Arwana to invest Rp. 170 billion

The Investor Daily-October 28, 2008 Indra Bachtiar, corporate secretary of PT Arwana Citramulia Tbk (Arwana), told that Arwana allocated Rp 170 billion to enlarge the factory plant III in Cikande, Banten. The production capacity of the new factory would reach 7,5 million m² per year for ceramic with size 30X30 cm, and 40X40 cm. Arwana experienced increasing in sales for the third quarter of 2008 as much as Rp 480 billion or increasing 27% compared with the same period in 2007. Currently, Arwana holds 10% of total market share of ceramic industry in Indonesia.

adjoining with Ericsson, Axis to set up 2,100 BTS

The Investor Daily-October 28, 2008 PT Natrindo Telepon Seluler (NTS), Axis operator, appointed Ericsson to assist the network expansion of the company by supplying mobile backhaul solution with optic products and microwave for Axis network in area of Jakarta and surroundings, Banten, and Sumatra. Axis, until now, has built 2,000 based transceiver station (BTS) and has registered 2 million customers.

Qtel may take over 65% shares of Indosat

The Investor Daily-October 28, 2008 Abdullah Zainie, vice chairman Board of Supreme Audit Board (BPK), deemed that Bank Indonesia had ignored the recommendation from the board about consolidated financial statement of BI 2006. Based on the recommendation, the board asked BI to take direct action in order to save Indover or soon to liquidity Indover because it had been a burden for BI.

Morgan Stanley to expand to Indonesia

The Kompas Daily-October 28, 2008 The US investment company, Morgan Stanley plans to open new operation in Indonesia which is named PT Morgan Stanley Asia Indonesia (MSAI) in November 2008. Inghie Kwik, president director of MSAI, stated that the company had obtained the license from Supervisory Agency for Stock Exchange and Financial Institution (Bapepam-LK) to operate and open new office in Indonesia.

BTPN performance in quarter-III 2008

The Kompas Daily-October 28, 2008 In the third quarter of 2008, PT Bank Tabungan Pensiunan Nasional Tbk (BTPN) recorded operational profit worth Rp. 504,3 billion that grew 35% compared with the third quarter of 2007. The net profit of the bank reached Rp 323,2 billion, increase 32.1 percent. Gross NPL (Non-Performing Loan) ratio of the bank decreased 1.9 percent becoming 0.77 percent.

Airline companies need support

The Kompas Daily-October 28, 2008 In order to open new route for tourism destination, airline companies still need support from the Government. Purwatmo, corporate secretary of PT Merpati Nusantara Airlines, said there are two things to overcome this problem, the first is the support from investors who have focus on tourism industry, and the second is the local government support to ameliorate the tourism facilities.

DG of AHU responds the summon

The Kompas Daily-October 28, 2008 Director General (DG) of Public Law Administration (AHU), Syamsuddin Manan Sinaga came to Attorney General Office (AGO) to pay the summon from corruption crime investigation unit of the office. Last Friday, head of central information of AGO Jasman Panjaitan announced two arraigned persons in corruption allegation of Sisminbakum (computerized system of legal entity administration), who are former DG of AHU Zulkarnain Yunus and DG of AHU Syamsuddin Manan Sinaga. AGO also mentioned a company namely PT Sarana Rekatama Dinamika, that is accused to obtain the profit from the system.

Director of KPLP asks partners to give 8 percent

The Kompas Daily-October 28, 2008 Company partners of Department of Transportation (Dephub), Kresna Santosa from PT Pruskoneo Kadarusman, Suratno Ramli and Dwi A Ningsih from PT Fibrite Fibreglass, and Budi Suhairi from PT Carita Boat bore witness yesterday against the defendant Deddy Suwarsono, managing director of PT Bina Mina Karya Perkasan. In their witness, they were instructed by director of coast and maritime securing unit (KPLP) Djoni Anwir Algamar to give 8 percent to Bulyan Royan and 8 percent to Dephub in patrol ship procurement process.

THE FIRST INDONESIAN YOUTH CONVENTION, 28 OCTOBER 1928

POETOSAN CONGRES
PEMOEDA-PEMOEDA INDONESIA

Pertama: KAMI POETRA DAN POETRI INDONESIA MENGAKOE BERTOEMPAH DARAH JANG SATOE TANAH INDONESIA

Kedoea: KAMI POETRA DAN POETRI INDONESIA MENGAKOE BERBANGSA JANG SATOE BANGSA INDONESIA

Ketiga: KAMI POETRA DAN POETRI INDONESIA MENDJOENDJOENG BAHASA PERSATOEAN BAHASA INDONESIA

Sumber: Museum Sumpah Pemuda, Jakarta (Dikutip dari Harian Kompas 27 Oktober 2008)

BI to support Indover Bank worth Rp 7 trillion

The Kompas Daily-October 24, 2008 The meeting between Bank Indonesia and Commission IX House of Representatives decided yesterday to support Indover Bank by injecting fund worth Rp. 7 trillion. “Indover would be very reasonable to be divested. We would provide the fund that taken from BI’s supernumerary fund. The divestment result, we expect could substitute the fund that we have used in these rescuing efforts,” Boediono, Governor of BI said.

Semen Gresik obtains loan Rp 12 trillion

The Investor Daily-October 24, 2008 Sunardi Prionomurti, corporate secretary of PT Semen Gresik Tbk, stated that several domestic and foreign financial institutions had offered their commitment to give the loan as much as Rp. 12.18 trillion to the company. Semen Gresik plans to set up two new factories in Java worth US$355 million and in Sulawesi worth US$315 million with capacity of 2.5 million tons per year respectively.

The Investor Daily-October 24, 2008

The Investor Daily-October 24, 2008 Gaby Abdelneur, chief executive officer of JP Morgan Asia, affirmed that the company never thinks to take over Bakrie in spite of the company’s default. The statement was released after meeting with Vice President Jusuf Kalla yesterday in Vice President Office. Bakrie currently still has debt due in 2010 to JP Morgan US$98.5 million. Besides JP Morgan, the company also has debt due in 2009 to Recapital Securities worth Rp 189 billion, PNM Investment Management worth Rp. 231.81 billion, and Oddickson Finance worth US$1.016 billion.

Profit of Jaya Pari Steel soars 159,26%

The Investor Daily-October 24, 2008 Net profit of PT Jaya Pari Steel Tbk reached Rp. 99.941 billion per September 2008, increasing 159,26% compared with the same period in 2007 that was Rp. 38.548 billion. The sales increase has been the main factor behind this progress that increased 111,46% from Rp. 305.005 billion to Rp. 644.965 billion.

Indika Energy invests US$866 thousand

The Investor Daily-October 24, 2008 PT Indika Energy Tbk invests US$866 thousand by forming a joint venture between one of its subsidiaries, PT Indika Inti Corpindo, with South Korea-Samtan Co Ltd. Arsjad Rasjid, managing director of the company, in his public report said “this joint venture will be located in Indonesia aims to develop coal exploration business.”

Banking profit grows slightly

The Investor Daily-October 24, 2008 Management of PT Bank NISP Tbk and PT CIMB Niaga Tbk succeed to keep the positive growth until the third quarter 2008 despite it was slight increase about 8,5-10% due to global financial crisis. NISP has recorded net profit worth Rp. 227,3 billion, increasing 10% that compared with September 2007, while Bank CIMB Niaga earned net profit as much as Rp. 590 billion in 2008, slightly different if compared with last year’s value that was Rp. 590,23 billion.

Wood panel demand decreases 60%

The Investor Daily-October 24, 2008 Amir Sunarko, managing director of PT Sumalindo Lestari Jaya Tbk, predicted that the wood panel demand had been decreasing 60% during current global financial crisis. He said that the global buyers were delaying their purchase to wait for ultimate drop of the price. In fact the wood panel price has dropped 15% than the normal price. On the other side, Jimmy Chandra, board of director of Indonesian Wood-Saw and Processed-Wood Association, is questioning why Indonesia that has a lot of basic materials of wood is experiencing the material shortage, while China and Malaysia that actually don’t have basic material are experiencing the drastic increase approximately 1.850% for the last sixteen years. Moreover, according to David, vice managing director of Sumalindo, Indonesian production of wood panel has been decreasing from 10 million m³ to 3 million m³ for the last sixteen years.

Electronic market soars 23%

The Investor Daily-October 24, 2008 Handojo Soetanto, secretary general of Electronic Marketer Club (EMC), said that national electronic sales realization soared 23%, from Rp. 11,07 trillion in January-September 2007 to Rp. 13.6 trillion in January-September 2008. According to him, the increasing purchasing power of people outside of Java has been significant factor that influences the progress. “Since second semester last year, the price of primary commodities such as palm oil, coffee, and copra has increased sharply so that the purchasing power of farmers outside of Java strengthens,” he said.

Albaraka to accomplish acquisition of Bank Kesawan

The Koran Tempo Daily-October 24, 2008 Albaraka Banking Group would accomplish the acquisition process of Bank Kesawan about 51-70% in November 2008. Previously, President and CEO of Albaraka, Adnan Ahmed Yousif stated that his company is ready to acquire two or three small banks in Indonesia worth US$50-100 million and would open 30 branch offices entire Indonesia that focus on retail financing and international trade, mostly for Middle East countries.

Small Mining Companies Stop Production

Tempo Interaktif-October 24, 2008 Small mining companies have ceased their production activities due to the global financial crisis. “Nickel mining companies in East Nusa Tenggara have already stopped producing,” said the head of the Indonesia Coal Mining Association Jeffrey Mulyono yesterday.

PT Timah may reduce tin output

The Jakarta Post Daily-October 23, 2008 Facing the credit crisis, PT Timah, the world’s second largest tin miner, would cut its production 6.3 percent due to the price drop in this commodity. Hence, Timah may produce only 45,000 metric tons this year. World tin price has dropped about 49% for the last six months.

Credit crunch may hit RI mining investment

The Jakarta Post Daily-October 23, 2008 Simon Felix Sembiring, senior advisor for finance and economy at Department of Energy and Mineral Resources, predicted that the mining industry would face difficulties in seeking financial resources for their expansion, particularly from the market and the bank. The global financial crisis has created the domestic market fluctuation and drying up of banking liquidity since many banks are presently treating carefully the credit flow.

Indover crisis could hit RI credit ratings

The Jakarta Post Daily-October 23, 2008 Although having less direct impact on the country’s financial sector, the possible collapse of Netherlands-based Indover Bank may affect negatively to the country’s sovereign and financial institution ratings. But the lawmakers are reluctant to provide any recommendation solving this problem. They think that cash injection to Indover would be too risky since it might never be fully recovered in the future.

Cipta Pertiwi releases shares of Charoen

The Koran Tempo Daily-October 23, 2008 PT Cipta Pertiwi sold its shares (55.34%) in PT Charoen Pokphand Tbk to PT Central Agromina worth Rp. 690,774 billion.

Indonesian animation industry just US$1 million

The Investor Daily-October 23, 2008 Bayu Wedha, country manager Autodesk Indonesia, and Deswara Adez Aulia, an animator estimated that the potency of entertainment industry in Indonesia is very large that comprises animation, games, film, and television. However, according to them, the industry can just realize as much as US$1 million during 2008. Bayu is optimistic that the industry would grow in line with the growth of animation software industry in the world.

Indonesian animation industry just US$1 million

The Investor Daily-October 23, 2008 Bayu Wedha, country manager Autodesk Indonesia, and Deswara Adez Aulia, an animator estimated that the potency of entertainment industry in Indonesia is very large that comprises animation, games, film, and television. However, according to them, the industry can just realize as much as US$1 million during 2008. Bayu is optimistic that the industry would grow in line with the growth of animation software industry in the world.

Illegal shoes import reaches US$ 150 million

The Investor Daily-October 23, 2008 Djimanto, a member of advisory council of Indonesian Shoes Association (Aprisindo), stated that Indonesian illegal shoes import reached US$150 million, or about 10 million pairs. The illegal shoes import comes mostly from China which is cheaper 30% than local products. He estimated that Indonesian footwear imports, including the illegal one, had reached US$900 million. This value is equal to 50% of total Indonesian footwear export which is US$1.8 billion.

25 US companies move their investment US$1 b to Indonesia

The Investor Daily-October 23, 2008 William Marmon, vice president US-ASEAN Business Council, stated that at least 25 US-based companies would move their investment to Indonesian in various sectors worth more than US$1 billion. He mentioned some companies such as AES Corporation (a power plant supplier) planning to develop more than 10 units of small size power plants worth US$800 million, Monsanto Company (a seeding company) planning to invest US$12 million, Guardian Industries (float glass factory) planning to set up new factory worth US$150 million.

Component export’s turnover dropped 25%

The Investor Daily-October 23, 2008 Januar F Rustandie, senior industry advisor Senada, predicted that the Indonesian automotive components export would drop 25% next year, from US$1.375 billion to US$1.16 billion. The weakening automotive market in some countries would be main factor influencing this sector. Januar further elaborated that automotive component exports during 2002-2007 indicated the positive performance with average growth 24% per year. In 2002, Indonesian export component only earned US$352 million, and it soared in 2007 becoming US$1.1 billion.

Semester I-2008, shrimps export of CP Prima soars 42.18%

The Investor Daily-October 23, 2008 PT Central Proteinprima Tbk earned as much as Rp. 3.68 trillion from the sales during semester I-2008, increasing 42.18% compared with semester I-2007 that was Rp. 2.59 trillion. Fajar I Reksoprodjo, corporate communication of the company, told that the updated shrimp processing technology had been the strong reason behind this progress. Regarding to the demand from USA, he commented that American people had their own lifestyle, particularly in term of health food. Hence, he isn’t worried about the decreasing demand from USA.

To rescue Indover needs Rp 7 trillion

The Investor Daily-October 23, 2008 The management Indover Bank reported yesterday that the bank had to pay the long-term debt worth US$67.5 million and EUR 18 million per October 6, 2008. The central bank and the lawmakers had met yesterday to discuss the solution, but there was no conclusion in the end of the meeting. Hence, they decided to continue the meeting on Thursday. The meeting calculated that as much as Rp. 7 trillion was needed to rescue Indover.

Rabobank ready to open 54 branches

The Investor Daily-October 23, 2008 After merging with Haga and Hagakita Bank, PT Rabobank International Indonesian (Rabobank) plans to open 54 branches for the next three years. According to Danny Hartono, president director of the bank, Rabobank currently has 94 branches in Indonesia and would focus on four pillars, which are small and medium business, consumer, corporate, and retail business.

Pelangi Indah to participate tender Rp. 260 billion

The Investor Daily-October 23, 2008 PT Pelangi Indah Canindo Tbk would participate in LPG tubes, size 3 kilogram, procurement offered by Pertamina worth Rp. 260 billion. Indah Rubianto, corporate secretary of the company, told that her company previously had won the same tender for 1,02 million units of tubes. Now, she further informed, the company has two factories which are located in Balaraja and Cimone respectively, with total production 400 thousand units per month.

Citatah obtains sales contract worth US$11.99 million

The Investor Daily-October 23, 2008 PT Citatah Tbk, a marble manufacturer, obtained contract as much as US$11.99 million for the period of 2008-2009, mostly from China, South Korea, USA, Malaysia, Vietnam, Taiwan, and European countries. As the largest marble manufacturer in Southeast Asia, Tiffany Johanes, corporate secretary of the company, told that Citatah would explore the new mine and enlarge the volume of production. In semester I-2008, Citatah experienced sales increase compared with semester I-2007, which was from Rp. 47.79 billion to Rp. 52.81 billion.

Sumalindo considers shares buyback

The Investor Daily-October 23, 2008 PT Sumalindo Lestari Jaya Tbk, a plywood producer, considered buying back its shares this year in order to anticipate the sales decline. Besides that way, Jaya David, vice managing director of Sumalindo, told that the company also tried enhancing its competitiveness in the market. Sumalindo would soon obtain another land concession as many as 16.000 hectares in East Kalimantan.

Credit Suisse seeks loan for Bakrie US$1 billion

The Investor Daily-October 23, 2008 In order to pay its debt worth US$1.2 billion, PT Bakrie & Brothers assigned Credit Suisse to seek new loan to pay the debt. Previously, the management of Bakrie planned to pay the debt by selling its assets, including its shares in PT Bumi Resources Tbk. But the unstable market has made them difficult to sell it immediately.

Construction 2008 would be slow

The Kompas Daily-October 23, 2008 Gapensi (Joint National Constructors) predicted that the price soar of construction materials, such as asphalt, cement, steel-iron, and wood would influence the construction projects implementation in 2008.

IDX failed-rated

The Kompas Daily-October 23, 2008 ND Murdani, chairman of Indonesian Security Investment Society, stated that Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) had lost the momentum to strengthen the bourse. According to him, while Shanghai index was increasing 3.65%, Singapore-Strait Times index was increasing 6.57%, Hong Kong-Hang Seng index was increasing 10.25% on October 13, 2008, Indonesia-IHSG only increased 0.7%.

Boss of Gold Manor becomes suspect

The Koran Tempo Daily-October 22, 2008 -Indonesian Police Headquarter established managing director of PT Gold Manor International Limited as a suspect in corruption allegation of crude oil procurement namely Zatapi. The police don’t mention the name but public media identifies the person as Schiller M Napitupulu. The contract was signed between Pertamina and Gold Manor worth US$54 million containing the procurement of Zatapi crude oil as many as 600.000 barrels. But, the transaction triggered curiosity because the purchase had been conducted before examining the oil quality.

USA aborts 80% furniture export contracts

The Investor Daily-October 22, 2008 -Ambar Tjahjono, chairman of Indonesian Furniture Association (Asmindo), stated that the US importers had aborted 80% of purchasing contracts for furniture products from Indonesia that has already been signed. Ambar admitted that USA had been the largest market for Indonesian furniture products worth US$900 million per year or about 40.9% out of total export, and then it was followed by EU worth US$800 million or about 36.4% out of total export.

Cement market increases 13.4%

The Investor Daily-October 22, 2008 -Urip Timuryono, chairman of Indonesian Cement Asssociation (ASI), told that national cement market in the third quarter of 2008 increased 13.4%, from 25,204 million tons in the third quarter of 2007 to 28,591 million tons in the third quarter of 2008. It has been triggered by the continuity of several projects in infrastructure and property.

Pertamina to invest PLTP US$200 million

The Investor Daily-October 22, 2008 -PT Pertamina Geothermal will set up six geothermal power plants worth US$200 million with capacity of 680 megawatt (MW). Abadi Poernomo, managing director of the company, expected the operation could commence in 2014. He said the fund would be taken from the financial institutions, such as World Bank, Asian Development Bank, and Japan for International Bank Cooperation (JBIC) that have declared their interest in developing this project.

NISP has withdrawn its fund from Indover

The Investor Daily-October 22, 2008 -Shirley P Latuihamallo, corporate affairs of Bank NISP, stated that the bank had withdrawn as much as Rp. 142.9 billion from Indover Bank per June 2008.

Maybank Offshore acquires 15.9% shares of BII

The Investor Daily-October 22, 2008 -Maybank Offshore Corporate Services (Lab) acquired 15.9% shares of PT Bank Internasional Indonesia Tbk. The shareholders of BII among others are Sorak Financial Holdings Pte Ltd (54.36%), Temasek Holdings Singapore, and Kookmin Bank.

HSBC targets to be the national big five

The Investor Daily-October 22, 2008 Rakesh Bhatia, chief executive officer (CEO) HSBC Indonesia, is optimistic that HSBC could be the national big five of foreign banks in Indonesia. Recently, HSBC has acquired Bank Ekonomi, one of the local banks. Based on Bank Indonesia Ranking for foreign banks in Indonesia, HSBC has been in the second position after Citibank.

Internal cash of Indika Energy reaches US$500 million

The Investor Daily-October 22, 2008 Retina Rosabai, vice president investor relations of PT Indika Energy Tbk, said that the company would use internal cash worth US$500 million to acquire coal mines. The company also intends to invest as much as Rp. 9.01 billion through its subsidiary PT Tripatra Engineers and Constructors (TPEC) to form joint venture named PT Sea Bridge Shipping, with South Korea Samtan Co Ltd and PT Muji Inti Utama operating in sea transportation business.

Indosat’s income grows 14.9%

The Investor Daily
PT Indosat Tbk earned income as much as Rp. 13.65 trillion in the third quarter of 2008 increased 14.9% compared with the third quarter 2007 that was Rp. 11.88 trillion. The sectors that significant contribution to this progress have contributed significantly to these progresses that are cellular service business (74.92%), fixed data (15.54%), and fixed phone (9.53%).

Cargo halts operation

The Kompas Daily-October 22, 2008
Soejanto, chairman of Joint Indonesian Expedition and Forwarder (Gafeksi) Central Java chapter, told 40 cargo companies operating in this industry had terminated their operation. It came about due to drop in export-import transaction that was more than 50%. Soejanto further explained that many contracts that had already been acceded were cancelled or postponed, mostly from USA and a number of European Countries.