THE
COORDINATING MINISTRY FOR ECONOMIC AFFAIRS
Tel: (021) 351-1178
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Trade and
Investment News[1], 13 April 2009
Highlights
National
·
President’s visit to ASEAN summit cut short by
protests
Politics
·
Incumbent President Yudhoyono on course for second
term
Terrorism
·
Three
Security
·
Despite signs of conflict, peaceful vote in Aceh
Law & order
·
Garuda pilot jailed for two years over fatal 2007
crash
Health
·
More disaster training needed for
Economy
·
Business welcomes election result, urges more
reforms
Business briefs
Macroeconomy
·
First quarter growth at 4.3% to 4.8%, says finance
minister
·
Boost in consumer confidence ahead of polls
State concerns
·
Government considers funding eastern fiber optic
network
SOEs
·
Garuda
Private sector
·
US Ex-Im Bank to underwrite $1 billion for new
planes for Lion Air
Banks
·
Central bank may relax rules to boost credits
Power
·
State utility PLN to set prices for independent
power producers
·
Pertamina unit looks for $3.5 billion for geothermal
projects
Oil & gas
·
State gas company PT PGN to spend $150 million on
expansion
Mining
·
March tin exports better than expected, 29% up on
year
NATIONAL
Papua still
struggling despite autonomy: Experts
Poverty, poor education, and a lack of health care continue
to plague Papua eight years after centralized control gave way to regional
autonomy in the province, speakers at a seminar in
The current government in Papua is highly corrupt and
entrenched in traditional values that do not necessarily benefit democracy or
development, they alleged.
“(Papuan) authorities have failed to provide locals with
basic necessities,” said Muridan S. Widjojo, a researcher from the Center for
Political Studies at the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI).
In 2001 the central government granted Papua special
autonomy, which allowed the formation of the Papuan People’s Council (MRP) and
the introduction of traditional laws to settle legal matters.
“Many leaders were chosen simply because they were local
politicians’ sons,” Muridian said.
Yusak Reba, from the Institute for Civil Strengthening of Papua,
offered a similar assessment, saying the Papua administration had failed in
implementing special autonomy for the benefit of the people.
“Attempts to build basic educational facilities have been
unsuccessful,” Widjojo said.
Vidhyandika D. Perkasa from the Center for Strategic and
International Studies said that just five years ago, Papua’s poverty rate was
twice that of the national rate.
“Central Bureau of Statistics’ data showed that in 2004,
almost 39% of Papua’s citizens were living below the poverty line,” Perkasa
said.
In 2005, the region’s human development index of 62.1 was
the lowest among the country’s 33 provinces.
Perkasa said some Papuan leaders still put their family’s
interests first when running the government. “For instance, they see no problem
in helping their needy relatives using funds from the regional budget, because
they fear karma more than the law.”
He added that traditional values also prevented Papuans from
clans other than that of the local leader from ever entering government.
“A government survey
in 2006 showed that 71% of respondents thought the number of corruption cases
in Papua was high,” Vidhyandika said.
According to LIPI, the central government distributes around
Rp1.3 trillion to Rp1.5 trillion every year to Papua to support its special
autonomy projects, but only a fraction has been spent on health and education.
Yudhoyono’s ASEAN trip
cut short
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and other ASEAN leaders
were forced to cut short their visits to
"The government has a duty to take care of
the leaders who will depart from
"In this extremely serious situation, the
government has decided to impose a state of emergency in Pattaya and Chonburi
to deal with the situation."
Yudhoyono and his entourage did not make it off
military airfield U-Tapao. Initially offered a helicopter ride to the summit
location, they waited for two hours until the decision to cancel the summit was
made and they were able to board their plane to return home.
Helicopters were used to evacuate foreign
leaders who had already arrived at the location of the talks from the roof of
the hotel.
POLITICS
Incumbent on course for second term
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, set on course for a
second term in government, said his Democrat Party could form a coalition, as
opposing parties struggled to find a formula to oppose him.
Yudhoyono
began planning his re-election campaign Friday after his party won the most
seats in general elections, according to unofficial results, Agence
France-Presse reported.
His
centrist Democratic Party completed its dramatic transformation from political
newcomer in 2001 to the strongest party in parliament following largely
peaceful elections Thursday, according to independent polling agencies.
Projections
by the respected Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI) have the Democrats winning
20.48% of the vote, based on its own count of ballots from a representative
sample of 2,100 polling stations.
The opposition
Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) of Yudhoyono’s predecessor as president,
Megawati Sukarnoputri gained 14.33% and former ruling party, Golkar, was close
behind with 13.95%.
Several
other independent polling agencies came up with similar projections, which were
also in line with pre-election opinion surveys. The final count is not expected
until May 9.
Islamic
parties were projected to win a total of around 26% of the vote, their worst
showing in
"We
will start tomorrow engaging in political communications (with other
parties)," Yudhoyono told reporters at his home late Thursday. Carefully
avoiding any claim to victory, he added: "We will see what kind of
coalition we have and how many presidential candidates meet the
requirements."
Yudhoyono said he would welcome all parties but stressed the
need for a formal coalition where members were committed to the same platform.
During his first term, his reform efforts have often been partly thwarted by
less reform-minded ministers from other political parties.
"A political contract must be clearly defined. The
ethics between coalition parties have to be clear and I hope for a written agreement
between coalition partners," Yudhoyono told a news conference at his home
in
"For me, those who have goodwill in running a better
government for the next five years deserve to form a coalition, from any
ideologies, as long as they have a good track record," he said, adding
party discussions had already started.
Yudhoyono also appeared to leave the door open to extending
an alliance with the Golkar Party. The president said he had spoken to Vice
President Yusuf Kalla, the chairman of Golkar, by telephone. A Kalla spokesman
said the vice president had called Yudhoyono to congratulate him, adding
"the president told him this is our victory together".
Analysts said they expect a continuation of market-friendly
policies, particularly if Yudhoyono keeps his respected finance minister, Sri
Mulyani Indrawati, and other technocrats in the cabinet.
TERRORISM
Terrorists jailed for 12 years
A
The three men - Agustyawarman, Heri Purwanto and Sugianto -
were found guilty of conspiring and committing acts of terrorism as part of an alleged
10-member JI cell arrested in
The men were found guilty of involvement in largely separate
plots but were given equal sentences for an “evil consensus”, head judge Aswan
Nurcahyo told the South Jakarta District Court.
The judges found Purwanto guilty of involvement in the 2007
murder of teacher Dago Simamora as well as an attack with a hammer on Christian
priest Yosua Winardi.
Both Purwanto and Agustyawarman were found to have plotted
attacks on other priests.
Agustyawarman was also found to have been involved in a plan
to bomb a backpacker café in
“The factor aggravating the defendants' sentences is the
fact they have never shown remorse for what they did. All their actions were
done consciously,” Judge Nurcahyo said.
Their lawyer said the men were contemplating an appeal.
SECURITY
Aceh enjoys
peaceful vote
National elections in Aceh went ahead peacefully on
Thursday, reported Agence France-Presse.
The general election for local assemblies and the national
parliament is the first in the province since a 2005 peace deal ended more than
30 years of civil war that killed 15,000 people.
The Aceh Party of former rebels of the separatist Free Aceh
Movement (GAM), allowed to participate in the election as part of the 2005
deal, was expected to dominate.
The party declared victory on Friday in the provincial
legislative elections held simultaneously with the national poll, The Jakarta Globe reported.
“Based on the reports we received from our party’s election
observers at polling stations around Aceh, the party has won 75% of the vote,”
said party spokesman Adnan Beuransyah.
He said vote tallies for the Aceh Party were nearly 90% in
regions such as Pidie district, Pidie Jaya, Bireuen, North Aceh,
Aceh’s Independent Election Commission (KIP) has not yet
announced any official results from Thursday’s polls, which were also contested
by leading national parties.
US-backed eCARD monitors said the vote was mainly clean. Based on e-CARD volunteers’
observation, there were very minor irregularities or problems during the voting
and vote counting process in 74.1% of polling stations, a press statement said.
A further 19.5% of volunteers said that there were
irregularities or problems, but that they were not significant enough to
influence the final results. Only 2.9% of volunteers said that there were many
irregularities that would influence the election results in that polling
station.
LAW & ORDER
Garuda
A court last week sentenced the pilot of a Garuda Indonesia
jet that crash-landed at an airport in 2007, killing 21 people, to two years in
prison for criminal negligence, Agence France-Presse reported.
"The defendant, Marwoto Komar, is legally and
convincingly guilty of criminal negligence resulting in the jet's crash and the
deaths of other people," chief judge Sri Andini told the Sleman district
court.
The court decided to hand down the heavy sentence, an
unusual legal move by international standards, because of the number of deaths
and the fact that Komar "never expressed remorse during the trial,"
Andini said.
The sentence was lighter than the four years demanded by
prosecutors for Komar's actions as he attempted to land the Boeing 737 at high
speed at
The plane burst into flames after skidding into rice fields
of the airport runway. Five Australians, diplomatic staff and journalists, were
among the dead.
Komar, who wore his pilot's uniform in court despite being
fired from the national flag carrier over the crash, told the court he would
appeal against the verdict.
The pilot maintained at his trial that faulty wing flaps
were to blame for the jet's excessive airspeed as it came in to land.
However a report by an Indonesian safety committee found
that Komar had ignored 15 automatic warnings telling him he was coming in too
fast.
HEALTH
More training needed for
Hospitals in
Health Ministry crisis center chief Rustam Pakaya said
doctors and paramedics in 120 Jakarta hospitals were ready for emergencies such
as earthquakes and floods and hospitals were designed to be tremor proof.
According to Kemal Siregar, a member of the Public Health
Scholars Association, hospitals in the capital were better prepared than those
in other cities or regencies.
“We still have to do a lot of preparation work. We have to
rehearse emergency scenarios. Staff need to be trained how to treat people
during disasters. The biggest weakness (of the hospital system) is the lack of
coordination,” Siregar said.
He said ambulances were part of the health infrastructure
that needed improvement.
“Ambulances should be equipped with skilled personnel, not
just drivers. Many ambulance personnel are only trained to transport victims
and they don’t know how to give first aid or save lives,” Siregar said.
Hospitals’ emergency preparedness is the highlight of World
Health Day, which fells on April 7.
WHO Director General Margaret Chan says the tragedy of a
major emergency or disaster is compounded when health facilities fail.
“When a hospital collapses or its functions are disrupted,
lives that depend on emergency care can be lost. Interruptions in routine
services can also be deadly,” she said.
Greater
The head of the Jakarta Health Agency, Dien Emawati, said
the hospital’s response to the Situ Gintung disaster was adequate.
According to Pakaya, doctors and paramedics in
“Members of the public are the ones who need to be trained
for disaster mitigation,” he said.
ECONOMY
Business welcomes
election result, urges more reforms
The Indonesia Stock Exchange’s Composite index may rise 23%
by the end of the year after a record decline in 2008 on expectations the
elections will promote stability, the nation’s biggest pension fund said,
Bloomberg News reported.
The index may end the year at 1,800, PT Jamsostek investment
director Elvyn G. Masassya said in an interview with Bloomberg, 23% up on
present levels.
The nation has drawn the second-highest equity-fund inflows
this year among nine Asian economies tracked by the news agency.
“This is the time to build up our investment in stocks that
have good fundamental values,” said Masassya, who oversees Rp61.7 trillion
($5.5 billion) in assets.
Jamsostek would be looking for new investments in
infrastructure, mining and finance stocks, and the fund would increase its
stock allocation from 15% of its investment portfolio, he said, without
providing a figure.
M.S. Hidayat, chairman of the Indonesian Chambers of
Commerce and Industry (Kadin), said Friday that a bigger mandate for President
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in July’s presidential elections should create the
synergies to deal with the effects of the economic crisis.
“We are going to face major challenges such as unemployment
during this global crisis. To overcome such challenges, we need a strong
political coalition to ensure fast delivery of any economic policies,” The
Jakarta Post reported him as saying.
“We need a strong
government whose decision and polices will be fully backed by the House of
Representatives, so that there will be no more unclear regulations or
policies,” said Thomas Darmawan, head of the Indonesian Food and Beverage
Association (GAPMMI).
Meanwhile
higher industrial activity in the first quarter of 2009 indicated an increase
in electrical power consumption, the Post reported.
Finance
Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said Monday power consumption by industry rose
2.5% in the first quarter of 2009 compared to the previous quarter.
This
signaled that industries have continued producing goods amid the global
economic downturn because of higher demand in the domestic market, she said.
Indrawati
however warned that a pick-up in electricity in the first quarter was not
significant on its own, since it was still well down on the same period last
year.
There was also caution over improved export figures to the
The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) reported earlier that
non-oil and gas exports to the
BUSINESS BRIEFS
MACROECONOMY
Q1 growth at
4.3-4.8%: Finance Minister
The economy is estimated to have grown between 4.3% and 4.8%
in the first quarter from the same period a year ago, Finance Minister Sri
Mulyani Indrawati said on Tuesday, Reuters reported.
"Our projection for economic growth in the first
quarter is more optimistic than others...although the risk of lower economic
growth still exists amid uncertainties in the global economy," Indrawati
told a news conference.
Bank
The World Bank last week projected a bleaker outlook for the
economy, revising down its prediction of economic growth from 4.4% to 3.4% for
2009.
The Asian Development Bank has estimated the economy will
grow 3.6% this year, down from 6.1% in 2008, Asia Pulse reported.
Consumer
confidence improves ahead of elections
Consumer confidence improved in March to its highest level
since December 2007, a Bank Indonesia (BI) survey showed, thanks to campaign
spending by political parties ahead of elections, Reuters reported.
Political parties and their legislative candidates typically
spend heavily on campaign advertisements, food and t-shirts in election years
to woo more than 170 million registered voters.
“The enthusiasm now related to legislative campaigns is
likely to continue until the presidential elections which are expected to
bolster consumer spending,” BI said.
Bank
A separate survey conducted by state-controlled Danareksa
Research Institute also showed improving sentiment, with its index rising to
87.8 in March from 82.9 in February.
“The improved consumer confidence largely reflects the
financial gains enjoyed by consumers living in rural areas, many of whom are
enjoying the fruits of the ongoing harvesting season," Danareksa said in
its survey.
A reading of below 100 for both surveys still means more
consumers are pessimistic than optimistic.
On Monday, BI Governor Boediono said the rupiah will
strengthen by year-end as investors return to the country after peaceful
elections, Bloomberg reported.
“This is not actually only money as such, but money that
belongs to our people, which is being temporarily parked outside during the
general election, and it will come back again,” he said.
The central bank has also signed currency swaps with
BI is “studying” the International Monetary Fund’s new
Flexible Credit Line. However, given the “political considerations,”
The country may also get a boost after G-20 countries agreed
on principles for financial market regulation, including expanded controls on
hedge funds and derivatives trading, and tax havens, as well as rules on
compensation and bonuses.
Govt. seeks more trade
financing facilities
The
government was in negotiation with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and
International Finance Corporation (IFC) — the World Bank’s investment arm - to
secure more trade financing facilities to help boost the country’s exports, The Jakarta Post reported.
“We’ve
already got half of billion (US dollars) for trade financing from
According
to Indrawati, the funds raised from trade financing facilities will later be
pooled in a budget allocated to the revitalization of Bank Ekspor Indonesia — a
government institution currently being transformed into the Indonesian Exports
Financing Agency (LPEI).
LPEI will
provide a financing scheme different to that of most banks, as not only the
requirements will be relatively easy, but it will also provide financing for new
players, a rarity for commercial banks.
Establishment
of the LPEI was mandated by a 2008 law endorsed by the House of Representatives
last December.
Amid the
ongoing credit crunch resulting from the global economic crisis, LPEI is
expected to be useful for exporters, helping them to penetrate new markets,
complementing financing schemes already provided by commercial banks.
Indrawati
did not mention the amount
M
Hidayat, chairman of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin),
has said a minimum amount of $1 billion is required to prevent exports from
falling further.
Non-oil
and -gas exports contracted 28.3% to $12.3 billion in the first two months of
this year, from $17.1 billion in the corresponding period last year, according
to the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS).
Total
exports stood at $14.2 billion in that period, representing a 34.5% drop from
the $21.7 billion recorded a year earlier, BPS says.
Bank
Indonesia (BI) and Bank of Japan signed an agreement to increase the value of
bilateral swap arrangement (BSA) in the framework of the Chiang Mai Initiative
to $12 billion from originally $6 billion, Asia Pulse reported.
The
facility could be used in the event of shocks that need additional supply of
foreign exchange, BI deputy governor Hartadi A. Sarwono said.
Made
Sukada, BI director of economic research and monetary policy, said the doubling
of the BSA value will improve market confidence and encourage capital inflows
to
So far,
the country still has a safe amount of foreign exchange reserves at around
$54.8 billion, enough to service the government's foreign debt and finance
imports for 5.9 months.
LPS cuts maximum guaranteed rupiah deposit rate
State-owned deposit-insurance corporation, LPS, said it has
cut its maximum guaranteed rupiah rate by 50 basis points to 7.75%, but kept
its guaranteed dollar deposit rate unchanged at 2.75%, Reuters reported.
The cut, which comes into effect on April 15, brings the
rupiah rate to its lowest level since it was introduced in 2005, the agency's
executive director Firdaus Djaelani said, and is intended to give commercial
banks more room to lower their lending rates and help boost the economy.
Last week, Bank Indonesia (BI) cut its policy interest rate
by 25 basis points to 7.5%. BI has cut its key rate by a total of 2 percentage
points since December amid a global economic slowdown and slowing inflation.
"Inflationary pressure is seen falling, the BI
benchmark rate has been falling, and banking liquidity has started to
improve," Djaelani said.
Govt. eyes
samurai bond of five-10 year maturity
The government’s planned yen-denominated samurai bond issue
will have a maturity of five to 10 years and may be issued either this year or
next, depending on market conditions, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati
said on Tuesday, Reuters reported.
“We will see the existing market conditions and the timing
as well, in 2009 or 2010,” Indrawati told reporters.
The Finance Ministry expects to raise a total equivalent to
$1.5 billion from the bond issue.
Rahmat Waluyanto, the Finance Ministry's Director General
for Government Debt, has said the bond may be issued in several stages.
STATE CONCERNS
Govt. mulls
funding fiber optics for eastern region
The government is considering using state budget funds to
finance a fiber optic network to serve as a telecommunications backbone for
eastern
The network, known as the Palapa Ring, covers a distance of
11,000 km from Nusa Tenggara to Maluku and Papua.
Communication and Information Minister Muhammad Nuh said the
information and communication technology sector contributed Rp7 trillion ($623
million) in non-tax revenue to the state budget last year.
The government hopes to be allowed to use the fund and
Universal Service Obligation (USO) fees to develop ICT-related sector projects,
including the Palapa Ring, Nuh said.
The use of the fund, which has been paid into the state
budget, will require approval from the House of Representatives.
The project has been awarded to a consortium of four
cellular operators: PT Telkomsel, PT Indosat, PT Excelcomindo Pratama and PT
Bakrie Telecom.
The members of the consortium have been reduced from seven
and it has so far only been able to raise $180 million of the required $225
million investment, resulting in implementation delays.
The global financial crisis has also weakened the rupiah
against the US dollar, increasing the cost of the project.
SOEs
Garuda’s
Citilink to receive five Boeing aircraft
The unit already has three aircraft: two Boeing 737-300s and
a Boeing 737-400.
Citilink hopes to have 10 aircraft when it start to operate
as an independent airline later this year, says Joseph Saul, the vice president
of the Citilink business unit of Garuda.
Saul said Citilink will start with an initial capital of
Rp300 billion, including Rp75 billion in capital from Garuda as a shareholder.
Citilink resumed regular flights in September 2008 serving
16 domestic routes after being grounded in January that year, Bisnis Indonesia reported.
PRIVATE SECTOR
The US Export-Import Bank has approved around $1 billion in
financing for Lion Air to buy new airplanes, the
“Ex-Im Bank's financing allows Lion Air to gain very
competitive rates and favorable credit access similar to the most advanced
countries in the world," US Ambassador Cameron R. Hume said in the
statement, without elaborating on the terms of the financing.
The embassy said Ex-Im Bank has authorized $238 million
financing for Boeing (BA) 737-900ER airplanes, and given preliminary
authorization for another $841 million, to allow Lion Air to purchase a total
of 30 new passenger jets.
"We are delighted to be able to offer Lion Air the
reduced exposure fee available under this treaty, which reduces the legal risks
associated with cross-border, asset-backed aircraft financings and
leases," said Ex-Im Bank vice president for transportation Robert Morin.
The Cape Town Treaty is an international regulation that
standardizes various aspects of transactions involving aircraft and aircraft
engines, primarily leasing and sale arrangements of such assets.
BANKS
BI may scrap relax
rules to boost banks credits
Bank Indonesia (BI) may scrap a rule that forces banks to
classify loans as non-performing should they plan to revamp the debt, Governor
Boediono said, Bloomberg reported
“The banks complained ‘this is not fair, what we want to do
is anticipate non-performing loans, not to let them happen',” Boediono said in
an interview on Monday. “We think that is correct.”
Non-performing loans are expected to rise this year, he
said.
“We are interested in maintaining credit growth,” Boediono
said. “One way to facilitate that is to improve the room for restructuring
loans.”
BI is also encouraging commercial lenders to raise capital
to help them handle an expected increase in bad loans, he added.
BI wants to achieve lending growth of at least 15% this year
after a 31% hike in 2008, Boediono said.
Non-performing loans in
Johanes Bambang Kendarto, a director at PT Bank Mega in
BI tightened lending rules in 2005 in a bid to improve
transparency and sell bank stakes to recoup Rp450 trillion ($39.6 billion)
spent to bail out lenders after the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis. The move
came after banks set higher lending targets for the year due to an improving
economy.
BRI to roll
out 4,000 new ATMs
State-owned PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI) said it will have
4,000 new automatic teller machines (ATM) in operation this year, Asia Pulse
reported on Thursday.
With the additional units the state bank will have 6,700
ATMs, the largest network in the country, operations director Sarwono Sudarto
said.
BRI, which recorded the largest net profit last year, also
plans to build 1,500 new branch offices by the end of the year, bringing the
total number of branches to 7,000, Sudarto said.
POWER
PLN to set
power purchase prices
State power company PT PLN holds the mandate to set power
purchase prices to buy electricity produced by its business partners, aiming at
flexibility amid the dynamics of economic circumstances, an official said, The Jakarta Post reported.
The Director General for Electricity and Energy Utilization
at the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry, J. Purwono, said that the rights
were based on the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry’s regulation, the
Guideline for Power Purchase Prices for Cooperatives or other Independent Power
Producers (IPPs), enacted last week.
“(The reason behind the regulation is) so that prices do not
hinder investment. The investment climate establishes the standard for price
setting, namely that there should be good prices (in the eyes of investors)
while, at the same time, these conform to (social) order,” Purwono said.
Purwono said purchase prices were determined by various
indicators, including the type of power plants, their locations and their
capacities; macro-economic indicators; the level of local content; fuel prices;
quality; and foreign exchange rates.
“This is the reason why PLN can set different prices for
different business deals,” he said. Purwono added that PLN should first receive
the government’s agreement before implementing prices.
He said that the government will play a bigger role in
determining the parameters for power purchase prices.
Earlier this year the government announced it would set the
standard for power purchase prices at $0.58 cents to $0.8 cents per KWH.
The IPP winner and the power purchase price could be
established through several mechanisms, including open bidding, direct
appointment or direct selection.
IPPs are expected to generate about 40% of PLN’s
second-phase 10,000 MW power program, expected to start adding capacity in
2014.
In the first-phase program, launched in 2006 to meet the
increasing demand for electricity nationwide, especially for the Java-Bali
system, all power plants belong to PLN.
Pertamina needs $3.5B to
build geothermal power plants
PT
Pertamina Geothermal Energy said it will need up to $3.52 billion to meet its
target of building geothermal power plants with a total capacity of 1,340 MW
until 2014, Asia Pulse reported.
Suryadharma,
the operation director of the subsidiary of state oil and gas company PT
Pertamina, said some of the projects are already in operation such as Kamojang
200 MW, Sibayak 12 MW and Lahendong 60 MW.
Pertamina
may not need loans to build the geothermal projects as they are to be carried
out in phases in several years, Suryadharma was quoted as saying by Bisnis Indonesia.
However,
Anang Rizkani Noor, a Pertamina vice president, said some of the projects such
as PLTP Lumut Balai 1-4, Lahendong 5-6 and Ulu Belu 3-4 will be financed with a
loan from the World Bank .
Truba Alam seeking $189M
loan for power plant
PT Truba
Alam Manunggal Engineering is seeking a loan of $189 million this year to
finance the construction of a power plant, Asia Pulse reported on Monday.
The
company plans to build a 270-MW coal-fired power plant in Kuala Tanjung,
Head of
investment relations Gamala Katoppo said the company has completed analysis of
the environmental impact and construction will start immediately after the
funds are available.
Katoppo
said the company will seek loans from local and foreign banks to build the
independent power plant to be operational in 2011.
The
project is estimated to cost $270 million and will be built in cooperation with
Ratchaburi Electricity Generating Holding, Investor
Daily said.
OIL & GAS
Italy’s Eni
finds oil, gas offshore
Italy's biggest oil and gas group, Eni SpA, has made a new
hydrocarbon discovery offshore East Kalimantan as it aims to boost activity in
the region, Eni said in a statement on Monday, Reuters reported.
The Jangkrik discovery, drilled in 400 meters of water,
"represents a significant success in Eni's exploration efforts in the
Eni said it planned to proceed with the appraisal of its
Jangkrik discovery and to assess the technical and commercial viability of a
fast-track development of the new field.
Eni also participates in the development of significant gas
reserves located in the Rapak and Ganal blocks in the
In the nearby
Eni holds overall working interests in 11 permits in
Other activities are in the
PGN to invest
$150M this year
State gas distributor PT Perusahaan Gas Negara (PGN) said it
will set aside $150 million in capital spending this year, Asia Pulse reported.
The fund will be used to build networks of gas transmission
and distribution pipelines in a number of areas in the country this year, PGN
corporate secretary Wahid Sutopo said.
Sutopo said one of the projects is replacement of part of
the Grissik-Singapore pipeline between Tungkal and Panaran that transports gas
from Jambi to
Around 23 km of the pipes have buckled in the Kuala
Tungkal-Panaran section located around 110 km from the Grissik gas field.
PGN also plans to build gas pipeline in
TPPI eyes May
restart: Source
Trans Pacific Petrochemical Indotama (TPPI) may resume
operations in May after a 15-month shutdown, with first products possibly ready
by the end of the month to capitalize on rising domestic demand for gasoline,
an industry source close to the developments said on Tuesday, Reuters reported.
The TPPI petrochemical and refining complex has been closed
since late February 2008 when it was forced to cease operations due to breaches
in the breakwater wall that protects the plant from the sea.
"It should start up in May and first products could be
ready before June," the source said.
The complex, in Tuban,
It signed a deal with state-owned oil and gas company PT
Pertamina in December to supply the company with gasoline, enabling TPPI to
produce less aromatics and more of the auto fuel to help raise its profits.
TPPI has the capacity to produce 50,000 bpd of gasoline, but
it is unclear whether all of it is committed to Pertamina.
Pertamina has raised its gasoline stock level to 19 days
from 18, and is planning to raise it further to 20 days to secure supplies
ahead of parliamentary polls this week followed by presidential elections on
July 8.
The deal between Pertamina and TPPI was clinched at a
premium to market price, a TPPI official said in December, with Pertamina
agreeing on the price of the 88-octane gasoline at 1.2% above market price.
The petrochemical market has rebounded from last years' lows
and plants around the region have started raising runs to capitalize on a
demand recovery in
TPPI is currently in discussions with upstream oil and gas
regulator BP Migas to secure supplies of condensate for May, the source said.
Before the plant shutdown, European trader Vitol, which
helped finance the complex, was a major lifter of its products and supplied
TPPI with feedstocks.
TPPI also bought Indonesian condensate from Pertamina and
European major Total, which produces Senipah condensate. TPPI was also
importing naphtha.
Pertamina owns 15% of TPPI and local company PT Tuban
Petrochemical Industries has 59.5%. Siam Cement of Thailand and Japanese firms
Sojitz Corp and Itochu Corp hold the rest.
Pertamina receives $3B
standby loan
State-owned oil and gas company PT Pertamina has received a
standby loan worth $3 billion (Rp36 trillion) from 13 local and international
financial institutions, Antara reported.
“We will use the fund to finance some upstream and downstream
projects aimed at boosting oil production and smoothing oil and liquefied
petroleum gas [LPG] distribution to the public,” Pertamina financial director
Frederick Siahaan said Thursday.
Siahaan said Pertamina had allocated capital expenditures
amounting up to $2 billion.
MINING
March tin exports seen up
29% on year
"It
looks like the global financial downturn has little impact on demand for
About
82%, or 9,141 tons, of shipments in March went to
The price
of tin, used in food packaging and soldering of electronic components, has
fallen around 57% from an all-time high of $25,500 a ton hit last May as the
global economic crisis hit.
The price
of tin on the London Metal Exchange stood at $10,870/$10,770 a ton in Asian
trade on Tuesday.
The
estimate was also up nearly 30% from 8,534.23 tons exported in February.
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[1] This Trade and Investment News is a publication of the Coordinating
Ministry for Economic Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia. Readers are
welcomed to forward it in its original form but no reproduction is allowed
without permission.