THE
COORDINATING MINISTRY FOR ECONOMIC AFFAIRS
Tel: (021) 351-1178
Fax: (021) 351-1186 Website: http://www.ekon.go.id
Trade and
Investment News[1], 18 May 2009
Highlights
National
·
First
World Ocean Conference pact to protect from impact of climate change
Politics
·
Three-way
race for presidency in July 8 polls
Terrorism
·
Two
terrorism suspects from Maluku, Poso conflicts arrested in
Security
·
ASEAN
police grouping to establish headquarters in
Law & order
·
Two
arrests in Rp220 billion local government fund ‘cybercrime’
Health
·
Concerns
as first swine flu case confirmed in
Economy
·
First-quarter
growth recorded at 4.4%, statistics bureau reports
Business briefs
Macroeconomy
·
Foreign
reserves hit $56.6 billion, above projections
·
Bank
Investment
·
Volkswagen
confirms
·
Pencil
maker Faber Castell to expand operations in
State concerns
·
President
promises to concentrate policies on steps for poor, unemployed
·
Tax
chief Darmin Nasution named as senior deputy governor at Bank
SOEs
·
Government
raises 2009 dividend target for sector
·
Net
profit falls by 23.4% at PT Telkom
Private sector
·
Cement
maker PT Holcim seeks loans for takeover of Malaysian affiliate
·
Car
sales drop 28% through April, says industry association
Banks
·
Bank
Rakyat
·
Shariah
banking sector continues to grow
Oil & gas
·
13-bank
consortium to lend $650 million for Pertamina capital expenditure
·
Crude
output falls in April but gas production increases
Mining
·
Berau
Coal assessed for possible initial public offering
NATIONAL
WOC
declaration adopted
Wrapping up an arduous two-year negotiation process, 76
countries, including
Representatives from the 76 countries officially adopted the
Manado Ocean Declaration after four days of meetings at the World Ocean
Conference in the North Sulawesi capital of
“All participants have unanimously agreed on the points that
have been delivered and the next step will be to bring the declaration to
Numberi said the declaration reflected participants’
political will “that oceans and coastal area issues will be included in future
climate change negotiations.”
The declaration contained 35 paragraphs and highlighted the
need for financial resources and incentives to help developing countries
protect oceans and seas, for renewable ocean technologies, and for funding for
more research into the impact of climate change on oceans and the role of large
bodies of water in fighting the harmful effects of climate change.
Arief Havaz Oegroseno, head of the Indonesian delegation,
said the declaration also invited parties to the UNFCCC to submit adaptation
project proposals for coastal and ocean management to the Adaptation Fund
Board.
Numberi denied accusations by NGOs that the declaration did
not adequately protect the fisheries sector, saying the statement included all
actions necessary to secure the livelihoods of coastal communities in
Numberi said that the declaration was not a scientific
document but a political one.
Following the WOC, six member countries of the Coral
Triangle Initiative (CTI) agreed to push ahead to create a secretariat and work
out funding later in a bid to protect the region’s fast-diminishing coral
reefs, said Numberi.
Officials of the six nations --
The secretariat is in the very early stages. Only the
The body is seeking $70 million from the Global
Environmental Fund, which addresses the funding of global environmental issues,
particularly climate change adaptation and mitigation.
Although no decision has been made on the location of the
secretariat, Indonesia is considered the likely location although the
Philippines is reportedly also vying for the site, which can be expected to
generate one of the world’s top marine research centers.
"The Indonesian government is very concerned about the
arbitrary detention of Aung San Suu Kyi and we are hoping for a legal process
so we know the basis for her detention," foreign ministry spokesman Teuku
Faizasyah said.
The 63-year-old Nobel Prize winner and democracy leader is
facing five years' jail for allegedly breaching the terms of her house arrest
after a
She has already spent most of the past two decades confined
to her home after winning 1990 elections which were never recognized by the
ruling military authorities.
"The charges against her are not appropriate. Why
should Aung San Suu Kyi be detained when it was the American national who swam
across the waters to her house?" Faizasyah said.
"For the time being, we don't see any good coming out
of the trial, if it were to take place. Our main position is to call on
The Jakarta-based ASEAN secretariat has made no comment
about Aung San Suu Kyi's impending trial, which has drawn strong international
condemnation.
POLITICS
Three-way
race set for presidential election
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is set for a three-way
race in elections on July 8 after former President Megawati Sukarnoputri on
Saturday cemented her coalition plans with the Greater Indonesia Movement Party,
Reuters reported.
Yudhoyono, a popular reformer who is heavily tipped to be
re-elected, also faces a challenge from Vice President Jusuf Kalla, also
finalized his presidential ticket at the General Elections Commission in
On Friday, Yudhoyono confirmed his vice presidential running
mate would be central bank governor Boediono.
Yudhoyono's approval rating of 67%, against 12% for Megawati
and 2% for Kalla, makes it almost certain he will win a second term, bar some
unexpected blow.
The outcome of the presidential vote could affect the pace
of reforms that are critical for attracting investment, creating jobs and
driving economic growth which slowed in the first quarter of 2009 to its
weakest in five years
"He (Boediono) will help me to overcome the economic
crisis," Yudhoyono told a ceremony in
Boediono, 66, is a respected technocrat who has held
high-profile jobs in the cabinet and central bank during
His candidacy, which had been widely expected, has been seen
as market-friendly and was welcomed by analysts because of his clean image.
"Boediono is probably the cleanest out there,"
said Anton Gunawan, chief economist at Danamon Bank. "Even when he was a
minister he still lived in his own house and doesn't like to have the official
car."
Boediono confirmed on Friday he had submitted his
resignation as central bank governor, news that prompted a stock market
sell-off on concerns about the course of monetary policy.
Megawati, who lost to Yudhoyono in 2004 elections, will run
with Prabowo Subianto, a former general who has faced questions over his human
rights record in the Suharto era.
TERRORISM
Terrorist suspects nabbed in E. Kalimantan
Personnel from the National Police’s Detachment 88
anti-terrorist squad detained two terrorist suspects in separate arrests in
Police on Monday announced the arrest of Abuzar, wanted over
a 2002 attack on a Police Mobile Brigade post in Loki village, Maluku. Five
officers were killed in the attack.
The second suspect, identified by the initials LK, was
allegedly involved in communal violence in Poso,
“The two men were hiding but we tracked them down,” the
source said, adding the suspects would soon be transferred to National Police
headquarters in
Police have already arrested three suspects in connection with
the Loki violence. Four others remain at large.
SECURITY
ASEANPOL to
help beef regional security
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will
establish a headquarters in
The headquarters would be the first for ASEANPOL and
represents a stepping-up of the organization which until now has been mostly a
forum for regional police chiefs.
ASEAN consists of
Malaysian Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein told the
Bernama news agency that the association would be tasked with curbing crime in
the region, especially the drugs trade and people trafficking.
The announcement came at the 29th ASEANPOL conference in
At the meeting, Australian Federal Police Commissioner Mick Keelty said
Some active-duty and retired Indian military officials have
suggested more diplomacy with
A senior ministry official said
The two countries have also discussed joint patrols by
Indian and Indonesian warships in the Strait of Malacca, the sea route to the
east for ships including oil tankers from the
An Indonesian diplomat said that
LAW & ORDER
Two arrested over
Rp220B Bank Mandiri fraud
Two people have been arrested over a Rp220 billion ($21.2
million) fraud case at Bank Mandiri in Jelambar,
A spokesman from Jakarta Police special crimes unit said the
two suspects are the head of Bank Mandiri’s Jelambar branch and one of the
bank’s local customers.
Jakarta Police spokesman Chrysnanda Dwi Laksana said on Wednesday
that it was certain that the funds had been taken out of the account in an
unconventional way.
The perpetrator had tapped into the account through
professional use of sophisticated information technology, which classified the
case as cybercrime. The police will involve the Indonesian Financial
Transaction Reports and
According to police, the case started with a fund
disbursement on February 4. At the time the bank received a check totaling
Rp220 billion from the
The suspects reportedly placed the Rp200 billion in a
three-month deposit account and sent the rest of the money to multiple accounts
owned by other suspects who are currently on the run.
When the deposit account expired on May 4, the bank’s branch
head withdrew the money and transferred Rp198 billion into his accomplice’s
account by means of a fake recommendation letter signed by the North Aceh
government treasury, said police.
Police blocked several accounts allegedly owned by several
suspects and seized Rp2.03 billion in cash from the two arrested suspects.
Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comm. Chrysnanda said his
officers are still questioning more witnesses including the auditing team at Bank
Mandiri central branch.
HEALTH
H1N1 fears
raised as
Malaysia's top health official confirmed Friday the
country's first case of Influenza A (H1N1) amid fears that some of those
exposed to the infected patient could have gone on to Indonesia, Agence
France-Presse reported.
"I can confirm (that it) is the first case in
Acting Health Minister Kong Cho Ha, who addressed a hastily convened
press conference, said the patient was a 21-year-old male student who arrived
on a flight from the
He said the patient came down with fever, sore throat and
body aches the day after his return and was admitted to the Sungai Buloh
quarantine facility in central Selangor state on the same evening and is now in
stable condition.
The government has urged all passengers who travelled on
Malaysian Airlines flight MH091 from
He said there was a fear that some of those exposed to the
infected patient may have gone on to
Officials could not immediately confirm how many Indonesians
were on board or if any passengers continued onto
A number of suspected swine flu patients have been receiving
treatment in
The latest World Health Organization figures show the number
of laboratory-confirmed H1N1 flu cases worldwide is 7,520 in 33 countries.
A total of 65 people have died from the disease, most of
them in
ECONOMY
Govt. raises debt target
The government has raised its target for the amount of bonds
to be sold this year by almost 50%, apparently to take advantage of the
attractiveness of
Rahmat Waluyanto, the Finance Ministry's Director General of
Debt Management, told a press briefing on Wednesday that the government had
bumped up its bond market fund-raising target in a “gross calculation” to
Rp142.3 trillion ($13.7 billion) for the year, The Jakarta Globe reported.
The figure was an increase from the earlier target of Rp99.6
trillion, he said, adding that the figure had been raised in part because the
country needed money for its fiscal stimulus package.
Before the target was raised,
The government raised Rp5.375 trillion ($518.8 million) in a
debt auction on Tuesday, outstripping a target of Rp2 trillion, supported by
expectations for lower rates and improving conditions in the bond market,
Reuters reported.
Waluyanto also sought to clarify reports by local media
quoting National Development Planning Board (Bappenas) officials as saying that
the country did not need to draw on standby loans.
He said that if market conditions prove unfavorable, the
government could still opt to draw upon the $5.5 billion in standby loans it
has secured from such sources as the Asian Development Bank, the World Bank,
and the governments of
The Central Bureau of Statistics reported on Friday that the
economy grew at an annual rate of 4.4% in the first quarter of 2009, the
slowest pace in five years, Reuters reported.
The Finance Ministry had forecast annual growth of between
4.3% and 4.8% for the first quarter.
While the figure represented a significant slowdown in
growth, Bloomberg reported that
Consumer sentiment in
Spending by consumers jumped 5.8% in the first quarter from
a year earlier, from 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Investment increased 3.5%,
while exports were down 19.1%.
Meanwhile, annual inflation in June is expected to ease to
around 5%, BI deputy governor Hartadi
Sarwono said on Friday.
Annual inflation was 7.31% in April, the lowest since
December 2007, helped by easing food prices. Annual inflation was 7.92% in
March.
With Governor of Bank Indonesia Boediono resigning from the
position on Friday to run with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in the July 8
elections, it was unclear who would head the bank.
Director General of Tax Darmin Nasution earlier that week
was appointed as senior deputy governor, replacing outgoing Miranda Goeltom.
Boediono
told a press conference on Friday night that he had submitted his resignation
to the president, The Jakarta Post
reported. "In accordance to the regulation, I resign. And I have
thoroughly discussed about this with my partners at Bank
"I
see that the market is calm now, and that makes me feel quite relaxed with my
resignation in such times," he added.
Boediono
said without an active governor, the central bank would "operate under
mechanism ruled by existing law".
BUSINESS BRIEFS
MACROECONOMY
2009 forex reserves higher than predicted: BI
Sarwono said the foreign exchange reserves were still safe despite foreign debt
repayment pressures.
"Foreign exchange reserves must be made available as they
are needed to deal with a possible shock," he said.
He said the budget surplus stored in foreign exchange
reserves was higher due to the first quarter trade surplus of $1.8 billion.
Exports of non-oil and gas commodities during the first
quarter had reached around $20 billion in the first quarter, $2 billion higher
than BI’s prediction.
“Although the value of non-oil and gas exports is above
estimates they remained affected by the global financial crisis," he said.
BI sees room to cut rates further
Bank Indonesia (BI) sees room to cut interest rates further
on the back of lower inflation, its senior deputy governor said on Thursday,
Reuters reported.
“The BI rate is dependent on inflation,” BI Senior Deputy
Governor Miranda S. Goeltom said.
The central bank has forecast annual inflation of between
4.3% and 4.6% in the second quarter and at the lower end of the 5-7% range in
the full year of 2009.
BI has slashed its key interest rate six times by a total of
2.25 percentage points since December, bringing the rates down to 7.25% earlier
this month - the lowest since the rate was introduced - after annual inflation
eased to 7.31% in April.
However, commercial banks have been slow to adjust lending
rates despite the monetary easing by the central bank, a crucial factor to help
boost growth.
BI said in a statement on May 5 that deposit rates have
fallen 126 basis points from December to April while lending rates for working
capital have been cut by just 16 basis points.
“We already met the banks and encouraged them to lower
lending rates. We listened to the banks to find out their difficulties in
lowering lending rates,” Goeltom said.
BI expects loans to grow around 15%-16% this year, about
half of the 30% loan growth last year.
Govt. to sell more retail bonds: Finance Ministry
The government plans to sell its sixth retail bond (ORI006)
in August, the Finance Ministry said on Wednesday, The Jakarta Post reported.
"Our aim in issuing the retail bond is to attract
bigger participation from individual investors, as government bonds normally
target institutional investors," Rahmat Waluyanto, the ministry's Director
General of Debt Management, told a press briefing.
"Only Indonesian citizens are allowed to buy retail
bonds. By strengthening domestic investment, we can prevent mass redemption by
foreign investors, which can affect market stability," he added. The
amount is yet to be determined.
According to Waluyanto, a retail bond is interesting to
retail investors because there is no default risk, and the return is higher
than (bank) deposit rates.
Finance Ministry's director of debt Bhimantara Widyajala
said the government would offer ORI006 by the end of July, expecting to sell it
in August.
ORI006 will be sold at Rp3 million per unit, with a maximum
purchase of Rp3 billion, and have a three-year maturity, he said. The coupon
has yet to be decided.
INVESTMENT
VW seals
The biggest European car maker, Volkswagen, said on Monday
it had signed a partnership in
VW and the Indonesian group Indomobil plan to build VW cars
in
Output capacity would be progressively enlarged, the German
group forecast, as VW aims to gain market share in both
The statement quoted VW board member Christian Klinger as
saying that "global market developments demonstrate the importance of
timely positioning in growth regions."
Klinger had indicated in a press interview last week that a
partnership in
Faber Castell to increase investment in
German pencil maker Faber Castell will continue to increase
its investment in
"
Faber Castell
IDX expects 15 firms to launch IPOs this year
The Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) expects 15 companies to
launch initial public offerings (IPOs) later this year, IDX director Eddy
Sugito said Thursday, Dow Jones reported.
Two of the 15 companies, PT Metropolitan Kencana and PT
Protelindo Telekomunikasi
"The two will sell a minimum 10% of their stakes
through IPOs," Sugito said.
PT Batavia Prosperindo Finance plans to sell a 45% stake
while PT Katarina Utama plans to sell a 33% stake later this year, depending on
the market situation, he added. Sugito did not give the names of the other
companies.
STATE CONCERNS
Focus on protecting poor, workers: President
The government this year will focus on shielding people from
the impact of the global financial crisis, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
said Tuesday, The Jakarta Post reported.
"The right and realistic theme for these two years is
(economic) recovery. It is not about achieving the highest growth possible, but
protecting the people from the impact of the crisis," said Yudhoyono,
while opening the 2009 National Development Planning Meeting in
Yudhoyono cited seven priorities: preventing unemployment,
protecting the property sector, reducing inflation, maintaining people's
purchasing power, protecting the poor, stabilizing the price of food and energy
and maintaining growth between 4% and 5%.
He said both central and local governments should draft
their 2010 budget in line with the priorities to help the economy cope with the
global downturn.
Tax office chief is new BI senior deputy governor
The House of Representatives on Monday appointed the
Director General for Taxation, Darmin Nasution, as the new Bank Indonesia (BI)
deputy senior governor to replace Miranda S. Goeltom, who will end her tenure
in June, The Jakarta Post reported.
Ahmad Hafiz Zawawi, the chairman of the House's Commission
XI overseeing financial affairs, said 40 lawmakers from 10 factions attended Nasution’s
confirmation hearing as senior deputy governor.
At a meeting with the House, Nasution said BI, as a
supervisory body, should prevent players in the financial sector from
"excessive risk taking", adding that a new agency -- the Financial
Services Authority (FSA) -- would help manage this problem.
"Creating a credible BI is a definite prerequisite ...
There is a weakness in BI's governance structure," Nasution, known for his
success in cleaning up the highly corrupt tax office, told lawmakers.
Nasution supported the division between FSA and BI, with FSA
focusing on the supervision of the financial sector and BI acting as the
monetary authority.
Infrastructure guarantee fund to be set up
The government may set up a guarantee fund by June as part
of ongoing efforts to draw more private investment into infrastructure, a
senior government official said Wednesday, Dow Jones reported.
While several aspects of the operation of the fund remain
under discussion, the government has earmarked Rp1 trillion as "seed"
capital to attract private sector funds into infrastructure projects, said
Bastary Pandji Indra, director for public-private partnerships at the National
Planning and Development Board (Bappenas).
“The government will also seek loans from multilateral
agencies to boost the fund, which will help the government fulfill its commitment
in providing guarantees for infrastructure projects,” Indra told reporters.
In April the government secured a commitment from the Asian
Development Bank to provide up to $140 million funding for its Indonesian
Infrastructure Financing Facility (IIFF), which will provide long-term debt and
equity to infrastructure investors who find such funding difficult to obtain on
the commercial market.
The facility aims to leverage the funds it provides to
increase private-sector capital flowing into
Contractors move forward in Q1
Construction companies are beginning to feel the benefit of
The largest state-owned contractor, PT Wijaya Karya (Wika),
has secured contracts worth Rp2.7 trillion ($262 million), a jump of about 26%
from Rp2.1 trillion during the same period last year.
The company said it hoped to secure Rp3.7 trillion in new
contracts by the end of the first half, or about 40% of its anticipated Rp9.4
trillion in new projects for the year.
“We expect that most of the work will take the form of
government projects,” said Bintang Perbowo, Wika’s president director. “We’re
currently participating in a number of tenders for government infrastructure
projects and will hopefully have secured the contracts by July.” He declined to
give details of the tenders.
Wika recorded unaudited revenue of Rp1.26 trillion for the
first quarter, compared with Rp1.1 trillion in the year-earlier period.
Separately, private contractor PT Duta Graha Indah has also
secured Rp148 billion in new contracts, including projects for the construction
of roads in
Duta Graha said government infrastructure projects in the
first three months had produced positive growth for the company of about 62.3%
compared with the same period last year.
SOEs
Govt. lifts SOE dividends forecast
The government plans to take Rp29.08 trillion ($2.8 billion)
in dividends from state-owned enterprises this year, higher than its previous
projection of Rp26.1 trillion, despite already cutting several companies’
dividend percentages in order to help them cope with the global crisis, The Jakarta Globe reported.
This is the third time the government has revised its
dividend target this year, from its most pessimistic outlook of Rp26.1 trillion
in April, a reduction from the most optimistic outlook of Rp30.8 trillion in
January.
“We have 10 major sectors out of 36 that have contributed
about 98% of this year’s dividends,” State Minister for State Enterprises
Sofyan Djalil said during a hearing with the House of Representatives on
Wednesday.
“All of them improved their performance last year and
contributed about Rp28.6 trillion in dividends,” he said.
The ministry also announced a positive outlook for SOE
profits for 2009, despite the gloomy economic outlook this financial year, with
a net profit increase of about 11% to Rp79.3 trillion.
Telkom's net profit drops 23.4% in Q1
State-owned telecommunication company PT Telkom booked a
23.4% drop in its first-quarter net profit in 2009 on the back of higher costs,
The Jakarta Post reported.
Telkom's net profit was down Rp2.5 trillion ($240 million)
in the first quarter from Rp3.2 trillion in the same period a year earlier, a
report issued by the company said on Monday.
The biggest fall in revenue came from its fixed line
services, which dropped by 17% to Rp2.1 trillion, while interconnection revenue
fell by 15% to Rp1.9 trillion. Data and internet services also decreased 6% to
Rp3.7 trillion.
Meanwhile, first-quarter costs and revenue costs jumped 11%
and 93% respectively to Rp9.4 billion and Rp533 billion.
Revenues from cellular services increased by 9% to Rp6.5
trillion from a 40% increase in the number of cellular customers to 72.1
million and a 60% increase in call time usage.
In 2008, the company's net profit dropped 17% to Rp10.6
trillion from Rp12.8 trillion due to foreign exchange losses.
Jasa Marga to build Cengkareng-Serpong toll road
State-owned toll road operator PT Jasa Marga announced
Monday it plans to build a new toll road linking Cengkareng to Kunciran and
Serpong in Tangerang, Banten by 2011, The
Jakarta Post reported.
Jasa Marga’s finance director Reynaldi Hermansjah said the
company will partner with several private firms to build the 26.4 km toll road,
which needs a total investment of Rp3.8 trillion ($360 million).
The company said it will use Rp1.9 trillion of the money to
buy land, Rp1 trillion to construct the Cengkareng to Kunciran toll road and
another Rp900 billion for the Kunciran-Serpong section.
Jasa Marga is currently working on a number of toll roads
across Java, including the
The company said it aims to finish all the projects by 2012.
Semen Gresik to sign $600M loan for expansion
The country's largest cement producer PT Semen Gresik will
sign a loan agreement worth Rp6.3 trillion ($604.8 million) with a number of
local banks this month, finance director Cholil Hasan said Tuesday, The Jakarta Post reported.
"The loan will be used to finance part of capital
expenditure of $1.3 billion to be spent within five years, from 2008 to 2014,”
Hasan said.
Hasan said the signing would be the follow up to a
memorandum of understanding signed in December with Bank Mandiri, the lead
arranger for the loan agreement.
The 2008-2014 expansion plan aims to significantly boost the
production capacity of the company’s cement plants - both from the existing
plants and proposed new ones - and to construct new power stations.
For 2009 alone, the company targets to spend $297 million,
or equal to about 22.8% of the total proposed capital budget.
The funds will be used to finance production optimization
projects and improve processes by removing production bottlenecks, increasing
production capacity by another 1 million tons this year to bring it up to 19
million tons.
Semen Gresik president director Dwi Soetjipto said that the
demand for cement would recover in the next semester as the government's
stimulus package particularly for infrastructure projects would compensate for
lower private sector demand.
Perum Pegadaian set to go public
State pawn shop operator Perum Pegadaian is set to go
public, saying it would prefer Indonesian investors buy its shares rather than
foreign interests, The Jakarta Post
reported.
“The Indonesian investors know that many people still live
in poverty so they will not only be eager to earn big profits," Perum
Pegadaian president director Candra Purnomo told reporters during a public
announcement on Thursday.
According to Purnomo, the company helps poor people, who
usually borrow an average of Rp100,000 ($9.70). "We hope we can still help
those people after it goes public," he said.
According to Purnomo, the company has almost completed
preparations for the plan and is waiting for approval from the state minister
for state enterprises and the finance minister.
The company has more than 3,000 branches throughout the
archipelago and serves more than 16,000,000 costumers annually.
In 2008, the company made Rp901 billion in profit. It has set
a target of Rp1.2 trillion for this year
PRIVATE SECTOR
Holcim
Cement maker PT Holcim
Roughly a fifth of the acquisition will be financed via
internal cash flows.
“We are negotiating with several local banks to secure
rupiah loans. We hope to make an announcement next month,” said Tim Mackay,
Holcim
The company plans to acquire Holcim
Holcim
Car sales down 28% through April: Gaikindo
Car sales from January to April were down 28% to 134,868
units from 187,246 units in the same period last year, according to the
Association of Indonesian Automotive Manufacturers (Gaikindo), The Jakarta Globe reported.
Non-sedan car sales reached 129,990 units, down 26% from the
same period last year of 175,405 units.
The sedan car segment dropped to 4,878 units from 11,841
units in the same period last year.
Indofood may
boost bond issue by 50%
PT Indofood Sukses Makmur may raise the size of a five-year
bond issue planned for June to Rp1.5 trillion ($144.8 million) from Rp1
trillion, an underwriter said on Wednesday, Reuters reported.
"If we receive a good response and there's a healthy
demand for the bonds, Indofood may raise its issuance target to Rp1.5
trillion," Rusmin Kasim, a director at DBS Vickers Securities Indonesia,
told a news conference.
Indofood has appointed PT DBS Vickers Securities Indonesia,
PT Danareksa Sekuritas, PT ING Securities Indonesia, PT Kim Eng Securities, and
PT OSK Nusadana Securities Indonesia as underwriters.
The proceeds will be used to refinance Rp976 billion of
maturing debt and for working capital.
Astra Agro secures $150M loan for expansion
Publicly traded agribusiness company PT Astra Agro Lestari
said it will secure a loan of $150 million in July to finance business
expansion, Asia Pulse reported.
The subsidiary of Astra International plans to build crude
palm oil (CPO) processing factories in
The company will build two factories with a processing
capacity of 30 tons and 45 tons of fresh fruit bunches per hour, Santosa said.
The company will finish the construction of a CPO factory
now being built in Jambi this year, he added.
Astra Agro hopes to start harvesting 57,000 hectares of new
oil palm plantations in the next three to four years.
In the first quarter of this year the company reported Rp1.4
trillion ($135.8 million) in net income, down 38% from the same period last
year with net profit shrinking 74% to Rp217.7 billion on weak demand since the
last quarter of 2008, Investor Daily
reported.
BANKS
BRI sees loan growth
PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI) said on Monday it expects its
lending to grow 18-22% this year, higher than the central bank's target for the
sector of 15-16%, Reuters reported.
Indonesian authorities have been putting pressure on banks
to crank up lending in order to help shield the economy from the global
economic crisis. Many banks have been reluctant to cut lending rates, citing
the need to keep extra cash amid market uncertainty, despite a series of
central bank interest rate cuts.
“Lending expansion will be carefully selected and
prioritized on small, micro and medium-sized businesses,” the state bank said
in a statement. It aimed to keep such lending to 80% of its total loan
portfolio.
“To support lending growth, the bank will strengthen its
third-party deposits, which are expected to increase 15%.”
The bank also said that its gross non-performing loans this
year were expected to be below 5% and that it should maintain profit growth at
10-15% in 2009.
Indonesian bank loans' growth is expected to halve to around
15-16% in 2009 from about 30% last year.
Shariah bank assets creep higher in Q1
The performance of shariah banks in
According to Zuhdi, total assets of the shariah banks in the
period rose to Rp51.6 trillion or 3.2% from the same period last year which was
recorded at Rp50 trillion.
Although assets grew gross non-performing loans in the banks
were above 5%, he said.
"This was because of the impact of global economic
crisis. The net non-performing loans however could stand at 3.22%," he
said at an Asia Pacific Conference Exhibition.
OIL & GAS
Pertamina offered $650M loans by 13 banks for capex
Thirteen banks have offered $650 million in loans to
state-owned oil and gas company PT Pertamina to finance its capital expenditure
this year, The Jakarta Globe reported
on Friday.
Frederik Siahaan, Pertamina’s chief financial officer, said
it planned total capital expenditure of Rp21.9 trillion ($2.1 billion), mostly
for energy projects and exploration and exploitation activities.
Siahaan said about Rp8.8 trillion, or 40% of the total,
would come from external sources, of which the company has already secured
Rp2.3 trillion from BNP Paribas, HSBC and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking.
The loans would finance a polypropylene project at the
company’s processing plant in Balongan,
Siahaan said that about Rp14.4 trillion of Pertamina’s
capital spending this year would go to developing its upstream division, and
could involve acquiring an upstream company. “We are looking for opportunities
now, and if there’s a company available, we’ll pick it up,” he said.
April crude output falls, gas up
Crude oil output in April fell 1.1% to 822,700 barrels per
day (bpd) compared with 831,965 bpd in March, due to technical problems at
several fields, a senior official at upstream oil and gas regulator BP Migas
said Tuesday, Platts reported.
Crude and condensate output in April together fell 1.8% to
938,000 bpd compared with 955,025 bpd in the previous month.
Meanwhile,
The government initially targeted to produce 7.326 bcfpd of
gas in 2009, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said.
Total E&P Indonesia is expected to contribute 2.66
bcfpd, Pertamina 1.1 bcfpd and the new Tangguh project 500,000 million cubic
feet per day, Oil and Gas Director General at Energy and Mineral Resources
Ministry Evita Legowo has said.
Saipem wins $280M gas project deal
Italian offshore contractor Saipem has been awarded a new
contract by
Saipem, which is part of a consortium with PT SMOE
Indonesia, will work on the Central Processing Platform, the Wellhead Platform,
a connecting bridge and a 16-foot gas export pipeline.
The field is located in the Natuna block A in the
Govt. expects to sign Chubu, Kogas LNG deals
The government hopes to sign by June an agreement to sell
liquefied natural gas (LNG) fromTangguh gas block to Korea Gas Corp., and may
ink a further deal to sell LNG from Tangguh to
"To increase government revenues, BP Tangguh and BP
Migas have determined to sell LNG diverted from Sempra," Raden Priyono told
reporters.
Priyono said the government hopes the deals with the two
companies will secure "high prices" for the LNG.
BP Plc unit BP Tangguh operates the block. US firm Sempra
Energy has an offtake agreement for 3.6 million metric tons a year of LNG from
Tangguh, and is allowed to divert half of that volume to other customers.
The government in July reached an initial agreement with
Kogas to supply up to 1 million tons of LNG to the Korean firm, but has yet to
determine final volume and pricing.
The Tangguh gas project will deliver its first liquefied
natural gas (LNG) export to
This delivery is later than the government's initial target
of April, but Yusgiantoro saw no problem in the delay.
"We expect one cargo of LNG from Tangguh to be
delivered by the end of June," Yusgiantoro said, adding buyers in
Biodiesel exports projected to rise 20%
"Exports will rise because demand will also rise as oil
supply will probably drop quite a bit," second deputy chairman of the
Indonesia Palm Oil Council (DMSI), Sahat Sinaga, said on Friday.
Sinaga said the export rise needed to be supported by improved
port infrastructure and called on the government to immediately provide a special
pipe network for the distribution of the commodity.
In 2009,
In 2008, the country’s CPO exports reached 14.29 million
tons, with 33% sold to
Sembcorp unit secures $158M
Sembcorp said its Indonesian unit PT SMOE Indonesia is part
of a consortium with PT Saipem
The project is expected to be completed in 2011 and will
carry 140 million cubic feet of gas to Sembgas in
Medco plans $96M bonds issue
PT Medco Energi Internasional, the country’s biggest
publicly traded oil and gas company, will offer Rp1 trillion ($96 million) in
bonds to finance its working capital and capital expenditures this year,
financial director Cyril Noerhadi said Monday, The Jakarta Post reported.
Medco’s bonds, to be issued in two series, will be offered
in tenors of three and five years, with yields of between 12.6% and 13.6%, and
13.37% and 14.37%, respectively with a maturity date in 2012 and 2014.
Andi Sidharta, a director at PT Bahana Securities, said the
offering period for the bonds had been set for June 9-11, followed by a listing
on the Indonesia Stock Exchange on June 17.
MINING
2009 coal output revised down: Industry
Coal production in the first quarter fell 1.39% to 58.07
million tons, compared to 58.90 million tons in the same period of 2008.
"There were no cancellations from buyers, but they
reduced the shipment volumes," Bob Kamandanu, the newly elected chairman
of Indonesia Coal Association said.
"With the situation, production is most likely to hit
240 million tons. If demand improves in the second half, it could be much
higher but it will not reach 265 million," he said.
However, Indonesia's overall coal exports for 2009 should
still top the 206 million tons shipped in 2008 as coal demand was expected to
recover in the second half helped by Chinese and Indian demand, Kamandanu said.
Kamandanu said coal prices were likely to hover between $65
and $70 until the end of the year.
Berau Coal reviewed for possible IPO
Coal miner PT Berau Coal is being assessed for a possible
initial public offering and the due diligence should be completed by the end of
June, president director Bob Kamandanu said on Thursday, Reuters reported.
"We were informed by shareholders that a team of banks
would be conducting due diligence for the purpose of an IPO," Kamandanu
said.
Deutsche Bank, Bank of America's Merrill Lynch, and
PacBridge Capital Partners, are conducting the due diligence.
The team will review assets to determine the firm's market
value and whether to go ahead with the IPO, he said.
US coal miner Peabody Energy and Anglo-Swiss miner Xstrata
plan to bid for a majority stake in Berau Coal in a deal that may be valued at
around $1 billion, two sources with direct knowledge of the deal have said.
Berau Coal -- which has 1,200 square km concession area in
April tin exports down 22.5% on year
Refined tin exports fell an estimated 22.5% in April due to
slow demand, data showed on Tuesday, and shipments are likely to stay weak as
producers consider tin prices are still too low, Reuters reported.
Tin exports fell to 6,082.37 tons in April from 7,857.92
tons a year ago, Trade Ministry data showed.
"Tin exports in April were down because overall demand
for the metal was weakening," Alberth Yusuf Tobogu, director of mining
product exports, said.
About 79% of the April exports went to
Adaro net profit, revenue to rise in 2009
"We still believe in double-digit growth for
both," said operating director Ah Hoo Chia, when asked about the outlook
for revenue and net profit for 2009.
Adaro, which has a market capitalization of $3.64 billion,
sells to 48 customers in 18 countries worldwide, including power utilities Thai
Power and Indonesian state power company PT PLN. Exports account for 70%-72% of
its sales.
Adaro expects to produce 42-45 million tons of coal this
year, up from 38.5 million tons in 2008, and aims to increase production to 80
million tons per year in the next five years.
The firm reported a ten-fold increase in net profit last
year to Rp887.2 billion ($85.63 million) while revenue rose 56% to Rp18.09
trillion despite a global economic downturn that has led to a sharp drop in
commodity prices.
It also turned to a first-quarter net profit of Rp1.145
trillion this year from a Rp12 billion loss a year earlier, thanks to higher
average achieved selling prices of Envirocoal.
Indika expects 2009 coal output up 14%
PT Indika Energy said on Monday it expects coal output to
rise about 14% to nearly 25 million tons this year after finalizing the acquisition
of engineering firm PT Petrosea, Reuters reported.
Coal production at PT Kideco Jaya Agung, in which Indika has
a 46% stake, should reach 24 million tons this year, while Petrosea should add
an additional 850,000 tons, Aziz Armand, Indika's finance director, said.
Indika, which produced 22 million tons of coal in 2008,
expects coal production to reach nearly 28 million tons in 2010, including 26
million tons produced by Kideco and two million tons by Petrosea, Armand said.
In February, Indika Energy agreed to buy an 81.95% stake in
Petrosea from Clough International Singapore Pte. Ltd, for $83.8 million.
Petrosea has a 50% stake in local coal miner PT Santan Batubara.
The firm is now seeking shareholders approval for the
purchase of an 82% shares at Petrosea.
"We will hold a tender offer for the remaining 18% in
the third quarter of this year," Armand said.
Indo Tambangraya sees 2010 coal output up 25%
Coal miner PT Indo Tambangraya Megah expects coal output to
increase by up to 25% next year as production kicks in at new mines, the
company's president said on Tuesday, Reuters reported.
Commercial production at a mine at its PT Bharinto Ekatama
unit is expected to start at the end of 2010, Somyot Ruchirawat said.
"For production in 2010, we will try to increase from
Bharinto, the East Block and PT Trubaindo Coal Mining. It will be a 20%-25%
increase from the 2009 production target," Ruchirawat said.
The company plans to produce 20.5 million tons this year, up
from 17.8 million tons in 2008.
The company
said it was also looking at buying coal mines to increase output, but did not
elaborate on a timeframe.
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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
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