian government currently puts on offer.

Iran is the second largest oil producer at the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

"We have partnered with several other firms in this venture, yet we cannot disclose them," he added.

Only recently, Pertamina had teamed up with German-based company Wintershall, a subsidiary of German chemical giant BASF, in securing a exploration right on an onshore oil block in Qatar.

Pertamina holds a 25 percent interest in the block, with Wintershall controlling the remaining 75 percent, rendering the company the operator of the block.

The commercial production of the Qatari onshore oil block is not expected to start until the end of 2008 or early 2009.

Meanwhile, in response to the global oil prices, which have been breaking records in the past few weeks, Pertamina is very likely to hike the prices of industrial fuels next month.

"It's very likely (to increase)," president director, Ari H. Soemarno, said Monday, but refused to elaborate further.

Pertamina adjusts the prices of non-subsidized fuels it sells to industry on a monthly basis, taking into account the average prices of crude oil in international markets.

After breaching the US$90 per barrel last week, oil prices eases early Monday. New York's key oil futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in November, was 60 U.S. cents lower at $88.00 a barrel in afternoon trade.

In London, Brent North Sea crude for December delivery dropped 38 U.S. cents to $83.41 per barrel.

Surabaya to host regional investment promotion expo

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) will hold a regional investment promotion expo in Surabaya this week, the second such regional event this year in which all 33 provinces will showcase their respective business and investment potentials.

The expo, which will be held on Oct. 24-26, will give around 1,500 invited investors the chance to participate in round table discussions and forums, according to Darmawan Djajusman, BKPM deputy chairman for investment promotion.

This year's first regional expo was held last month in Batam.

"Invitations have not only been sent to local and overseas companies, but also to foreign business chambers as far away as Brazil -- who have by the way confirmed their participation," Darmawan told The Jakarta Post recently.

"Our representatives in foreign countries have also been actively involved in promoting this event," added Yuliot, BKPM director in charge of domestic promotion.

Yuliot said the agency organized the event in an effort to promote investment opportunities in the country. "Every year, we organize two major regional events and two others overseas."

Earlier in the year, the BKPM organized a promotion investment exhibition in Seoul, South Korea and plans to hold another one in Paris later in the year.

Since the monetary crisis, Indonesia has been boosting efforts to lure foreign investors in order to help fuel its consumption-driven economy.

By promoting investment opportunities in regions, the government is hoping to spark competition among the provinces in terms of ensuring a business-friendly climate.

All efforts, however, are often still riddled with classic problems, such as complicated licensing procedures and bureaucratic red-tape.

According to the latest survey from the World Bank and its private sector, the International Financial Corporation (IFC), Indonesia remains a tough place for investors.

The survey says 105 days are required for an investor to start up a business in the country, far longer than its main regional competitors like China, Malaysia and Vietnam, let alone Singapore.

Acknowledging this, Yuliot said many regional governments, and especially the BKPM itself, have continued to address such issues and have in some cases, made some improvements.

"With the BKPM, for instance, all procedures can now be completed within five working days. The target is actually 10 days.

"More and more regencies have set up a one-roof investment service. Around 200 regencies are now doing this, although most of them are located on the larger islands, such as Java and Kalimantan," Yuliot said.

He said the Surabaya event would also host a forum in which businesspeople from East Java could meet with relevant ministries and agencies to discuss the problems caused by the Lapindo mudflow disaster.

Lampung exports 249,728 tons of non-oil commodities to Pakistan

Bandarlampung, Lampung Province (ANTARA News) - Lampung province exported at least 249,728 tons of non-oil/non-gas commodities to Pakistan from January to July 2007, a local official said.

Lampung earned a total of US$20,360 in foreign exchange from the exports, Suparmo of the Lampung trade, industry and cooperatives office said here.

The exports had increased by 91.43 percent in value and by 93.05 tons in volume compared to the figures on the same period last year, he said.

Lampung exported among other things coal and sodium cyclamate to Pakistan. PT Bukit Asam Mining Company (PTBA) exported 37,873 tons of coal worth US$1.7 million, while PT Golden Sari exported sodium cyclamate amounting to 227 tons worth US$557,250 to Pakistan last July alone.

In addition to Pakistan, Lampung also exports non-oil/non-gas commodiies to India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Nepal, he said.

Sunda strait bridge construction to depend on feasibility study

Bandarlampung (ANTARA News) - The realization of the proposed Sunda Strait Bridge (JSS) project will depend on the outcome of a feasibility study, Transportation Minister Jusman Syafii Djamal said on Saturday.

The minister made the statement during an unscheduled visit to Lampung`s Bakauheni ferry port to inspect services for returning holidaymakers at the port.

Asked about the economic value of the bridge, Jusman said it would obviously be calculated in the feasibility study as well.

Earlier, Vice President Jusuf Kalla on behalf of the government had said he supported the project but warned that its economic value should be calculated accurately.

Kalla said the Sunda Strait Bridge project had actually been in a planning stage for a long time but its realization was hampered by technological matters and questions about its economic value.

Meanwhile, State Minister for National Development Planning/Head of the National Development Planning Board (Bappenas) Paskah Suzetta said on Wednesday, October 3, that the government fully supported the plan to build the bridge which would link Java and Sumatra islands.

"The government fully supports it. Therefore, the government wants the bridge to be built based on a precise and accurate plan," Paskah Suzetta said.

He made the remarks following the signing of an agreement to conduct a pre-feasibility study on the construction of the bridge scheduled for completion in 2025.

The bridge was expected to ensure smooth transportation of goods and people from Java to Sumatra vice versa and to encourage economic growth on the two islands, he said.

He added that the government would try to find funding sources other than the state budget to finance the project.

"The funding sources may come from a partnership between the government and the private sector. But if that is not possible the project can be funded under a business-to-business scheme," he said.

Jakarta to host largest ever trade expo

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Jakarta is gearing up to host the country's largest ever trade fair, in which more than 960 local businesses and 3,000 potential international buyers will participate, a top official said.

The 2007 Indonesian Trade Expo (ITE), scheduled to run from Oct. 23 to 27 at the Jakarta Fairground in Kemayoran, is expected to help boost the country's export industry, which has been projected to grow this year by between 14.5 and 20 percent.

"The Trade Expo will be the country's best and largest marketing avenue for our leading exporters and is aimed at attracting thousands of potential buyers from abroad," Trade Minister Mari Pangestu told a media gathering Friday.

Mari said growth in areas other than the oil and gas sectors in Indonesia had been promising this year.

"Growth is quite high at around 19 to 20 percent, so now we are looking at how to make this growth rate sustainable," she said.

"Trade exhibitions are obviously one way to boost exports."

Mari said the event, named "Innovative Design with Local Value and Contemporary Spirit", was a way to promote the country as a prominent player in the global economy, particularly in the international trade and export sectors.

"The ITE also serves as an ideal impetus to encourage Indonesians to appreciate and support locally-made products," she added.

The highlight of the annual expo, which was first held in 1986, will be Indonesia's Icon Pavilion, which spans 6,000 square meters.

The pavilion will showcase the products of 213 companies and 44 service providers and will offer potential products for export including agro produce such as coffee and crude palm oil, furniture and automobile parts. It will also offer services and products in the areas of information technology and construction.

During the event, the Trade Ministry will also present 29 companies with the 2007 Primaniyarta Best Exporters Awards.

Last year's winners will also exhibit their products in the Icon Pavilion.

This year's trade expo is expected to generate at least US$200 million in total sales, up approximately 17 percent from last year's total of just over $170 million.

As part of the expo, local entrepreneurs, international buyers and investors, foreign trade delegates, Indonesian delegates based abroad, economists and members of the government have been invited to participate in the Trade Expo Forum.

The forum will serve as a medium for information and knowledge exchange on current global market trends, opportunities and challenges.

Scientists deliver tsunami warning software for Indonesia

Antara News

Bremerhaven, Germany (dpa) - A computer simulation of Indonesian earthquakes, which is able to save precious minutes before a tsunami warning, was delivered Thursday to German seismologists.

Testing of the software is to begin in December in Jakarta at a tsunami early-warning centre jointly set up by German and Indonesian authorities. Berlin is funding the science project, launched after the Asian Tsunami of 2004 killed 230,000 people, DPA reported.

Instead of doing complex calculations, the simulation rapidly compares each earth tremor with 5,000 pre-calculated scenarios to see if a killer wave is likely.

The software was developed by Germany's Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Ocean Research in the port city Bremerhaven.

Buoys which measure seabed movements and pulses in the water have already been placed along the Sumatran coast and the Jakarta lab has already issued coastal warnings after earthquakes.

The software will make the predictions both more precise and quicker, institute scientists said as the software was handed over the German Geo-Research Centre in Potsdam, near Berlin.

Indonesia suffered 160,000 deaths in the 2004 quake. A tsunami can reach its coasts within less than half an hour of offshore quakes.

Joern Behrens, who led the software project, explained, "The system compares readings on site with scenarios that have been calculated theoretically in advance and estimates the risk."

Tsunamis are triggered by sudden shifts of the seabed when sections of the Earth's crust move.

Government to finance education of specialist doctors, VP says

Padang, West Sumatra (ANTARA News) - Vice President Jusuf Kalla said the government would finance the education of specialist doctors in an effort to improve the capability and human resources of Indonesian medical practitioners.

"The government will pay for the education of specialists in arder to increase the number of doctors who specialize in particular areas of medicine," the vice president said in a dialog with M Djamil Hospital medical staff here on Friday.

Kalla said the policy would be adopted by the government to improve the capability and human resources of the country`s medical experts.

The vice president admitted that education of specialist doctors in Indonesia was costly and only a small number of people could afford it.

But in his statement, the vice president did not mention the amount of funds the government would make available to finance the education of specialist doctors.

He only said in the 2007-2008 State Budget, the government would appropriate "very large sums" for the health, infrastructure and education sectors.

"Therefore, doctors no longer need to run to and fro to find funding sources to continue their specialist education because the government will pay for it," Kalla said.

TMII building water park

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The Beautiful Indonesia in Miniature Park (TMII) is currently building a Water Park for children and adults.

The Water Park was being constructed on a plot of land measuring two hectares, at the former site of the Ambar Tirta swimming pool, next to the Museum of Indonesia, Purnawijaya Alibasa, a spokesman of TMII, said here on Friday.

The Water Park would boast various amusement facilities such as a `wave` pool, a `current` pool, and a gliding board, he said.

The park`s construction work was being carried out by a Korean contractor and expected to be completed in April 2008.

ConocoPhillips begins gas supply to Indonesia`s PGN

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - ConocoPhillips has begun gas supplies to Indonesian state-owned gas firm PT Perusahaan Gas Negara (PGN) from a South Sumatra field after months of delay because of a pipeline problem, a PGN official said on Friday.

The Grissik-Pagardewa pipeline project is part of a 661-km (413-mile) long gas pipeline from South Sumatra to West Java with peak volumes of 480 million cubic feet per day.

"Gas from the ConocoPhillips field will be delivered gradually starting with 20-50 million cubic feet per day," Heri Yusup, PGN's corporate secretary, told Reuters by phone.

"It is expected that the South Sumatra pipeline will transport 480 million cubic feet per day to West Java next year."

In 2004, PGN signed a contract with ConocoPhillips to supply 2.3 trillion cubic feet of natural gas for 17 years from 2007.

Yusup said PGN was already supplying 100 million cubic feet per day of gas to industries in West Java from a field in South Sumatra's Pagardewa area owned by state-run Pertamina.

ConocoPhillips officials could not be reached for comment.

Indonesia, the Asia-Pacific's only OPEC member, is tapping alternative sources of energy such as natural gas and coal to meet rising power demand and to cut down on consumption of expensive crude oil as its own reserves dwindle.

Hipmi reaching out to French market

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Indonesia Young Entrepreneurs Association (Hipmi) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with its French counterpart, France Indonesia Society, to boost economic cooperation in trade and investment between the two countries.

Hipmi chairman Sandiaga S. Uno hopes the MoU will help build the foundation for a joint Indonesian-French community of business decision makers.

"We will hold follow-up meetings in the coming months in order to establish a concrete cooperation agreement within one year," Sandiaga told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

He said the MoU was primarily aimed at opening a new market for Indonesia's small medium enterprises (SMEs), which represent the majority of Hipmi's 305,000 members.

"With the MoU, we are looking to work on the energy, agribusiness and infrastructure sectors."

The signing of the MoU was witnessed Wednesday by UNESCO officials, Education Minister Bambang Sudibyo, Indonesia's ambassador to France and a delegation of young French entrepreneurs -- including top executives from BNP Paribas, Total and Orange.

Indonesia's two-way trade with France in 2006 was valued at US$1.7 billion. According to data issued by the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), France is Indonesia's sixth largest trade partner of all 27 European Union members.

Sandiaga added Hipmi would also cooperate with Indonesian students in France to promote the role of Hipmi.

Sandiaga said Hipmi would organize trade exhibitions for Indonesian SME products in Brussels and Paris in November.