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], 27 April 2009
Highlights
National
·
Conflict victims missed out on tsunami aid, report
shows
Politics
·
Commission approves open campaigning before
presidential poll
Terrorism
·
Alleged Poso terrorism suspect arrested
Security
·
Papua Police detect unidentified group behind
explosions
Law & order
·
President approves extradition of people smuggling
suspect
Health
·
UNICEF to fund clean water projects in four Papua
regencies
Economy
·
Government aims to cut $2 billion in spending to
reduce deficit, minister says
·
Finance minister raps banks for overly cautious
approach on credits
Business briefs
Macroeconomy
·
Economic growth tipped at between 5% and 6% in 2010
·
Analysts see economic pick-up in third quarter
Investment
·
·
PR Berlian Laju Tanker to invest $170 million in new
ships
State concerns
·
22 provinces line up for Special Economic Zone
status
SOEs
·
Government may end state monopoly in rail services
·
PT Semen Gresik records 10% profit boost in first
quarter
Private sector
·
PT Indosat first quarter net profit down 82.4% on
foreign exchange losses
Banks
·
Goldman Sachs raises bank ratings
Power
·
State utility PT PLN wins loans totaling $433
million from regional banks
·
Thermal power rates set for independent power
producers
Oil & gas
·
Mining
·
PT
Tambang Batubara Bukit Asam more than doubles first quarter net profit
NATIONAL
Tsunami aid
bypassed conflict victims: Report
Distribution of billions of dollars in aid after the 2004
The report, commissioned by a consortium of five of the
hardest-hit countries --
The December 26, 2004, tsunami, caused by an undersea
earthquake, killed more than 228,000 people and provoked a huge international
response, with some $13.5 billion pledged worldwide to fund recovery.
But the 105-page report, "The Tsunami Legacy: Innovations, Breakthroughs and Change,"
said that in Sri Lanka and Aceh, both hard hit, there was a need to aid the
victims of conflicts as well as those of the tsunami.
"However, most post-tsunami organizations largely
ignored the post-conflict context, in part due to donor-stipulated restrictions
on how they could use their funds," said the report. This led to local
grievances over perceived inequalities in aid provision.
"If conflict sensitivity had been more widespread and
funds not restricted to tsunami victims only, building back better could have
been more equitable all along," the report said.
The report was presented to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon
and former US President Bill Clinton, former UN special envoy for tsunami
recovery.
The report, however, also found much to praise in the aid
operation, including willingness by governments to delegate the task to local
organizations and a determination to combat corruption.
"Despite the influx of billions of dollars in
tsunami-affected countries, corruption levels across the board were kept
remarkably low," it said.
"Key to this success was a commitment to view
corruption, not as a nuisance or unfortunate side effect of the recovery, but
as a core threat to the reconstruction effort as a whole."
Ban and
President urges implementation of single identity plan
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Friday urged the
government to implement a plan to introduce a single identification number (SIN)
based on the personal information printed on citizens' ID cards, Detikcom
reported.
The president's special staff for legal affairs, Denny
Indrayana, said implementation is considered important to cope with problems caused
by confusion over the exact numbers of people in the country that was partly
responsible for the flawed voter list for the April 9 legislative election, he quoted
President Yudhoyono as saying.
Indrayana said the implementation of SIN will be one of many
solutions for voter list problems to smooth the upcoming presidential polls in
July 8. “Besides, the program will be useful for crime prevention, including
corruption,” he added.
NGO the Civil Administrative Consortium said earlier that
the plan was misguided because the current ID card system was insecure. It
suggested the planned SIN instead be based on information collected by a civil
registration agency.
The consortium said if ID cards became the basis for the
SIN, only adults would qualify, continuing to leave the number of Indonesians
in doubt.
POLITICS
Golkar leaves
ruling coalition, leaning towards Hanura
Golkar has opened up the national election race by declaring
Vice President Jusuf Kalla will stand against President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
in July’s presidential poll, The
Australian reported.
It is likely to be a poisoned chalice for Kalla, and is the
result of bloodletting within Golkar that came to a head at a meeting of
national leaders in
At a somber announcement by officials, all wearing the
party's traditional yellow blazers, Kalla, Golkar's chairman, thanked them for
bestowing on him "this heavy mandate".
The meeting resolved to seek coalition partners outside the
current arrangement with Yudhoyono's Democratic Party.
Although barely 11% of the vote from the parliamentary
elections a fortnight ago has been counted, it seems only the Democrats will
meet the 20% threshold of seats in the parliament - or 25% of the national vote
- to stand a candidate for the presidency in their own right.
Now that Golkar, which looks to have won about 15% of the
popular vote, has declared its intention to stand a candidate, the parties will
get into the nitty-gritty of coalition negotiations.
Deals with the smaller parties among the 38 that stood for
election will be the target for Golkar officials.
Golkar and the People' Conscience party (Hanura) on Friday
agreed to form a 'strong' coalition for the general election which will
reportedly include a number of other parties, The Jakarta Post reported.
The agreement was made at a meeting between Kalla and Hanura
chairman Wiranto.
"The two leaders have agreed to build a coalition with
strong support in the House of Representatives," Hanura's secretary
general Yus Usman Sumanegara said.
Open
campaigning allowed for presidential election: KPU
The General Election Commission (KPU) said open rallies will
be allowed during presidential election campaigning from June 13 to July 4, Republika reported.
The KPU also set a “quiet period” from July 5 to July 7,
when no campaigning will be allowed to give voters a chance to reflect before
casting their ballots.
Voting is set for July 8 and if no presidential candidate
reaches 50% of the votes, a run-off will be held on September 8.
Election officials last month considered a ban on campaign
rallies for the presidential election, arguing that voters would learn more
about candidates if they debated in the media instead.
The KPU also raised concerns rowdy campaigns could lead to
chaos and violence.
TERRORISM
Alleged Poso
terrorist suspect arrested
An extremist accused of murdering a professor in 2004 has
been arrested, police said, Agence France-Presse reported.
National Police spokesman Abubakar Nataprawira said the
suspect, Amirullah, is believed to be a member of a terrorist organization but
he would not confirm reports he was affiliated with the Jemaah Islamiyah
regional militant network.
Amirullah, also known as Kana, 30, was detained on Monday in
Amirullah allegedly shot dead a professor from
Jemaah Islamiyah militants, some of whom trained in
Religious unrest between Muslims and Christians in Poso and
surrounding districts claimed about 1,000 lives in 2000-2001.
SECURITY
Papua Police blame ‘group’ for election attacks
Recent bomb attacks linked to the legislative elections in
troubled Papua may have been orchestrated by a single group, police said
Friday, The
Police said a forensic laboratory report showed that
explosive materials used in both bombings were the same.
"The report shows that the bombs used TNT as its main
ingredient," National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Abubakar Nataprawira said.
He said TNT was used in bombs planted beneath the
"This confirmed our initial suspicion that the attacks
were orchestrated by a single group," Nataprawira said.
However, he refused to elaborate further, saying the details
and identity of the group were still being investigated.
A series of attacks rocked Papua the night before the
legislative elections on April 9, employing explosives, firearms and
traditional weapons.
At least five men, including three motorcycle taxi drivers,
were killed and several others severely injured in attacks surrounding the
legislative poll.
Coordinating Minister of Political, Legal and Security
Affairs Widodo Adisucipto earlier suggested the attacks were carried out by a
separatist group aimed at disrupting the elections.
Papua Police chief Insp. Gen FX Bagus Ekodanto has alluded
to the Free Papua Organization (OPM), saying the attacks were likely launched
by the same group which has for decades waged a campaign for the independence
of Papua.
"Months before the attacks we found banners and
pamphlets belonging to the OPM calling on supporters to cancel or disrupt the
legislation election, he said.
LAW AND ORDER
SBY approves
extradition of alleged people smuggler
A Middle Eastern man accused of heading up a major
people-smuggling operation will face charges in
Dual Iraqi-Iranian citizen Hadi Ahmadi has been in custody
in
He is accused of smuggling more than 900 asylum seekers to
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono last week gave final
approval for Ahmadi's extradition.
Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd praised the decision,
saying Ahmadi would face a range of very serious charges.
Yudhoyono's decision comes just days after he spoke with
Rudd about ways to intensify the fight against people smugglers.
Ahmadi has claimed Australian Federal Police tried to
recruit him in 2007 as an informant to expose other smugglers but said he
turned the offer down because he didn't want to become involved in
"political" matters.
Ahmadi's claims are contained in a judgment by the South
Jakarta District Court, which approved his extradition to
Meanwhile, two Indonesian men faced an Australian court on
Friday charged with people smuggling.
The Indonesians, aged 32 and 40, appeared briefly in the
Perth Magistrates Court in
Foreigners
arrested in major drug-smuggling attempts
Two foreign nationals were arrested at international entry
points in
In
"The arrest was made after an X-ray scan of the
suspect’s baggage," Tanjung Balai Karimun's Customs official Zul Achir
Siregar said.
Siregar said officials became suspicious of a small blue
suitcase carried by Awang bin Omar, 43, who arrived by ferry from
In East Java, customs and excise officers at
According to police, the woman was arrested for attempting
to smuggle 2.67 kg of pure heroin worth an estimated Rp5 billion ($465,000)
from
Chanraem Suwanson, 27, arrived in
“Officers became suspicious during an X-ray scan,” said
Argandiono, an official at Juanda’s customs and excise department.
Officers found the narcotics hidden behind fake pockets in
her handbag, which appeared to have been specially designed to carry the drugs,
he said.
The bust was the first time Juanda’s customs officials had caught
a heroin trafficker. Drug traffickers can face the death penalty in
In May 2008, officers found 7.2 kg of crystal
methamphetamine worth Rp8.55 billion smuggled from
HEALTH
Papua: UNICEF
to fund clean water management
The UN’s Children's Fund (UNICEF) will grant Rp6.5 billion
to fund the development of rainwater reservoirs and sanitation facilities in
four regencies in Papua, reported Antara.
Papua and West Papua UNICEF Representative Javier Alvarez
said the Biak Numfor, Jayapura, Jayawijaya and Puncak Jaya governments had
demonstrated strong commitment and cooperation to help provide clean water for
residents.
Clean water, environmental and HIV/AIDS programs have been
UNICEF’s main concern as they directly relate to the quality of human life,
Alvarez said.
"UNICEF will continue to encourage regencies in Papua
to establish clean water facilities in order to meet the basic needs of
residents,” he added.
ECONOMY
Govt.
to save $2B from budget to increase stimulus
The government is trying to save Rp21 trillion ($2 billion)
from the 2009 state budget to be able to cut the state budget deficit to 1.3%
of the gross domestic product (GDP) next year, Asia Pulse reported on Thursday.
Speaking to the press after opening a coordination meeting
of national development on Wednesday, State Minister of National Development
Planning Paskah Suzetta said the fund could also be used to increase fiscal
stimuli and to fund government subsidies next year.
The government was optimistic that the 2010 budget deficit
would be lower than the projected 2.5% of the GDP for this year, he said.
Suzetta, who is also chief of the National Development
Planning Agency (Bappenas), said the draft 2010 state budget would continue to
be based on conservative approaches although the economy would begin to recover
next year.
"The year 2009 is the most fragile phase as economic
growth will contract," he said.
Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati on Friday accused
bankers of delaying economic recovery by seeking the easiest possible means of
obtaining returns on investment, Kompas reported.
“All this time, the banks have only been seeking the easiest
possible means of making money by putting their funds in government bonds or
Bank
Indrawati said third-party funds controlled by the banks
were extremely large and one regional bank, Bank Jatim, had been able to
channel Rp1 billion into a power project of power utility PLN.
“The banks are saying why should we bother to use our cash
for economic activities which contain a level of risk, when it’s safer to buy
government bonds,” Indrawati said.
The twice-yearly Nielsen Consumer Confidence survey found
that
"
She said 86% of Indonesians were very optimistic with local
job prospects within the next 12 months and only 9% of them felt uncertain with
their job.
"Indonesians also perceive they can buy the things they
want and need even during the global crisis," she said.
"Indonesians also are confident with their personal
finances in the year ahead," she said.
The survey revealed that 70% of Indonesians were optimistic
about financial stability.
The financial markets faltered at the end of the week on
political concerns after the Golkar Party pulled out of coalition talks with
the president's Democratic Party, potentially making it harder to pass laws and
push reform, Reuters reported.
The main stock index had risen 11% between April 13, when
trading reopened after a holiday, and Tuesday's close. It then fell through the
week until by Friday it had fallen to 1,591.33 from 1,634.79 a week earlier.
BUSINESS BRIEFS
MACROECONOMY
2010 economy
growth likely 5% to 6%: Minister
"It is hoped that in 2010 economic growth will begin
recovering, and we will (also) work to maintain low inflation," Indrawati
said in a presentation on the macroeconomic outlook at the National Planning
Committee.
Indrawati said inflation in 2010 will likely be between 4.5%
and 5.5% over the full year. The finance ministry forecasts 6.2% annual
inflation this year, after the consumer price index rose 11.06% for 2008.
She said the dollar will likely trade between Rp9,500-Rp10,500
next year, compared with the forecast of an average Rp9,400 this year.
Indrawati said the Indonesian Crude Price should average
between $45 and $60 a barrel next year, while oil output will average 950,000
to 970,000 barrels per day (bpd).
Bank
Indrawati's forecasts represent the finance ministry's
interim budget assumptions it will use to calculate the state budget. The
macroeconomic assumptions are revised throughout the year.
The deficit this year is forecast to hit 2.5% of GDP, as the
government doles out Rp73.3 trillion of fiscal stimulus. The finance ministry
forecasts economic growth at 4.5%, down from 6.1% in 2008. Ministers have said
growth this year could be lower than that forecast, possibly 4%.
Economy
likely to start picking up in Q4: Analysts
The pace of
"The economy will decline in the second quarter of
2009, slope gently down in the third quarter and start to pick up in the fourth
quarter of the year," Bank Mandiri chief economist Mirza Adityaswara told
a press conference on Tuesday.
The higher growth in the last three-month period would
compensate for lower growth in the second and third quarters, compared to first
quarter, resulting in an overall full-year economic growth of between 3 and 4%.
Adityaswara said there were already signs of confidence in
the economy last month, as seen from the increasing sales of cement,
motorcycles and housing but the impact of declining overall industrial
production will affect the economy in the second and third quarters.
M. Chatib Basri, an economist at the University of Indonesia
(UI), shared the outlook, saying that overall consumption - the largest
contributor to
"However, whether the economy can pick up in the fourth
quarter will still also depend on global growth. I hope it can," he said,
adding he expected the country's economy to expand overall between 3% and 4%.
In the first quarter, consumption remained strong, resulting
in economic growth of 4.5%, said Basri, who is also an advisor to the Finance
Ministry.
The government's stimulus in the form of tax cuts has helped
people to spend more on consumption, particularly as Indonesians are less
exposed to credit. There are more young people than old people who shop more
often and poor people are tending to spend money as soon as they get it, Basri
said.
The economy will depend more heavily on government spending
this year as private consumption slows down, while exports and investment are
predicted to contract, compared to last year.
Govt. hopes for positive image from ADB meeting
The government believes the annual meeting of the Asian
Development Bank (ADB) in Bali on May 2-5 will have a positive impact on
Indonesia's image, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said Wednesday, Asia
Pulse reported.
Hosting the meeting would show the country to be in stable
condition and able to contribute to efforts to help the world economy to
recover from the crisis.
She said the 42nd annual ADB meeting was scheduled to be
attended by ADB governors, representatives from international non-governmental
organizations, banking institutions, observers and investors.
INVESTMENT
"As we can all see, the rupiah is currently beginning
to strengthen, and the stock price index has advanced… Therefore, the
government will continue to protect the favorable perceptions of the Indonesian
economy," she said.
In the current global economic crisis, funds in developing
countries had mostly fled to the countries of origin.
"The flow of foreign capital into developing countries
has dropped by almost $600 billion to $170 billion. Many countries are
competing to attract the foreign capital funds so it has become difficult to
obtain capital," she said.
However,
"We are seen as positive by investors as our economy
has passed the test amid the ongoing global economic crisis," the minister
said.
Berlian to invest in new freighters
Publicly listed local shipper Berlian Laju Tanker is
planning to spend $170 million over the next two years to buy new freighters,
in line with a government move to totally restrict inter-island sea
transportation to domestic companies by 2011, The Jakarta Globe reported.
In a news briefing on Wednesday, president director
Widihardjaja Tanudjaja said the company would buy four vessels this year, and
is planning more purchases in 2010.
“We are now approaching some domestic companies to transport
their oil, gas and coal for next year,” Tanudjaja said.
Among these was state oil and gas company PT Pertamina,
which is using 56 foreign-flagged vessels.
Tanudjaja said Berlian was planning to spend $60 million
this year to buy four new vessels and had prepared $110 million for next year’s
expenses.
Berlian’s fleet totals 91 vessels, consisting of 64 chemical
tankers, 14 oil tankers, 13 gas tankers and 1 FPSO with total capacity of
around 2 million deadweight tonnage.
Despite the slump in the last five months of 2008, Berlian
Laju booked a healthy net profit of Rp1.56 trillion ($143.52 million) last year
with revenue reaching Rp7 trillion, almost double 2007’s net profit of Rp759
billion and revenue of Rp 3.6 trillion.
Currently, four national shippers transport crude oil,
liquefied petroleum gas and LNG. They are Berlian Laju Tanker, Samudera
Domestic shippers have 419 vessels operating in the country
compared with 78 foreign-flagged ships, with foreign freighters generally
charging more for shipping than their local competition.
Internationally, the sector has been hit hard by exports
slump caused by the economic crisis.
IDX third
most promising in Aspac: Report
The Indonesian capital market has retained its position as
the third most promising market in the Asia-Pacific region in the first quarter
of this year, The Jakarta Post
reported.
A survey released last week by the Dutch financial services
giant ING placed the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) third after
“The ongoing optimism is likely because investors feel that
He said the government’s quick response to the global crisis
also made investors more confident in
The survey measures and tracks investor sentiment and
behavior every quarter from 13 Asia-Pacific markets, including
STATE CONCERNS
22 provinces
apply for special economic zone status
As many as 22 provinces have applied for Special Economic
Zone (SEZ) status, a program which may be implemented starting next year, an
official said on Tuesday, The Jakarta
Post reported.
Bambang Susantono, an official at the Coordinating Ministry
for the Economy in charge of infrastructure and regional development, said the
government would scrutinize the capability of provinces before granting SEZ
status.
"No provinces are being prioritized. We will first
verify that each area meets the SEZ criteria," he said.
The 22 provinces are North Sumatra, South Sumatra, Riau,
Susantono said there is no deadline for the government to
grant SEZ status and the SEZ draft bill is still being deliberated at the House
of Representatives, with endorsement no earlier than October.
"We discussed new landing rights for
Razak said trade between
Razak said the manpower aspect was also important for the
governments and people of both countries, with
"We also discussed cooperation in the palm oil sector
as Malaysia and Indonesia produce almost 90% of the world's palm oil
requirement," he said, adding that a new area of cooperation was the
setting up of more palm oil refineries in Indonesia.
"This is to enable
Also touched on at the bilateral meeting, in which seven
Malaysian cabinet ministers participated, was cooperation in the area of food
security, whereby
On agriculture, Razak said
Govt. to promote 200 domestic product brands
The government is to make an effort to popularize the brands
of 200 of the country's products at home, regionally and globally, Trade
Minister Mari Pangestu said on Wednesday, Asia Pulse reported.
Pangestu said her office was currently compiling a database
on companies whose products with the potential to have trademarks of their own
including products of small and medium businesses.
“To meet the target we will facilitate them to be able to
participate in various exhibitions," she said.
Her office would also help improve packaging of products,
provide production equipment and with marketing.
The government recently launched the "Love
Besides encouraging going global, the trade ministry had
also encouraged small and medium businesses to create good packaging and
trademarks for their products.
SOEs
Govt. may end KAI monopoly in railway operations
The government will soon introduce a regulation paving the
way for the liberalization of the railway sector, Asia Pulse reported on
Thursday.
The Ministry of Transport has submitted a draft regulation
on the railways to the State Secretary for presidential approval, The Jakarta Post reported
Director General of Railways Tunjung Inderawan said the
draft regulation calls for an end to the monopoly of PT Kereta Api Indonesia in
railway operation n the country.
A railway analyst from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences
(LIPI), Taufik Hidayat, said the regulation should also address matters such as
safety in railway transport and equal treatment of all players in the business.
Semen Gresik
posts 10% increase in Q1 net profit
The net profit of cement maker PT Semen Gresik grew 10% to
Rp566.43 billion ($51.4 million) in the first quarter of 2009 from Rp514.9 billion
in the same period last year, Asia Pulse reported.
Semen Gresik president Dwi Sutjipto attributed the improved
performance to efficiency in restraining production costs.
Sutjipto said the company is set to post a 30% increase to
Rp15.87 trillion in income this year from Rp12.21 trillion last year.
Last year the company reported a strong growth of 27.2% in
income compared with the previous year, Bisnis
Indonesia reported.
Adhi Karya
secures new projects worth $43M
Publicly traded construction company PT Adhi Karya secured
new contracts valued at Rp474.61 billion ($43 million), company officials said,
Asia Pulse reported.
State-owned Adhi Karya has been awarded the contract to
build the
The
The
PRIVATE SECTOR
Indosat
unaudited Q1 net profit drops 82.4%
Mobile phone operator PT Indosat reported on Wednesday an
82.4% drop in its unaudited net profit for the first quarter, hit by the rupiah
currency's fall against the dollar, Reuters reported.
Indosat, majority controlled by Qatar Telecommunications
(QTel), said its unaudited net profit was Rp107.9 billion ($9.95 million),
while its operating revenue rose 5.3% to Rp4.5 trillion from a year ago.
"The decline in net income, largely as a result of the
depreciation of the rupiah to the US dollar, highlights the effects of current
market volatility," Johnny Swandi Sjam, Indosat's president director, said
in a statement.
The company is due to announce audited results in mid May.
Indosat is
The firm had 33.3 million cellular subscribers as of March
31, up 26% from a year ago.
Bakrie Plantations posts 32% fall in Q1 sales
Analysis Performance at the Bakrie Group’s plantation
operator is sound, within the parameters of the global economy as a whole,
potentially indicated an upswing of popular sentiment over the use of
government symbols to
PT Bakrie Sumatera Plantations posted a 32% decline in sales
to Rp459.6 billion ($41.8 million) in the first quarter of this year from
Rp677.8 billion in the same period last year, Asia Pulse reported.
The prices of its products, crude palm oil and rubber sank
in the international market, investor relations officer Dian Indah said.
The company’s sales of CPO were valued at Rp351.6 billion in
the first three months of 2009 down 28% from the same period last year, Indah
said.
A sharper fall of 42% was recorded in the sales of rubber to
Rp108 billion from Rp187.7 billion, she added.
Car sales off
26% in first quarter
New car sales in the first three months of this year fell
26% to 100,260 units from 135,603 units in the same period a year earlier, the
nation's association for car assemblers, Gaikindo, said Monday, Dow Jones
reported.
Sales have dropped from last year's record levels as concern
grew over the global economic crisis and as prices rose due to the weaker
rupiah.
The association said PT Astra International, which
distributes
New motorcycle sales in the country fell 14% to 1.22 million
units, of which Astra had a 47% share.
Matahari 2008
profit likely around Rp230B
Retailer PT Matahari Putra Prima last year likely booked a
preliminary net profit of Rp230 billion to Rp240 billion excluding foreign
exchange losses, a company spokesman said, Dow Jones reported.
“The company expects profit this year to grow in high single
digit compared with that figure,” corporate secretary Danny Konjongian told
reporters Friday.
“In the first quarter of this year, we have likely already
booked a revenue gain that was quite positive, as the rupiah has
strengthened," Konjongian said. He said Matahari is targeting 10%-15%
growth in revenue, from Rp12 trillion last year.
Konjongian said however that losses on foreign exchange hedging
instruments are likely to cut Matahari's 2008 net profit to around Rp10.5
billion.
Those losses have yet to be recorded on the company's books,
as the forex transactions have yet to mature.
Matahari expects to announce its 2008 earnings next week.
BANKS
BI forecasts easing levels of bad loans
Bank Indonesia (BI) is projecting that banks’ bad loans in
the coming months will not rise as high as they did in January and February as
the economy is on the mend, a senior official said, The Jakarta Globe reported.
“In the first quarter, nonperforming loans (NPL) pressure
tended to ease — it is still increasing but the magnitude is decreasing because
the economy is getting better,” Wimboh Santoso, the head of BI’s Financial
System Stability Bureau, said on Friday. “After the presidential election the
economy might grow even faster.”
Santoso said banks’ NPLs rose by 0.4% to 4.2% from December
to January and climbed 0.1% from January to February. He said indicators such
as improving commodities prices and automotive sales showed the economy would
not worsen. The indicators also mean that debtors’ ability to pay back loans
was increasing.
The central bank stress test showed that banks’ NPL ratio
would grow to 5% to 6% by the year’s end if the economy only grew by 4% and the
rupiah hovered at about Rp10,000 per US dollar.
“In general our banking system is still good our stress test
results say that banks can still hold on even if the rupiah goes to Rp17,000
per US dollar, which is unlikely to happen,” he said.
Goldman Sachs
raises Indonesian bank ratings
The ratings of Indonesian banks were raised to “attractive”
by Goldman, Sachs & Co., which said interest rate cuts may reduce funding
costs and the nation’s expanding economy may generate “modest loan growth”,
Bloomberg reported.
Goldman Sachs raised its rating on PT Bank Danamon
Growth in fee-based income among Indonesian banks is resilient
while their capital position is also strong, the analysts wrote.
Still, shares of Indonesian banks are “not exactly trading
at discounts” after their recent rally, Credit Suisse Group AG wrote in a
report on Tuesday. Shares of PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia have advanced 21% so far this month while
Mandiri rose 15% and Danamon added 16% helped by gains in the stock market.
Danamon Q1
net profit drops 30% on year
PT Bank Danamon's first quarter net profit fell 30% on year
to Rp393 billion from Rp563 billion a year earlier, largely because of higher
credit and operating costs, the bank's finance director, Vera Eve Lim, said
Thursday, Dow Jones reported.
Net interest income rose 4.5% to Rp2.07 trillion from Rp1.98
trillion a year earlier, thanks to an increase in lending.
Lim said that the slight increase in net interest income,
however, was offset by higher credit costs, which rose 54% to Rp446 billion
from Rp290 billion a year earlier, while cost of operations increased to Rp1.31
trillion from Rp1.21 trillion a year earlier.
The bank's total outstanding loans at end-December were
Rp104.84 trillion, compared with Rp92.18 trillion a year earlier.
BNI hopes to see 20% increase in net profit
Publicly traded state bank PT Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI) is
set to see a 20% increase in net profit this year after recording a strong
growth last year, Asia Pulse reported.
BNI vice president Felia Salim said the bank hopes to
continue to see an increase in interest and fee-based income this year despite
gloomy economic outlook.
Last year, BNI posted a 36.1% rise in net profit to Rp1.22
trillion ($110.9 million) with net interest income surging 32.7% to Rp9.91
trillion.
Commercial and consumer credits still contribute strongly to
net interest income and fee-based income is also growing, Salim said.
The bank, however, has to pay more attention to growing non
performing loan (NPL) especially involving corporate credits, she was quoted as
saying by Investor Daily.
Last year, the bank succeeded in slashing its gross NPL rate
from 8.2% to 4.9% and this year it hopes to cut the figure lower, she said.
BRI Q1 net profit up more than 10%
PT Bank Rakyat
"We expect our net profit for the first three months of
this year to rise by double digits from Rp2 trillion a year earlier," BRI
finance director Abdul Salam said.
He also attributed the increase in net profit at the
nation's largest bank by assets to lower costs of funds due to the lower
interest rate environment and healthy net interest margin.
Total outstanding loans at end-March are expected to have
grown by 20% from Rp118 trillion a year earlier, he said.
For the full year of 2009, he expects net profit to grow by
up to 15% while net interest margin between 9% and 10%.
BRI, which focuses on microfinance, is due to announce its
first quarter results next week.
IFC buys
Andara stake, eyes small banks
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the
private-sector investment arm of the World Bank, is set to acquire other
small-sized lenders, after acquiring a 20% stake in PT Bank Andara, The Jakarta Globe reported.
Brigit S. Helms, IFC Indonesia’s head of advisory services,
said on Monday that the IFC wanted to use local banks to increase its
microfinance business, adding that prospects for the sector were huge, even
though other banks had also begun to notice the potential.
“We are currently in discussion with many others,” Helms
told a media conference to announce the Bank Andara acquisition on Monday.
IFC acquired a 20% stake in PT Bank Andara recently and
another 20% stake in PT Bank Hana in 2007.
PT Bank Andara, previously known as PT Bank Sri Partha, is
based in
Andara will use a $2.3 million grant from Microsoft founder
Bill Gates to develop technologies for microfinance, Bloomberg quoted Irianto
Kusumadjaja, the bank’s chief information and operating officer, as saying in
Muamalat
seeks new equity to increase capital
Islamic lender PT Bank Muamalat said on Monday it had
received offers from three foreign investors to buy a stake worth around Rp250
billion ($23.34 million), or 50% of its capital, Reuters reported.
Bank Muamalat president director Riawan Amin declined to
name the firms, but said local investors were also interested and that having a
bigger capital base would help the country's first Islamic bank to expand its
business.
Bank Muamalat, 28% owned by the Islamic Development Bank
(IDB), has Rp500 billion of capital and estimated total assets rose 20% to
Rp13.19 trillion as of February from the same period last year.
The bank's capital adequacy ratio, a key indicator of a
bank's financial health, was currently about 9%, above the central bank's
minimum requirement of 8%, Amin said.
Bank Muamalat said on January 12 it was planning a rights
issue in the second half of 2009 to raise its capital adequacy ratio.
POWER
PLN
signs $433M loans from regional banks
State
power company PT PLN has agreed Rp4.73 trillion ($432.7 million) in loans from
23 regional development banks (BPD) to help finance its program to build
coal-fired power plants, a company official said on Friday, Reuters reported.
"This
signing will secure financing for coal-fired power plant projects outside Java
island," Fahmi Mochtar, PLN president director told reporters.
The
projects include some in Aceh, West Sumatra, West Kalimantan and in
After the
loan signing, PLN had now secured around $6 billion of financing out of the $8
billion needed for its program to add 10,000 MW by building coal-fired power
plants, Mochtar said.
Some of
the projects have already received loans from Chinese banks, although a source
at PLN told Reuters in February that only 60% of the crash program was likely
to be in place by 2011 due to financing problems.
Meanwhile,
the Finance Ministry has allowed PLN to "directly" use Chinese yuan,
instead of US dollars, in purchasing capital goods from
"All
this time, PLN converts rupiah into dollar to purchase capital goods, all of
them are from
"I
ask PLN directors to sit (and talk) again with Chinese creditors to re-discuss
their agreement. It will reduce the exposure (of rupiah to dollar)," said
Indrawati.
PLN sets
thermal-powered electricity rates
State-power-company PT PLN said the tariff for thermal power
it would buy from electricity producers would be set at a range from 6.5 cents
to 8.5 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh), Asia Pulse reported.
PLN director for planning and technology affairs Bambang
Praptono said on Tuesday that the new electricity tariff was an improvement on
the earlier rate of 4.5 cents per kWh.
"With a better tariff rate it was expected that many
investors would become interested in building thermal power plants," he
said, adding that the tariff would be determined based on the plants' capacity.
Plants with small capacity could expect 8.5 cents per kWh,
those of medium capacity 7.5 cents and large ones 6.5 cents per kWh, he added.
Praptono said that in the near future PLN would also sign a
head of agreement (HoA) with state-owned oil and gas company PT Pertamina to
build power plants as part of the second 10,000 MW phase of the government's
power expansion program.
The HoA will include provisions under which Pertamina will
build power plants in upstream areas and PLN in downstream ones, while in some
cases Pertamina will be given responsibility for both upstream and downstream
areas.
PLN welcomes
waste-to-energy projects
State-owned electricity company PT PLN is welcoming backing
from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) for biomass power plant
projects using palm oil waste and rice husks, The Jakarta Post reported.
The company’s vice president, Rudiantara, said PLN is ready
to buy the electricity generated from such power plant projects, in line with
the company's objective to boost the use of renewable energy.
"We have always encouraged the use of renewable energy.
We are ready to purchase any such electricity," he said.
The first phase of the IFC program is targeting waste from
palm oil and rice milling to be used as fuel to generate power.
According to the IFC, the are not only able to reduce their
production costs by up to 30%, but also to help preserve the environment by
substituting for oil and diesel.
Rudiantara noted that the business deals would be under the
electricity excess supply provisions, under which PLN can buy available excess
power generated under the independent power producer scheme.
OIL & GAS
Mozambique, Indonesian firms sign $30M gas deal
Kalila will explore for natural gas in the area for the next
eight years and will drill two prospect and two evaluation wells, Nelson
Ocuane, chief executive officer of Empresa Nacional de Hidrocarbonetos de
Mocambique (ENH) told reporters on Wednesday.
ENH has ceded 75% of its shareholding in the Buzi bloc to
Kalila, Ocuane said. The contact also provides for funding for social
responsibility and staff-training programs.
MINING
Bukit Asam Q1
net profit doubles
The net profit of PT Tambang Batubara Bukit Asam in the
first quarter of this year is estimated to surge more than 100% from Rp286.3
billion ($26.62 million) in the same period last year, Asia Pulse reported.
Sales by the state coal mining company are also estimated to
double from Rp1.23 trillion, company secretary Eko Budhiwijayanto said.
Budhiwijayanto attributed the improvement in financial
performance to an increase in sales and the price of coal.
He said demand for coal is still strong in both the domestic
and international markets and the coal price may still increase this year.
This year the company plans to produce 10.5 million tons of
coal from its mines in
2009 tin
output may not reach 90,000 tons
Tin production may not reach 90,000 tons this year amid
slowing global demand, an official said on Wednesday, Reuters reported
"We initially planned to limit production at 105,000
tons but real production this year may not reach 90,000 tons as demand is
slowing so production has to adjust," said Bambang Setiawan, Director
General of Mineral, Geothermal and Coal at the Energy and Mineral Resources
Ministry.
The government said in February that it expected tin
production to rise 47% this year to 105,000 tons from the previous year.
PT Timah, the world's biggest integrated tin miner, said
earlier this month that it expected to cut its refined tin output by as much as
8% this year to avoid depressing global prices further.
The firm planned to produce 45,000-48,000 tons of refined
tin this year, down from 49,029 tons in 2008, although this could be scaled back
even further if prices continued to fall, Timah spokesman Abrun Abubakar has
said.
Bukit Asam Q1
net profit doubles
The net profit of PT Tambang Batubara Bukit Asam in the
first quarter of this year is estimated to surge more than 100% from Rp286.3
billion ($26.62 million) in the same period last year, Asia Pulse reported.
Sales by the state coal mining company are also estimated to
double from Rp1.23 trillion, company secretary Eko Budhiwijayanto said.
Budhiwijayanto attributed the improvement in financial
performance to an increase in sales and the price of coal.
He said demand for coal is still strong in both the domestic
and international markets and the coal price may still increase this year.
This year
the company plans to produce 10.5 million tons of coal from its mines in
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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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without permission.