Indonesia's Economy, Political, Social, and Science Development Thread

[Julian Rachman]

Three airports to expand in next five years
Nurfika Osman, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Business | Tue, May 28 2013, 11:49 AM


Paper Edition | Page: 13


In a bid to accommodate surging demand in the air travel market, state-owned airport company PT Angkasa Pura I (AP I) is set to expand three crowded airports in Semarang, Central Java; Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan; and Surabaya, East Java, over the next five years.

Angkasa Pura I, the company that manages airports in the country’s eastern areas, is now assessing the planned projects.

AP I president director Tommy Soetomo said that the company was currently finishing studies for each project and they planned to team up with international partners to build better airport facilities.

“We plan to finish all the studies by the end of this year because we have to keep up with the economic growth and rising demand from
customers,” Tommy said in Jakarta on Monday on the sidelines of the Airports Marketing Forum 2013.

“We plan to build at least a new terminal in each airport and they should be ready in the next five years.”

The increasing market demand can be seen from the rising number of passengers passing through the airports each year.

Traffic at Syamsuddin Noor Airport in Banjarmasin, for instance, reached almost 4.5 million passengers in 2012, an 11 percent increase from the previous year.

In the next five years, the figure is expected to reach 10 to 12 million passengers, he said.

“Through this forum, we want to invite business partners to work with us in developing our airports. In addition to that, our airports are gateways for both business and
leisure activities, creating more opportunities [for the partners] to better explore Indonesia,” he said.

He also said that the firm wanted to make Juanda International Airport in Surabaya, into a hub for business and leisure activities by building a new runway, hangar and business complex in the future.

As a first step, he said that AP I was collaborating in a hotel business with France-based brand Accor.

The firm has recently opened the Ibis Budget Surabaya Airport Hotel with 144 rooms and small meeting rooms.

The firm would collaborate with South Korea’s Incheon Airport to develop Juanda, he added.

In addition, AP I corporate secretary Farid Indra Nugraha said that they had just finished a study on Achmad Yani Airport in Semarang.

Farid said that the firm would need to invest around Rp 1.1 trillion (US$112.2 million) to build a new terminal at the airport.

“We plan to build a terminal to increase the capacity to 10 million passengers. We are currently waiting for approval from the military because the land belongs to them,” he said, adding that the total annual capacity of Achmad Yani was currently 5 million passengers.

Moreover, he said that the development of Ngurah Rai International Airport in Denpasar, Bali was on track and the new international terminal was expected to commence operations in September, a month before the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting.

The development of the 285-hectare airport, which costs the firm Rp 2.7 trillion, is aimed at boosting its capacity from 9 million passengers to 25 million annually.

The project, which began in May last year, will double the size of the airport’s international terminal to 130,000 square meters (sqm) from 65,800 sqm, while the domestic terminal will be five times larger from the previous 13,000 sqm to 65,800 sqm.

A new apron able to accommodate up to 20 wide-bodied aircraft such as the Boeing 747 and Airbus A380 and a terminal for private aircraft passengers in partnership with ExecuJet Aviation Group from Switzerland, are also being built.

 

[nufix]

More Indonesians Are Buying Property in Sydney
By SP/Lona Olavia on 9:26 pm May 28, 2013.
Category Business, Corporate News

A growing number of Indonesians are purchasing property in Sydney, says an Australian-based property developer who is eying Rp 1 trillion ($101.9 million) in annual sales from Indonesian buyers.

“Indonesians have a lot of purchasing power. Many of them pay cash for an apartment priced at Rp 7 billion,” Michael Ginarto, Crown Group’s country director for Indonesia, said in Jakarta on Tuesday.

“Demand from Indonesia is strong, so we opened a branch office here. Crown sales records show that between 25 and 30 percent of our buyers are Indonesians — that’s the second largest after the Chinese.”

He added that the Sydney-based Crown Group, which was established by Indonesian businessman Iwan Sunito, booked Rp 200 billion in sales during February exhibitions in Jakarta and Surabaya.

Crown is targeting Rp 1 trillion in annual revenue from the Indonesian market alone over the next three years, Michael said.

He added most Indonesians purchased apartments in Sydney either for their children who attend school there or to invest in the city’s property market.

Michael called Indonesians “smart shoppers” for picking Sydney over other Australian cities, such as Melbourne and Perth. He cited a tax incentive of A$5,000 ($4,818) from the local government for the purchase of new dwellings in Sydney by foreign buyers.

Crown manages and is developing several apartment complexes in Sydney, including Viking by Crown, Top Ryde City Living and Skye by Crown, with each apartment priced between Rp 3 billion and Rp 30 billion.

Michael said the company was planning to expand to Indonesia by constructing apartment blocks in cities such as Jakarta and Surabaya.

More Indonesians Are Buying Property in Sydney - The Jakarta Globe

 

[nufix]

Indonesia's Islamic Body Set to Ban Amplification of Mosque Sermons


Indonesian cities may soon be a bit quieter, as an influential Islamic body has announced it will issue a ban on the amplification of mosque services.

“We’re discussing the technical detail and the concept,” said Jusuf Kalla, head of Indonesian Mosque Council (DMI), on Tuesday, as quoted by Kompas.com.

Jusuf, who’s also a former vice president of Indonesia, said that it’s alright for the mosque to use the loudspeaker for azan (call for prayer) but not for other purposes.

“If it is for azan, it’s alright as everywhere in the world the mosques use speaker for azan. Azan is a call for people [to pray] and the duration is only three minutes,” he said.

Many of Indonesia’s 800,000 mosques use loudspeakers to blare Koranic recitals, lengthy sermons and Islamic songs throughout the day and night.

DMI deputy chairman Masdur Farid Masudi said that it’s acceptable for mosques to use loudspeakers within their premises for sermons, but that amplification devices facing outward may disturb nearby residents.

“If people come to the mosque it means they need to hear the sermon, but it’s not clear whether anonymous people outside the mosque need to hear it or not,” Masdar said. “People outside might not agree with the fiery preaching.”

Masdar said that in addition to disrupting the neighborhood, amplified sermons also could reveal the “secret of Islam.”

“If it’s being heard outside, it would strip us naked. People will know all the good and bad information about us,” Masdar said.

In Banda Aceh, a 75-year old man named Sayed Hassan won a rare victory against the noisy speaker in one of the local mosques in February. Sayed filed a lawsuit against local religious officials alleging that the noise from a nearby mosque’s six loudspeakers had negatively impacted his life.

He was forced to withdraw the legal action and an angry mob threatened to kill him. But after he dropped the case, the mosque volume was significantly turned down by about half.

With additional reporting from AFP

 

[Julian Rachman]

Biodiesel producing plant cultivated in Yogya
Bambang Muryanto, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta | Archipelago | Wed, May 29 2013, 9:03 PM

Yogyakarta’s forestry and plantations agency and Waterland Asia Investments Pte. Ltd have been pioneering the cultivation of camelina sativa, a flowering plant potentially grown for biofuel, in Gunungkidul, Yogyakarta.

The agency’s head Akhmad Dawam said the camelina could provide a significant source of clean energy, so it was hoped that the cultivation of the oil plant could help tackle the energy crisis in the future while also increasing the farmers’ income.

“I hope this oil plant can give farmers more prosperity because they don’t have to merely depend on food crops,” he said.

On Wednesday, Akhmad and Waterland Asia Investments chairman Adi Sasono jointly planted camelina sativa on a 300-hectare plot of land in Manggoran state forests in Playen, Gunungkidul.

Cultivating the camelina sativa is considered much more profitable compared to other oil plants such as the castor oil plant, locally known as nyamplung.

Waterland’s Adi said the camelina sativa being planted in Manggoran was genetically modified and taken from the University of Cambridge in the UK. It could produce more fruit and be harvested in just two months, instead of five years, while also being suitable for dry land.

“It won’t compete with food crops,” he said.

According to Akhmad, Waterland will buy camelina sativa fruit at between Rp 2,000 (26 US cents) to Rp 2,500 per kilogram. Meanwhile, its leaves and stalks, which are good for feeding cattle, were selling at Rp 600 per kilogram.

If the trial is successful, 1,800-hectares of camelina plantations will be opened. (asw/ebf)

 

[nufix]

Indonesian state-owned companies urged to expand to Philippines
Sat, June 1 2013 00:20 | 95 Views



Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Indonesia`s state enterprises minister Dahlan Iskan has called on state-owned companies to expand to the Philippines to tap into that country`s growth reaching 7.8 percent in the first quarter this year.

"The Philippine economic growth is at its highest. So that country certainly will need more investment to maintain the growth. This is an opportunity for state-owned companies to expand there," he said at "fun talks" with the media at his office here on Friday.

Early on Friday morning Dahlan attended a "Breakfast Meeting" with a number of Philippine officials in Manila to discuss about investment between Indonesia and the Philippines.

The meeting was also attended by Philippine deputy minister for political affairs and minister of foreign affairs Evan P Garcia, minister of finance, Cesa V Purisima and minister of industries and trade, Gregory L Domingo.

Dahlan said before meeting with the Philippine officials he heard that the Philippine statistics bureau had just announced that the country`s economy had grown 7.8 percent.

"This is the highest in Asia, up from 6.7 percent recorded in the year before. It is also higher than that of Indonesia which was recorded at 6.2 percent in the first quarter of 2013," he said.

When meeting with Philippine President Benigno Aquino III Dahlan said he immediately congratulated him for the achievement.

At the meeting with the Philippine officials he immediately accepted the requests for Indonesian state-owned companies to develop their businesses in that country.

The Philippines is serious in its invitation to Indonesia to develop palm oil industry in Southern Philippines including oil palm plantations and palm oil factories using high technology.

The Philippines viewed that Indonesia has successfully developed palm oil industry and has even surpassed that of Malaysia.

"They are surprised by Indonesia`s experience and the technology that it has mastered to develop oil palms that could start bearing fruits at the age of 2.5 years," Dahlan said.

In view of that he said he called on PT Perkebunan Nusantara to (PTPN) immediately follow it up by expanding there.

"Later PTPN could set up a joint venture with a Philippine state-owned company," he said.

Besides palm industry, the Philippine has also expressed its interest in procuring CN 235, NC 212, CN 295 planes made by PT Dirgantara Indonesia.

That country is also interested to cooperate with Bank Syariah from Indonesia to develop shariah-based banks in that country, he said.

(Reporting by Royke Sinaga/H-YH/B003)
Editor: Priyambodo RH

COPYRIGHT © 2013

Antara News : Indonesian state-owned companies urged to expand to Philippines

 

[cirr]

Monday, 03 June 2013 08:19

China invests US$17b in power project

Chinese companies China Power Investment Corp and Anhui Conch Cement have announced more than US$17 billion (RM52.5 billion) of investments in Indonesia, underscoring the attractiveness and allure of the South-east Asian nation to foreign investors.

China Power, a Chinese state-owned enterprise, has been granted permission by the Indonesian government to build what could be the archipelago's largest power plant.

Xia Zhong, a vice-president of China Power, met with Indonesia's Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Jero Wacik recently to discuss the company's plan to produce 7,000 megawatts from hydropower plants in Kalimantan.

The project will harness the power of the Tayan River in the newly-created North Kalimantan province.

Jero told reporters that the Chinese firm will invest US$17 billion for hydroelectric plants in North Kalimantan.

"Construction will take seven years and will be divided into five phases," he added.

China Power has concluded the preliminary study of the project and will proceed with its feasibility and environmental assessment impact study, Jero said.

"We expect to see the groundbreaking next year," the minister added.

"Construction for the first phase will be completed in one-and-a-half years. By 2015, the power plant will generate 700MW of electricity," said Jero.

The minister said the government will not provide additional incentives.

The government has set the price level for renewable energy like hydropower considerably high to entice more investors. In comparison, the price for coal-fired power plants is around four to nine cents per kilowatt-hour.

"They did not request for incentives. They think that the 24 cents per kilowatt-hour power purchase price for hydropower plant is good."

In Indonesia, independent power producers must sell their electricity to state utility firm Perusahaan Listrik Negara, based on the government's approved pricing.

China Power is also looking into the possibility of building a smelter for bauxite, according to Jero. "But they have yet to make any estimations," he added.

Electricity generation is China Power's core business and in total, it has power plants with a capacity to generate 80,074MW of electricity.

Currently, the firm is building a 6,000MW hydropower plant in Myanmar, from which the electri-city will be channelled to main-land China.

China Power also has coal and aluminium assets.

Meanwhile, Anhui announced its plan to build a cement plant in South Sulawesi at a total investment of US$327 million, Bloomberg News reported last week.

Anhui's main business is in the manufacturing and selling of clinkers and cement products. It distributes cement and clinkers under the brand named Conch.

China invests US$17b in power project

 

[Nike]

Upmarket French store tests local consumer craze

Mariel Grazella, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Business | Fri, June 14 2013, 10:20 AM
A- A A+
Paper Edition | Page: 13

Fashion and lifestyle retailer PT Mitra Adi Perkasa (MAP) inaugurated on Wednesday the Galeries Lafayette, a high-end French department store, at Pacific Place shopping mall in the capital to cater to the middle and upper classes.

MAP spokeswoman Fetty Kwartati said Galeries Lafayette had agreed to open a store here after noting the increased purchase power in the country.

The French department store is also the only one in Asia.

“Some of the prime customers of Galeries Lafayette stores in France are those from China and Indonesia,” she told The Jakarta Post.

“Therefore, Galeries Lafayette’s brand principal agreed to open in Indonesia to better capture the local market,” she added.

Nicolas Houzé, the CEO of Galeries Lafayette, said the size of Indonesia’s market was the main reason for the French brand coming to Jakarta.

According to him, it has taken approximately five years for the brand to open their flagship store in Indonesia, having conducted a number of studies in market preferences.

“We want to make our goods accessible to everyone because the character of our store here is ‘affordable luxury’,” he said.

In addition, Fetty said the average price tag in the four-floor store was Rp 1 million (US$101), with prices ranging from Rp 100,000 - Rp 10 million.

“We learned a lesson from Harvey Nichols, where the average price was Rp 4 million,” Fetty said, referring to the retailer’s previous luxury department store, which has since closed down.

She added that Galeries Lafayette would stock 350 brands, 50 percent of which were new brands and 30 percent of which were French brands.

“The remaining are Mitra Adi Perkasa’s existing brands,” she said.

Fetty said the store’s strategy in providing more affordable prices by offering a wide price range had proved effective, as the number of visitors during the store’s soft opening in June had surpassed its target.

With Galeries Lafayette’s opening, MAP now runs five department stores, the other four being Sogo, Seibu, Debenhams and Lotus.

The new department store is an addition to the 106 new stores the retailer has opened as of May.

“However, the target market of Galeries Lafayette differs from that of Lotus, which aims to attract the middle-low segment, with Sogo, Seibu and Debenhams targeting gradually higher segments,” she added.

Fetty further said that the presence of Galeries Lafayette in the Indonesian retail ecosystem would create a new segment of premium department stores, given that such department stores did not yet exist.

She added that the opening of Galeries Lafayette had been funded by the retailer’s capital expense budget of between Rp 800 —Rp 900 billion.

“We spent only Rp 180 billion, less than 20 percent of our budget, in the first quarter,” she said, adding that the retailer would open new stores and introduce new brands more aggressively in the second half of the year.

MAP, which has a portfolio of 140 brands, plans to add up to 10 new brands this year, after having introduced four as of May.

The retailer booked Rp 63 billion in net profits during the first quarter of 2013, or 9 percent higher than the same quarter last year.
Upmarket French store tests local consumer craze | The Jakarta Post

Yacht sellers target Indonesia‘s new rich and young professionals

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Business | Wed, June 12 2013, 10:06 AM
A- A A+
Paper Edition | Page: 14

Living large: A number of luxurious yachts are moored at the Sunda Kelapa Batavia Marina Port in Jakarta on Saturday. (JP/Jerry Adiguna)

The Azimut 105 stands tall and elegant along with 11 other boats berthed at the Sunda Kelapa Batavia Marina port in North Jakarta.

The 32-meter long super-yacht has four luxury cabins with bathrooms on the lower deck, a spacious living and dining room on the main deck, as well as a kitchen and a bar.

“It is the equivalent of a Ferrari — very fast and comfortable,” says Aileen Toh, marketing manager for Simpson Marine, the Hong Kong-based agents for Azimut in Asia .

With a price tag of ¤8 million (US$10.5 million), the Italian-made boat was on display at the first ever Indonesia Yacht Show this weekend. Also on display were boats from other countries, including Dubai-made Aycer, Bavarian boats from Germany and Indonesian-made craft.

With Indonesia’s economic boom of the last decade, industries catering to the rich and famous are turning their attention to the country’s burgeoning nouveau riche.

Yacht makers are catching on fast, as yachts become the must-haves for millionaires and young professionals with a taste for an expensive and adventurous hobby.

Lawyer Hendra Apriadi, who has been into sailing for more than 15 years, welcomed the arrival of foreign makes into the Indonesian boat market, which he hopes will bring prices down, or at least, give people like him more choices.

“In the past, imported boats were really expensive,” said Hendra.

The $10.5 million price tag for an Azimut 105 was just the starting point, Toh said. Buyers would have to spend even more on amenities like air conditioners, couches, TV sets, carpets and a mini bar. Some might also want to have stronger and faster engines, she added.

Yahya Husein, who runs a coal business, notes the growing number of foreign boat makers coming to Indonesia. “We can buy imported boats more easily now,” he said.

Hendra and Yahya visited the fair to shop for a bigger yacht, something more than 80-feet long, which could take them all the way from Jakarta to Bunaken, North Sulawesi. But for both Jakartans, nothing beats Bali as a destination, a 24-hour sail away.

John Mallan, an Australian living in Singapore, sells boats and knows full well the potential of the Indonesian market. As project manager of Promarine, a Singapore-based brokerage company, he was pushing the Bavarian boats, quoting prices between €100,000 and €500,000.

Mallan is a sailing buff himself. “We take our friends on a boat to places like Phuket.”

Indonesia was represented at the fair by a 12-meter boat retailing for Rp 3 billion ($306,000), interior included, from Millennium Marine Indonesia based in Depok just outside Jakarta. “Actually we wanted to bring a 17-meter boat for the display, but it wasn’t finished on time,” said Millennium Marine staff member Alex S.R.

PT Megawatt Asia, which spent two years organizing the fair, aimed for 6,000 visitors for the two-day event, which ended on Sunday. Marketing director Syelly Phie said one of the challenges was getting customs permits for the foreign boats for the exhibition.

This is unlikely to be the last yacht fair in Indonesia, with Syelly believing in the strong growth of the local market as personal incomes increase.

According to the Credit Suisse Research Institute, the number of Indonesian millionaires will almost double to 207,000 by 2017, from around 104,000 in 2012.

Paul Whelan, Simpson Marine general manager for Southeast Asia, says the company has sold six boats since opening its office in Indonesia in 2011. “In a really good year, we can sell up to four boats,” Whelan said.

For sailing buffs like Hendra, the yacht experience is priceless and is worth every cent spent, “especially if you work in a highly stressed profession like the law”.

“Sometimes we go to sea just to take our minds off work, or to avoid staff who may try to contact us,” he said. (nai)

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2013/06/12/yacht-sellers-target-indonesia-s-new-rich-and-young-professionals.html

 

[Nike]

Krakatau Posco’s $3b mills to begin operations in December

Linda Yulisman, The Jakarta Post | Business | Wed, June 12 2013, 9:57 AM
A- A A+
Paper Edition | Page: 13

PT Krakatau Posco, a joint venture between Indonesia’s biggest steel maker PT Krakatau Steel (KRAS) and South Korean steel giant Pohang Iron and Steel Company (Posco), is scheduled to commence the operation of its US$3 billion integrated steel mills in Cilegon, Banten, by the end of this year.

Krakatau Posco’s vice president director Kim Dong Ho said on Tuesday that the full operation of the facilities would begin on Dec. 23 after an inauguration ceremony by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. “We are on schedule, the commissioning of the facilities started this month, on most of our main plants,” he told The Jakarta Post.

During the day, the firm officially heated up its coke oven plant in a ceremony marking the final stage of the facilities’ development, attended by Industry Minister MS Hidayat and Trade Minister Gita Wirjawan, the former chief of the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM).

The US$357 million coke oven plant will each year produce 1.3 million tons of coke that will serve as an energy source for the firm’s steel plants.

The integrated steel facilities, which comprise a blast furnace, a sintering plant, a coke oven plant and a plate mill, represent the first part of the two-phase development that Krakatau Posco has planned with an overall investment of $6 billion to create a total output of 6 million tons of steel products.

In the initial phase of the project, the steel mills will produce 3 million tons of steel slab and plate. Around half of the output will be allotted for domestic customers, while the rest will be sold overseas.

Krakatau Posco would likely begin the second phase of the project at the end of 2015, one year after issuing a final acceptance certificate for the initial phase, Kim said.

The types of steel to be produced under the project’s next phase would be discussed with Krakatau Steel, he added.

Posco, the world’s third-biggest steel maker which controls a 70 percent stake in Krakatau Posco, was recently in conflict with its local partner Krakatau Steel following the latter’s move last December to set up another joint venture with Japan’s Nippon Steel and Sumitomo Metal Corporation (NSSMC).

The new joint venture plans to build a $378 million steel plant that will supply high-grade and more expensive steel for Indonesia’s fast-growing automotive industry. NSSMC holds a majority stake of 51 percent, with the rest owned by Krakatau Steel.

The industry minister told reporters after the ceremony that the government would not limit supply from any company to meet domestic demand, which at present relies heavily on imports.

“The government wants to see demand met domestically as much as possible,” he said.

Indonesia, Southeast Asia’s largest economy, is expecting sizeable demand for steel for infrastructure projects, shipbuilding and the automotive industry in the coming years.

Domestic steel consumption is expected to surge by between 6 percent and 9 percent this year from the 10.4 million tons estimated last year, according the Indonesian Iron and Steel Industry Association.

At present, the country imports between 35 percent and 40 percent of the total annual demand for steel due to limited capacity in the local industry.

 

[nufix]

Bali Floating Causeway Completion

 

[scobydoo]

Creative Industry Grows 7%

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Euis Saedah, director general of small and medium enterprises at the Industry Ministry, said that the creative industry has shown a seven percent annual increase. "The industry is one of the main supporters of Indonesia's economic growth each year," she said in the opening speech of the West Sumatra Food and Craft VI at the Industry Ministry, Tuesday, June 18.

According to Euis, fashion and craft become the dominant sub-sectors to contribute to the economy. "Whether it's in terms of added-values, employment, number of business units, and exports," he said. Both subsectors' exports contributed an average of US$13 billion per year in recent years.

She added that the fashion and handicraft industry contributed significantly to the work force, with the fashion industry accounting for 51.7 per cent and craft industry accounting for 35.7 percent.

Therefore, local governments are expected to help improve the competitiveness of the creative industry's products, especially handicrafts, fashion, and food. "And also to facilitate them to grow rapidly in a competitive global market," Euis said.

From June 18 to 21, 2013, the Industry Ministry is holding an exhibition titled "West Sumatra Food and Craft VI". The event will display a wide range of SME products from West Sumatra, mainly food and beverages and apparels.

Creative Industry Grows 7% | Economy & Business | Tempo.Co :: Indonesian News Portal

 

[scobydoo]

Director Gareth Evans Almost Got Killed by a Car on 'The Raid 2' Set

by Ethan Anderton
June 6, 2013
Source: Twitch

The Raid 2
For those who took the time to see the film The Raid (or as it was retitled in the United States, The Raid: Redemption), a bombastic martial arts bonanza played out on screen that puts most Hollywood action movies to shame. Director Gareth Evans knows what he's doing behind the camera, and while The Raid was only a moderate success, audiences will still be getting The Raid 2. Evans recently spoke to Collider saying, "We should be finished with post by the end of this year and then maybe early next year we can have the release.” But that's assuming that Evans doesn't die on the set of the sequel he says is "bigger in scope."

Here's a behind the scenes photo from a series of car stunts in The Raid 2 (via Twitch):

That guy behind the camera is Gareth Evans himself. Apparently one of the stunt cars didn't exactly end up where it was supposed to, and Evans almost found himself at the mercy of that big SUV. It sounds like the bigger action sequences mean more danger for the cast and crew. Thankfully, the four month shoot is still ongoing and an uninjured Evans took the time to speak with Collider about the production:

“We’re still shooting it right now. We’re about a month and a half away from finishing the production of it. It’s got the same kind of action beats in terms of the style of the action, but our approach this time is to go way more cinematic with it. We’re expanding the universe out. We’re taking the story out of that little claustrophobic setting and putting it out into the streets and into the high end gangsters in Jakarta. It’s a lot bigger in scope. So fingers crossed people will kind of come along for the ride again.”

The small setting made the film much more controlled and added a level of suspense, but if we're talking about taking the intense action sequences of The Raid into the outside world, then we're in for some epic fights and chases. Hopefully being more cinematic doesn't lose any of the spirit of the original. And considering the first film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, maybe this one could end up getting a premiere at Sundance in 2014? That would be a hell of a place to unleash The Raid 2. Excited?

Director Gareth Evans Almost Got Killed by a Car on 'The Raid 2' Set | FirstShowing.net

==================================


By making The Expendables 3, Sylvester Stallone want to challenge The Raid 2

 

[nufix]

Indonesia and Chile to Build Thorium Nuclear Reactors

Benefit From the Latest Energy Trends and Investment Opportunities before the mainstream media and investing public are aware they even exist. The Free Oilprice.com Energy Intelligence Report gives you this and much more. Click here to find out more.
A small Canadian energy company may soon be about to install thorium-fuelled nuclear reactors in Indonesia and Chile, in order to generate energy for the grid, or desalination plants.

The world currently has 435 commercial nuclear power plants, all of which run off uranium, but thorium is gathering support to replace uranium as a nuclear fuel, for several reasons. Thorium is much safer than uranium, being less likely to suffer a meltdown; it is a far more abundant element meaning that it should be cheaper to produce than uranium; the leftover waste decays at a far faster rate than uranium, meaning that it becomes safe far quicker; and it is much more difficult to create a nuclear weapon out of thorium waste.

David Kerr, the CEO of the Canadian company Thorium Power Canada (TPC), told Mark Halper of Smart Planet, that they are in advanced discussions with authorities from Indonesia and Chile to supply each country with a small thorium reactor.

Related Article: Water Shortages May End Jordan’s Nuclear Power Hopes

TCP bought the technology rights to build its small thorium reactors in January 2012 from DBI/Century Fuels, a small Californian company founded decades ago by Hector D’Auvergne of Chile.

Indonesia hopes to build a thorium reactor on the island of Kalimantan in as soon as two years, the power plant would then be connected to the national grid, or used to power a desalination plant. The plant in Chile would power a desalination facility in the dry northern city of Copiapo.

Each small module will have a capacity of between 10MW and 100MW, and Kerr mentioned that they are attracting some serious interest from Chilean and Argentine mining companies.

By. Joao Peixe of Oilprice.com

Indonesia and Chile to Build Thorium Nuclear Reactors

 

[Reashot Xigwin]

Indonesia's poor to receive aid package
Government is rolling out a $2.8 billion aid package to soften the blow of fuel price hike.

Inside Story - Pay-out or pay-off for Indonesia's poor? - YouTube

Indonesia is rolling out a $2.8 billion aid package to soften the blow of a fuel price hike.

The government says it's trying to deliver real help to more than 15 million households, but some are worried it will lead to corruption.

Indonesia is handing out cash to millions of its poorest people to offset the effects of the rising cost of fuel. Prices are increasing by up to 44 percent, as costly state subsidies are cut back. The world's fourth most populous nation had been enjoying some of the cheapest fuel in the world. But it has been hurting the economy. So is this a pay out, or a pay off for Indonesia's poor? And how effective would these cash hand-outs be Indonesia?

Indonesia's poor to receive aid package - Asia-pacific - Al Jazeera English

 

[Reashot Xigwin]

Timah, Semen Indonesia Join the Rush to Myanmar
By Elizabeth Gloria Brahmana & Agustinus Tetiro on 7:20 pm July 2, 2013.

Semen Indonesia has put aside $200 million for a pair of acquisitions in Myanmar. (JG Photo/Afriadi Hikmal)

Two more Indonesian state-controlled companies have announced plans to expand into Myanmar, as the Southeast Asian nation continues the liberalization of its economy.

Timah, the state tin miner, plans to spend Rp 328 billion to Rp 378 billion ($33 million to $38 million) to establish a joint venture in Myanmar.

“The establishment of the joint venture is being processed,” Sukrisno, the president director at Timah, said recently.

‘‘We are aiming to be the majority shareholder and the remaining [ownership] will be held by local companies with around a 5 percent to 10 percent holding in the joint venture.”

Timah is seeking to wrap up the conditional sales and purchase agreement for the stake in the targeted company by August, Sukrisno said.

He refused to disclose Timah’s partners or the name of the joint venture.

Timah plans to spend $18 million to help finance tin mining exploration and exploitation activities as well as build a 5,000-ton-capacity smelter.

Exploration is expected to begin this year, and exploitation next year.

Myanmar is poised for big economic growth in the coming years.

Global consultancy McKinsey Global Institute issued a report in May that found that Myanmar’s economy could quadruple to around $200 billion in 2030, from $45 billion in 2010.

The Asian Development Bank has forecast Myanmar’s gross domestic product to reach 6.5 percent this year and 6.7 percent in 2014 should the government continue with its policy reforms and the European Union and United States ease restrictions on imports.

Another Indonesian state-controlled company already making plans for Myanmar is Semen Indonesia.

Dwi Soetjipto, the president director of the cement maker, said on Monday that the company has set aside $200 million for purchasing controlling stakes in a pair of cement makers.

“We plan to partner with two local companies, maybe state-owned companies, to tap into the cement market in Myanmar,” he said.

Dwi declined to name the company Semen Indonesia intends to acquire, but said Indonesia’s largest cement producer by production volume plans to boost the production capacity of the plant from 300,000 tons to between 1 million and 1.5 million tons per year.

This will add to Semen Indonesia’s production capacity, which stands at 25 million tons per year.

He said Semen Indonesia preferred to acquire a cement company that already has a factory, rather than build an operation from scratch.

Dwi said Semen Indonesia will seek external funding from bank loans or bond issues to finance the acquisitions once the go-ahead for the deal has been given.

State Enterprises Minister Dahlan Iskan earlier this year urged the companies under his watch to prepare to compete in Myanmar. But Indonesia’s efforts in the country were dealt a blow by Telekomunikasi Indonesia’s exclusion from the short-list of companies bidding to expand Myanmar’s mobile phone network.

Semen Indonesia has been aggressive in tapping into potential business opportunities in Southeast Asia.

In January it spent around Rp. 1.5 trillion to acquire a 70 percent share in private cement producer Thang Long Cement, based in Quang Ninh,Vietnam.

Vietnam was last year the largest producer of cement in Southeast Asia, ahead of Thailand and Indonesia, according to the US Geological Survey Report.

Timah, Semen Indonesia Join the Rush to Myanmar - The Jakarta Globe

 

[scobydoo]

1,200 CEO FROM APEC ECONOMY MEMBERS WILL GATHER IN NUSA DUA BALI

During the 2013 APEC CEO Summit 2013, there will be 1,200 CEO from APEC economic members will gather in Nusa Dua Bali, including 250 CEO from Indonesia. APEC Business Advisory Council will convey three main issues: development of infrastructure and advocate SMEE to get better market & financial access.

1,200 CEO from APEC Economy Members will Gather in Nusa Dua Bali | APEC CEO Summit Indonesia 2013 | 5 – 7 October 2013 Bali


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1,200 CEOs Take Private Jet to Bali For APEC meeting

Jakarta - Bali will host the APEC Summit on October 5 to 7, 2013, and there will be 1,200 CEOs plan to bring private jet. The Government through the Ministry of Transportation to make rules so that the Ngurah Rai airport is not congested.

Transportation Minister EE. Mangindaan said, to parse the density at Ngurah Rai Airport it has made the scheme. Thus, APEC delegates who attend can bring a private plane landed at Ngurah Rai, but after the plane will be diverted to an alternative airport for parking.

These are prepared by the airport Surabaya, Lombok, and Makassar.

"We switch down passengers must leave the airport immediately," Mangindaan said on the sidelines of the launch of the Boeing 777-300ER Garuda Indonesia in Cengkareng, Tuesday (02/07/2013).

Before the APEC summit takes place, a new international terminal Ngurah Rai is ready to operate. Mangindaan also added, for aircraft parking, PT Angkasa Pura I have prepared several alternative airports close to Bali.

"Because the airport's not enough to accommodate many aircrafts. We switch to stand-by to Surabaya, Makassar and then attempted to Lombok," he explained.

1.200 CEO Bawa Jet Pribadi ke Pertemuan APEC Bali, Ini Aturan dari Menhub