Education Hampering Indonesia’s Preparations for AEC in 2015

Education Hampering Indonesia’s Preparations for AEC in 2015

By Nadine Sumedi on 08:45 am Jun 24, 2014

Jakarta. The Indonesian government is confident that it can sustain and even increase economic growth following regional economic integration next year that will open up the country’s borders to a freer flow of goods, services and labor from Southeast Asian neighbors, but doubts remain over the ability of the local workforce to compete.

“Indonesia is still growing, and with 240 million people we have more productive people who are economically active than those who are not,” Chairul Tanjung, the coordinating minister for the economy, told the Jakarta Globe recently.

“This will allow us to fund growth which will continue for the next 20 to 30 years,” he added. Read more of this post

Joko Ignites Flurry With Plan to Buy Back Indosat; Though Indosat is majority-owned by Ooredoo (Qatar Telecom), Indonesia still has red-white shares, which gives the country veto power that can be exercised in the national interest

Joko Ignites Flurry With Plan to Buy Back Indosat

By Carlos Paath on 08:20 am Jun 24, 2014

Jakarta. Communications and Information Minister Tifatul Sembiring said presidential hopeful Joko Widodo should first calculate the state’s funds before going ahead with his plan to buy back shares of telecommunications firm Indosat if he is elected the country’s next president.

“Do we [Indonesia] have the money to buy [back] Indosat? If we do, then please go ahead,” said Tifatul on Monday.

Tifatul added that Joko would need to consult with the State Enterprises Ministry if he wanted to go ahead with the plan.

“Regarding the plan, why not ask Dahlan Iskan [SOE minister] first?” he said. Read more of this post

In Indonesia’s Elections, Poll Machinations Gone Wild

In Indonesia’s Elections, Poll Machinations Gone Wild

By Pitan Daslani on 09:18 am Jun 24, 2014

If you arrive in a place where pots are calling kettles black, wait a minute: that is probably Indonesia. This is a painful assumption that I hate to draw, witnessing the political crossfire involving retired military generals ahead of the July 9 presidential election.

All of a sudden some retired generals are attacking each other, revealing their true feathers. When still in uniform they looked like heroes and exemplary models of statesmanship. Today they look like villains whose selfish pursuits behind the presidential candidates have unmasked their quality of pseudo patriotism. Read more of this post

Future expansion of special economic zones (KEK) in Indonesia should be located outside Java to boost industrial development in regional areas and eventually trigger greater economic growth, according to a minister

Minister says KEK too focused on Java

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Business | Fri, June 20 2014, 12:13 PM

Future expansion of special economic zones (KEK) in the country should be located outside Java to boost industrial development in regional areas and eventually trigger greater economic growth, according to a minister.
The expansion of the KEK to areas outside Java is also a logical response to dwindling land supply in Java.
“There are only around 31,000 hectares of land in the country that can be used for industrial purposes, 26,000 hectares of which have been sold. Around 70 percent of that land is located in Java, thus limiting the prevalence of industrial development nationwide,” Industry Minister MS Hidayat said at the Indonesian Industrial Estate Association (HKI) national working meeting at the Le Meridien Hotel in Jakarta on Thursday. Read more of this post

Indonesian firms to sell dollar bonds despite rising concerns over private debt

Indonesian firms to sell dollar bonds despite rising concerns over private debt

Raras Cahyafitri, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Business | Sat, June 21 2014, 2:47 PM

Amid concerns of rising private sector debts, Indonesian companies are continuing to seek external funding in foreign currencies to support expansion or the refinancing of previous debts.
A number of companies have plans to sell dollar-denominated bonds, including the US$1.5 billion unsecured notes proposed by state-owned oil and gas giant PT Pertamina; $450 million bonds by coal miner PT Berau Coal Energy and $175 million bonds by property developer PT Pakuwon Jati, among others. Read more of this post

Prabowo’s capital control no different from today

Prabowo’s capital control no different from today

Raras Cahyafitri, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Business | Mon, June 23 2014, 11:07 AM

Presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto may have said he intended to impose stricter control over the country’s monetary system during a discussion last week, but his campaign team said the rupiah would continue to be a floating currency.
Speaking at a discussion with the business community on Friday, Prabowo said a more rational method to manage the exchange rate of the rupiah, which is under pressure, was necessary.
However, Drajad H. Wibowo, a member of Prabowo’s campaign team, said the floating exchange rate regime would be kept intact and there was no plan to change it into a pegged system. Read more of this post