Kimia Farma to build pharmaceutical
raw materials plant
Ayomi Amindoni, thejakartapost.com | Business | Fri, November 13 2015, 4:57 PM
(tribunnews.com)
Business News
Listed state-controlled pharmaceutical giant PT Kimia Farma plans to build an active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) plant at a cost of Rp 110 billion next year to better meet raw materials demands and lessen the need to import.
Kimia Farma president director Rusdi Rusman said on Friday that the plant would produce 6 raw materials and 8 high functional chemicals needed in the pharmaceutical industry. The firm has welcomed a joint venture with a foreign investor to build the 12-hectare plant for which phase one will cost Rp 110 billion.
Rusdi said the feasibility of the project is still being assessed by the Assessment and Application of Technology Agency (BPPT).
If the feasibility study is completed this year, he estimated that the joint venture contract would be signed early next year.
"We will build the first phase next year and [the project] will be completed with 1.5 years. This will meet 100 percent of Kimia Farma's raw-material needs," he said on the sidelines of the Investor Summit and Capital Market Expo 2015 in Jakarta.
Rusdi declined to disclose the firm's potential partner.
A new plant will help the industry as it will lower imports. Indonesia's pharmaceutical industry currently relies on imports for 95 percent of raw materials.
Kima Farma is also at the commissioning phase for another development – a medicinal salts plant in Jombang, East Java, which will cost Rp 28.8 billion.
The plant, capable of producing 2,000 tons of pharmaceutical salts per year, will be operated as soon as Kimia Farma acquires authorization from the Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (BPOM).
"Hopefully we can start operations in December," he said.
The company will also build phase II of the medicinal salts plant, with a capacity of up to 4,000 tons of salt per year. The two plants will help to meet the national pharmaceutical salts demand of 6,000 tons per year.
Medicinal salts are used for various purposes such as the production of intravenous fluids, sports drinks and beauty products.
Kimia Farma recorded a net profit of Rp 166.8 billion in quarter three, representing growth of 14.88 percent from Rp 145.1 billion net profit in the same period last year. The company's revenue also rose 12.88 percent, to Rp 3.47 trillion, in the third quarter of this year. (rin)(+)
- See more at:
Kimia Farma to build pharmaceutical raw materials plant | The Jakarta Post
Jakarta’s tourist numbers
stagnate
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Business | Fri, November 13 2015, 5:32 PM
Business News
The number of tourists visiting Jakarta has leveled off in recent times, but the Tourism Ministry expects that its new Tanjung Lesung and Thousand Islands tourism development programs will revive growth in the capital city’s tourism.
Foreign tourist arrivals grew by a mere 0.33 percent in the January-September period of this year, to 1.7 million visits, from the same period last year. On a monthly basis, tourist visits to Jakarta dropped 15.9 percent in September, to 212,706 visits, compared with August’s figures.
Asia-Pacific promotion director at the Tourism Ministry, Vinsensius Jemadu, said Jakarta’s foreign tourist arrivals had held up from the previous year as a result of the city’s heavy reliance on the meetings, incentives, conference and exhibition (MICE) sector.
“Jakarta is very seasonal, when there are big conferences, there is an increase [in visitors],” Vinsensius said. Indonesia’s economic activities have been slowing down along with weak economic growth that reached 4.73 percent recently, from over 6 percent in 2013.
“In the tourism cycle, there is a climax phase, and when it reaches that point, there should be action to rejuvenate it, be it product diversification or added services. Otherwise it’ll remain stagnant,” he added.
The stalling visitor growth has been in evidence for the last few years. Tourist arrivals through Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport grew by only 0.2 percent from 2013 to 2014, when 2.24 million foreign tourist arrivals were recorded.
“That’s why now I want to develop Tanjung Lesung in Banten, near Jakarta, and Thousand Islands in Jakarta, so the lengths of stay will also be longer,” he said, comparing Jakarta with Bali, which has also seen robust development in its MICE industry but which is also backed up by its non-business tourism sector.
Jakarta and Bali are two of the three main gates to Indonesia as they, along with Batam, account for 90 percent of total foreign tourist arrivals in Indonesia.
However, in comparison to Jakarta, the number of tourists who arrived in Indonesia through Ngurah Rai International Airport in Bali increased by 6.3 percent, to 2.93 million visitors, during January to September, compared to the same period last year, despite volcanic eruptions that forced the airport to close frequently.
Vinsensius said that currently, the government was on progress in developing the toll road to Tanjung Lesung to improve connectivity to the area, as well as working with the Jakarta government to improve the cleanliness of Thousand Islands.
With the improvement of the two destinations, the ministry hopes to attract 3.3 million tourists next year to Jakarta, up more than 20 percent from this year’s expected 2.7 million tourists.
Both Tanjung Lesung and Thousand Islands are among the 10 tourism spots chosen by the government for the focus of its tourism development this year. Other destinations include Lake Toba in North Sumatra and Morotai in Maluku.
The move is expected to help the government achieve its target of welcoming 20 million foreign tourists in 2019, double the 10 million visits expected this year. It is also expected to double its foreign exchange income from tourism to US$20 billion.
Based on the ministry’s data, Tanjung Lesung, which champions marine tourism, is projected to attract US$1 billion of foreign exchange income and 1 million visits in the future, while Thousand Islands is expected to attract $500 million and 500,000 tourists. The critical factor for the success of both, according to the data, is infrastructure.
(fsu)
- See more at:
Jakarta’s tourist numbers stagnate | The Jakarta Post
Economy in brief: PLN secures
Rp 2.2t loans for Riau
power plant
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Business | Fri, November 13 2015, 5:42 PM
Business News
State-owned electricity firm PLN has secured syndicated loans to support the development of a coal-fired power plant in Riau.
The syndicated loans involve seven banks and one state-owned firm, namely Bank DKI, Bank Jateng, Bank Aceh, Bank Kalteng, Bank Riau Kepri, Bank Kalbar, Bank Pembangunan Daerah Bali and PT Sarana Multi Infrastruktur. The loans, amounting to Rp 2.2 trillion, have 10-year tenor. The loans to develop the power plant, which will have 2x110 megawatts in capacity, will be guaranteed by the government, according to PLN.
The 2x110 MW Riau power plant is the last coal power plant under the Fast Track Program (FTP) of 10,000-MW electricity procurement phase I under the previous administration that has yet to receive financing.
“PLN needs big investment to complete the FTP phase I. Therefore, the government supports the company by issuing a government guarantee, which we expect to help PLN obtain a lower interest rate,” said Vincentius Sonny Loho, the Finance Ministry’s director general of state assets.
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Economy in brief: PLN secures Rp 2.2t loans for Riau power plant | The Jakarta Post
