Corporate housekeeping

After the foreign investment company is established (“PT PMA”), where the Deed of Established (“DoE”) has been approved by Ministry of Laws and Human Rights, PT PMA shall take corporate actions. First meetings of Shareholders, Directors and Commissioners shall be held. The General Meeting of Shareholders (“GMS”) should confirm the appointment of the members of Board of Commissioners (“BoC”) and Board of Directors (“BoD”). GMS together with BoD and BoC ratify all actions taken in PT PMA’s name prior to Ministry of Laws and Human Rights approval of the DoE. Moreover, the Share Certificates, the Share Registry and the Special Register shall be prepared too.

Company administration at the Ministry of Law and Human Rights

The Restructuring Team of Department of Laws and Human Rights made an announcement that they will not process the companies’ administration for the time being because the Administration System of Legal Entity has been confiscated by the Attorney General Office. The system has been used for the purpose of approval of the Company Administration such as the Legalization of Article of Association (“AoA”) of Limited Liability Company, the Amendment of AoA, the Adjustment of AoA in the Ministry of Laws and Human Rights Office. The Ministry of Laws and Human Rights will give the public services on the administration of legal entity again after the supplying goods and services process is completed.

Kalla, Hidayat honored in Belgium

Vice President Jusuf Kalla was on Friday recognized by Belgium for his role in boosting bilateral relations, especially in the economic sector, between Indonesia and Belgium. He was awarded the Commandeur de l’Ordre de Leopold medal, while the Indonesian CoC chairman, M.S. Hidayat, was honored as Officeur de l’Ordre de Leopold. The honors were delivered by Belgian deputy prime minister and foreign minister Karel de Gucht. Belgium is Indonesia’s sixth major destination for exports in the EU and 18th in the world.
Source: PA Asia - Public Affairs and CSR from the Jakarta Post, 7 February, p.2

Bappenas studying 82 projects for bids, including $20 m port

The National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) is studying proposals for up to 82 infrastructure projects worth US$ 20 billion to decide whether they are ready to put for public bidding. The $20 million cruise ship port project in Tanah Ampo, Bali, is currently the most feasible for a bidding process, according to Bappenas. All the projects will adopt the public-private partnership scheme, which means private stakeholders will provide the majority of the financing while the government provides the guarantee.
Source: PA Asia - Public Affairs and CSR from the Jakarta Post, 9 February, p.14

Expedite the modernization of Priok

After visiting the Port of Rotterdam on Monday evening (Indonesian time), Vice President Jusuf Kalla asked the modernization of Tanjung Priok to be expedited from five years to three years so the port could become an international hub and able to compete with Singapore port. The whole modernization program of the Tanjung Priok port is laid in a master plan and divided into three stages: short term (2010-2012), medium term (2013-2027) and long term (2018-2050).
Source: PA Asia - Public Affairs and CSR from Bisnis Indonesia, 10 February, p.m3

Infrastructure Fund ready to be set up; World Bank, ADB contribute

The new financial institution, called the Infrastructure Fund – which would provide alternative financing for development projects – may be up and running as early as March. The World Bank and the Asian Development Bank will contribute around Rp 2 trillion (US$ 170 million). The Finance Minister had already allocated Rp 1 trillion from the state budget. Indonesia estimated a need of around Rp 20 trillion for the Fund in the next five years.
Source: PA Asia - Public Affairs and CSR from the Jakarta Post, 11 February, p.13

Port tariff discount is agreed

The Ministry of Transportation agreed to provide a 5% discount for port service tariff in the next three months, which will be effective starting from 15 February 2009. The approval was given in order to boost the national shipping sector’s growth amidst the global economic crisis, despite state port operators (Pelindo I-IV) have reported that the discount will incur losses on their side. The policy will be reviewed after three months should there is any fuel price cut.
Source: PA Asia - Public Affairs and CSR from Bisnis Indonesia, p.m6, 12 February 2009.

Pelindo II to develop the road in Priok port

State port operator PT Pelindo II prepares a Rp 84 billion budget to develop a 5-km road extension in Tanjung Priok port, as part of the company’s port inner road improvement program. Pelindo II also plans to extend the port’s main road from three lanes to five lanes, and connect the inner and outer toll roads. This is aimed to reduce the congestion inside and outside the port.
Source: PA Asia - Public Affairs and CSR from Bisnis Indonesia, p.m3, 12 February 2009.

Seven companies are authorized to certify organic food

The National Accreditation Committee (KAN) authorizes seven companies to conduct certification on organic food products, making each of them as an Organic Food Certification Agency (LSPO). They are LSPO Sucofindo, LSPO Mutu Agung Lestari, LSPO Inofice, LSPO BIOCert Indonesia, LSPO Sumatera Barat, LSPO LeSOS and LSPO Persada. Currently, there are only 10 to 15 organic food products that have obtained the Indonesian National Standard (SNI) certificate.
Source: PA Asia - Public Affairs and CSR from Koran Jakarta, p.15, 30 January 2009.

Bojonegara Port is damaged

The Bojonegara International Port in Serang Regency, Banten province, has been left to crumble. Since the construction was started in 2003, the port has never been operational although it was originally planned to start operating in 2007. The government has spent Rp 100 billion for the construction. According to the Banten port administrator office, the port’s current condition is unsuitable for an international port and its location does not fulfill the shipping safety standards.
Source: PA Asia - Public Affairs and CSR from Kompas, p.27, 30 January 2009.

Government to maintain fuel prices during 2009

The government will likely maintain the latest prices of Premium gasoline, diesel and kerosene until the end of 2009, the president says. According to him, the current prices are “appropriate” and “in accordance” with the projected movement of global crude oil prices and with the composition of the 2009 state budget. The government has cut the fuel price three times in the past few months following falls in global crude oil prices.
Source: PA Asia - Public Affairs and CSR from the Jakarta Post, p. 13, 3 February 2009

Demand for palm oil export is improved

Export of crude palm oil (CPO) starting from early this year is predicted to keep increasing since the price and the demand are still good. According to the Head of the Marketing Department at the Indonesian Exporter Businessmen Association (Gapki), Susanto, the biggest increase for CPO export is triggered by the large demands from China and India. He added that the CPO export to Europe is declining due to the global economic crisis.
Source: PA Asia - Public Affairs and CSR from Bisnis Indonesia, p.4, 4 February 2009

Electricity crisis in Ambon is getting worse

The electricity crisis in Ambon, Maluku province is getting worse due to damaged power generators. Rotating outage is done twice or thrice a day for 3-5 hours, hampering the economic activities in the city. According to the regional branch of the state electricity company (PLN), the peak load in Ambon is around 28-32 MW and the installed capacity is 37 MW
Source: PA Asia - Public Affairs and CSR from Kompas, p.22, 5 February 2009

Indonesia cuts interest rate as domestic demand wanes

Indonesia’s central bank cut its benchmark interest rate by half a percentage point Wednesday to 8.25%, and hinted that another reduction is likely to aid the flagging economy as inflation eases. The latest inflation data indicate waning demand as domestic consumers feel the impact of the global slowdown. The government expects growth to slow to 5% this year from an estimated 6% in 2008.
Source: PA Asia - Public Affairs and CSR from the Wall Street Journal, p.8, 5 February 2009