Updated News August 25, 2010
- Indonesia 2010 Private Investment May Beat Estimate To Hit IDR180 Tln
- Mandiri’s SME expo targets Rp 5b daily revenue
- Panasonic Offers Solar Energy Investment in Indonesia
- Bukit Asam, Adani Group Sign $1.6 Bln Coal Railway Agreement
- S.Korea EWP buys Indonesia, U.S. coal via term tender
- Pertamina seeking USD 1.5 bln loan
- Newmont Prepared to Face Pukuafu at Court
- Indonesia's Krakatau Steel seeks export tax for iron ore
- Reliance to Invest $5b In South Sumatra Coal
- Government Refuses Merpati Loan Takeover
- Garuda Indonesia seeking foreign pilots
- Transport Gurus Not Moved by Capital’s Toll-Road Plan
- Dutch investor to build resort in Lombok Barat
- Indocement: Home Cement Demand Likely To Rise 10%-15% In 2011
- Indonesia tops Asia list of copyright pirate centres: survey
- Indosat 1H Net Profit Falls 72% On Higher Costs
- U.S. Embassy Kicks Off Pesta Blogger 2010: Celebrating Diversity
Government Relations & Economic Development
Indonesia 2010 Private Investment May Beat Estimate To Hit IDR180 Tln
Dow Jones, Jakarta – 25/08/2010
Private investments in Indonesia may reach IDR180 trillion ($20 billion) this year, above an earlier estimate of IDR160 trillion, as the government speeds up administrative processes, the head of the country's investment agency said Wednesday.
"There are some intesive discussions, but we expect all can be completed and to sign several MoUs (memoranda of understanding) later this year," Gita Wirjawan, head of the Coordinating Board for Investment, or BKPM, said.
Wirjawan previously said the board would focus on big infrastructure projects such as power plants, railroads, ports, and refineries.
Earlier in the day, coal producer PT Tambang Batubara Bukit Asam (PTBA.JK) signed a $1.6 billion agreement with PT Adani Global, the local unit of India's Adani group, to develop a railway project to transport coal in South Sumatra province.
South Korea's Hankook Tire Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (000240.SE) and India's Reliance Power Ltd. (532939.BY) will likely sign agreements with local partners before the year-end, Wirjawan said.
For many years, investors have had to go to numerous ministries or government agencies to request permits, but a little less than a year ago, BKPM introduced a one-stop service for investments that trimmed the time needed for administrative processes from months to days.
Private-sector investment rose to IDR92.9 trillion in the first half of this year, already equivalent to total investment in the full year of 2009. About 80% of that amount came from foreign direct investment.
Mandiri’s SME expo targets Rp 5b daily revenue
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta – 25/08/2010
In anticipation of Idul Fitri, the nation’s largest lender, Bank Mandiri, is helping small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) market products at an expo at the Jakarta Convention Center.
The five-day event, which starts today and ends Sunday, is called “Gelar Karya Mitra Binaan Bank Mandiri 2010”.
The expo will host 180 enterprises that offer products for Idul Fitri, such as food, clothing, furniture, souvenirs and more, said Bank Mandiri finance and strategy director Pahala Mansury.
More than 10,000 businesspeople, professionals, students, housewives and Mandiri customers are expected attend, he added.
“Transactions are expected to reach Rp 5 billion [US$550,000] per day. Therefore, we expect total transactions at the entire event to surpass Rp 20 billion,” he said.
Indonesia, a secular state, is the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation. Almost 90 percent of its citizens are Muslims who will celebrate Idul Fitri after the month-long Ramadan fasting period.
Inflation in Indonesia typically peaks during Ramadan and Idul Fitri, as people’s tendency to buy increases significantly.
“Bank Mandiri has prepared Rp 14 trillion in cash for the Idul Fitri celebration, Rp 5 to 8 trillion more than on normal days, because cash demands usually increase. The cash will be spread throughout all branches in Indonesia,” Pahala said.
He added that Mandiri also optimized the Idul Fitri momentum by helping its SME partners market their products at the event.
Vendors at the event previously received loans from Mandiri and had also received advice from the bank on business operation. The bank’s program boasts partners from places across the archipelago, including Bali, Yogyakarta, Surabaya, Makassar, Madura, Kendari, Mataram, and Ambon.
Through its partnership program, Bank Mandiri said it disbursed Rp 658.2 billion in loans to 48,000 small enterprises in the first half of this year.
Mandiri allocated funds from its profits for the program, Pahala said.
“We will continue to develop programs that can grow SMEs in hopes of boosting the country’s economic growth,” he added.
Loan growth at the state-owned bank increased 20 percent in the period ending June 31 to Rp 218 trillion, more than the national average bank loan growth rate of 18.88 percent.
The bank said its SME lending had grown 20 percent this year, while lending to Indonesian SMEs had grown 24 percent in the first half, according to CEIC data.
The government has urged banks to disburse more loans to spur economic growth since early this year, especially the productive ones, such as SMEs, that could create a multiplier effect to the economy.
In line with the government’s agenda, the central bank has held its benchmark interest rate at a record low of 6.5 percent for 12 consecutive months.
Energy and Mining
Panasonic Offers Solar Energy Investment in Indonesia
Eko Wibowo. Tempo Interactive, Jakarta – 25/08/2010
President of Panasonic Corporation Fumio Ohtsubo met with Vice President Boediono today in Jakarta (25/8) to offer the government investment in renewable clean energy, the solar power.
Vice Presidential spokesman Yopie hidayat said Panasonic came not just with a plan to develop the solar panel but also offer the technology to store the solar power. Panasonic is eyeing the country not just as a potential market but also as production area.
"They are seriously considering on setting up plant to produce solar panel. They have lots of plan," Yopie told reporters after the meeting at the Vice Presidential Palace which he said will support the implausible target of cutting back the nation's carbon emission by 26 percent announced late last year in UN climate summit in Copenhagen.
"We," Yopie went on, have an abundant solar power. If (we) can utilize it, (we) can replace inefficient power plants. The government will support the effort here as the key to the future."
Boediono according to Yopie also use the opportunity to invite Panasonic to invest in transport sector.
Beside solar energy the equatorial nation has other enormous potential clean energy like hydropower, sea wave, and windpower, which would greatly reduce the countries dependence on fossil based fuel.
Bukit Asam, Adani Group Sign $1.6 Bln Coal Railway Agreement
Dow Jones, Jakarta – 25/08/2010
Coal producer PT Tambang Batubara Bukit Asam (PTBA.JK), or PTBA, Wednesday signed an agreement worth $1.6 billion with PT Adani Global, the local unit of India's Adani group, to develop a railway project to transport coal in South Sumatra province.
"Adani will finance the development of the railway, while PTBA will become the user for the railway," PTBA President Director Sukrisno told reporters.
He said he expects the 270-kilometer railway project to be operational in 2015 or 2016.
He said the railway, which will connect PTBA's coal pit at Tanjung Enim and Tanjung Api Api Port, will have a capacity to transport around 35 million metric tons of coal a year.
Adani Group's president for corporate planning, Harsh V. Mishra, said his company will use its internal cash and bank loans to finance the project.
S.Korea EWP buys Indonesia, U.S. coal via term tender
Reutes, Seoul – 25/08/2010
Korea East West Power Co Ltd (EWP) bought more than 1.04 million tonnes per year of Indonesian and U.S. coal via term tenders closed on Aug. 16, an industry source said on Wednesday.
The source, who declined to be identified, said the utility bought a supply of October loading coal with a minimum 4,600 kcal/kg net as received (NAR) via a separate spot tender.
The utility was still negotiating with a supplier to procure 350,000 tonnes of coal for shipment from September to December 2010 via spot tender, the source said.
Last month, the utility awarded tenders to buy 500,000 tonnes of Australian and South African coal for power generation.
Pertamina seeking USD 1.5 bln loan
IOGNews, Jakarta – 25/08/2010
State-owned oil and gas company Pertamina is to seek a USD 1.5 billion loan for investment purposes now that its plan to issue bonds has been postponed until the first quarter of 2011, a spokesperson said.
"Because the issuance of our USD 1.5 billion bonds has been postponed, we are now looking for a loan to the same amount for this year," Pertamina president director Karen Agustiawan said here Tuesday.
She said it was difficult to issue the planned bond this year because Pertamina`s financial report on 2009 would be completed only in October 2010.Initially, Pertamina had intended to issue its bonds in the first semester of 2010 but this timeline was changed to the last quarter of 2010 with the assumption that its financial report on 2009 could be issued in September 2010.Pertamina had appointed three securities firms as the underwriters of its global bonds, namely Citigroup, HSBC and Credit Suisse.
Meanwhile, Karen said, Pertamina had been appointed by the Upstream Oil and Gas Supervisory Agency (BP Migas) as the sales agent for a liquefied natural gas (LNG) surplus produced from the Bontang field in East Kalimantan. So far, interest to buy the excess cargoes had been expressed by companies in Japan, Korea and Taiwan.
"The cargoes will be delivered between 2011 and 2012," Karen added.
LNG production facilities in Bontang had yielded 60 - 80 excess cargoes because the completion date of a floating LNG receiving terminal in the Jakarta Bay had become uncertain.
The LNG receiving terminal project was to have been finished in September 2010, but until now it had not even started while its physical construction was to take 18 months.
Newmont Prepared to Face Pukuafu at Court
Gutisdha Budiarti. Tempo Interactive, Jakarta – 25/08/2010
Newmont Nusa Tenggara said it is ready to face legal challenge in divestment dispute with its smallest stakeholder Pukuafu Indah after the latter stated openly at the beginning of this week that it is suing the company for releasing some of its stake to local investors in line with the international arbitrary decision in March 2009.
President Director of Newmont Nusa Tenggara Martiono Hadianto said legal move by Pukuafu is part of its rights as a stakeholder but Martiono stressed that he did not break the law in the divestment steps.
The company has completed sale for 24 percent of its stake to domestic investors i.e. regional government of West Nusa Tenggara and Bakrie's unit Multicapital in November and December last year and is about to sell the remaining seven percent as required by the divestment deal between the company and the government in 1986.Pukuafu Indah as the only local venture in Newmont Nusa Tenggara with 20 percent of stake said the 31 percent stake should have been offered to them.
No major effort made to public by Pukuafu to acquire the shares when the divestment process were delayed for around eight months since the international arbitrary ruling on the stake dispute was produced, as the government had no financial capacity to acquire the shares.
Newmont sold the 24 percent stake for US$ 844 million.
Indonesia's Krakatau Steel seeks export tax for iron ore
Yayat Supriatna. Reuters, Jakarta – 24/08/2010
Indonesia's biggest steel maker, PT Krakatau Steel, said on Tuesday it wants the government to set an export tax on iron ore in order to secure adequate supplies for its steel project with South Korea's POSCO .
Indonesia is keen to increase revenue from the mining sector by boosting its domestic processing industries. Under a new coal and mining law passed in 2008, all mining products must be processed domestically.
The government gives miners five years to adjust to the new domestic processing ruling, but Fazwar Bujang, Krakatau's president director, said the transition period was too long.
"Exports of iron ore still continue. If we let this continue, we may lose out because the reserves will be quickly depleted by then," Bujang told reporters.
Indonesia's iron ore mineable reserves were estimated at 22 billion tonnes and are scattered in different areas in the archipelago, Bujang said, which makes it crucial to maintain current supplies.
Indonesia exported 10 million tonnes of iron ore in the first eight months of 2010, up from 6 million tonnes in the whole of 2009, said Ansari Bukhari, director general of metal and machinery at the industry ministry.
POSCO, the world's No. 3 steelmaker, signed the joint venture agreement with Krakatau Steel earlier this month.
Krakatau Steel has said it plans to import 5 million tonnes of iron ore a year from 2013 when its joint venture with POSCO starts production because Indonesia's domestic supplies were insufficient.
There has been increased interest in investing in Indonesia's mining sector, including from the world's biggest steelmaker, ArcelorMittal, which said it is considering an investment worth $5 billion in Indonesia.
Reliance to Invest $5b In South Sumatra Coal
The Jakarta Globe, Jakarta – 24/08/2010
India’s Reliance Power will invest as much as $5 billion to develop three coal mines and a railway in South Sumatra as the company embarks on a massive electricity-generating program at home, Vice President Boediono’s office said on Tuesday.
Reliance chief executive Jayarama Prasad Chalasani met Boediono in Jakarta on Tuesday to talk about the company’s investment plan, and also discussed Reliance’s possible development of power plants in Indonesia, vice presidential spokesman Yopie Hidayat said.
Yopie said Reliance’s investment would include coal mines as well as infrastructure, including a railway and a port in Jambi.
“After five years, the company aims to produce 50 million tons of coal yearly,” Yopie said. The railway will stretch 230 kilometers from the mines in Batang Hari, South Sumatra, to a port in Jambi, he added.
Chalasani didn’t answer calls to his mobile phone and company spokesman Nagraj Rao declined to comment. Reliance joins the Essar Group and Tata Power among Indian companies securing coal assets in Indonesia to supply surging power consumption in the world’s second-fastest-growing major economy.
More than half of India’s electricity generation is coal-fired, according to the Indian Ministry of Power’s Web site. Reliance Power, controlled by billionaire Anil Ambani, in June bought two companies that own three coal mines in Indonesia — reportedly from the Sugico Group — as it seeks fuel for power plants it is building in India, Asia’s third-biggest energy consumer.
Reliance Coal Resources, a unit of Reliance Power, agreed to acquire all the shares of the two companies, it said in a statement to the Bombay Stock Exchange, without naming the companies or the value of the deal.
Reliance Power said in May 2008 that it had agreed to buy three coal mines in Indonesia.
The company did not say whether Tuesday’s announcement involved the same mines.
A spokesman for the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group could not immediately be reached for comment.
It remained unclear on Tuesday whether the investments in South Sumatra included the purchases in June.
Coal demand in India could be 1.4 billion metric tons by 2020, exceeding domestic supply of 1.1 billion tons, according to Crisil, a unit of Standard & Poor’s.
Coal India, the nation’s monopoly producer, is looking to Indonesia as well as Australia and the United States for strategic coal alliances, including equity stakes in mines.
Reliance Power plans to build 16 plants with a total capacity of 33,780 megawatts in India, including seven coal-fired and seven hydroelectric plants, according to the Web site.
Yopie said the infrastructure built by Reliance in Sumatra could also be used for other public purposes. Boediono also asked Reliance about the possibility of the company building power plants in Indonesia, and received a favorable response, Yopie said.
“They also said that they agreed to build power plants here in Indonesia. The vice president gave them more opportunity as a private power producer. He said that if they could make it cheap there, they might also produce cheap electricity here, even, if it is possible, cheaper.”
During the meeting, Reliance said it could generate electricity for just 2.5 cents per kilowatt hour, an extremely low price.
“The vice president also asked whether Reliance could explore developing coal bed methane here,” Yopie said.
“Indonesia has big stock of it, mainly in Kalimantan.”
Transportation
Government Refuses Merpati Loan Takeover
Iqbal Butahrom & Evana Dewi. Tempo Interactive, Jakarta – 25/08/2010
Government have rejected plea from Merpati Nusantara Airlines, another state owned carrier, to cover the loan it received from China in exchange for more control over the company.
Finance Minister Agus Martowardojo said after a parliamentary hearing with Merpati executives on Tuesday that the “subsidiary loan agreement will remain as subsidiary loan agreement” and will not be converted into state venture capital.
The Government of China and Exim Bank of China have agreed to provide US$232 million loan for the Merpati to buy 15 Xian MA-60 aircrafts. Merpati later requested the government to and put the loan in this year's annual state budget expenditure and changed it into state venture capital.
Following the statement from the Finance Department the State Enterprises Ministry said it will support Merpati to convert the foreign loan into state venture caspital.
Infrastructure
Garuda Indonesia seeking foreign pilots
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta – 24/08/2010
State-owned airline Garuda Indonesia is seeking 70 international pilots to develop its training program. The search will last until end of this year.
“The foreign pilots will be brought to Indonesia to help us train new pilot candidates. Hopefully the new pilots will be able operate our aircraft by next year,” operational director Ari Sapari said Tuesday, as quoted by kompas.com.
Indonesia’s aviation industry is faced with a shortage of pilots because of an increase in available aircraft.
The government has issued policies to help the industry grow, including allowing recruitment of foreign pilots and extending the pilot retirement age to 60.
Garuda had 670 pilots and co-pilots in 2009. This year the company is expecting 851 pilots and co-pilots to operate its 67 airplanes.
Transport Gurus Not Moved by Capital’s Toll-Road Plan
Arientha Primanita. The Jakarta Globe, Jakarta – 25/08/2010
The multibillion dollar plan to build toll roads in Jakarta was rebuffed by transportation experts as shortsighted, saying the city administration should focus on improving public transportation and traffic management rather than laying new pavement.
Darmaningtyas, chairman of the Institute of Transportation Studies, said on Tuesday that he strongly opposed the plan to build six toll roads while other aspects of the capital’s transportation infrastructure were nonexistent or in a state of disrepair.
“The toll roads will serve only to increase the number of private vehicles, thus worsening the traffic situation,” he told the Jakarta Globe. “It would be better if the authorities improved the TransJakarta busway system and the train network.”
He also called on the administration to repair existing roads instead of building new ones.
Tri Tjahjono, head of the Jakarta branch of the Indonesian Transport Society (MTI), backed those calls and said the city’s notorious gridlock would only be improved if fresh ideas were brought to the table.
The new toll roads, he went on, would have been more appropriate “several years ago, when the traffic wasn’t as bad as it is now.”
Tri also argued that the project would be very costly, given the large amounts of land that would have to be appropriated to make room for the roadways.
“It would be better to develop its existing roads to more adequately handle the traffic, which would help connect all parts of the capital,” he said.
He also urged sounder traffic management to even out the high concentration of vehicles in the central business district during rush hours.
However, if the administration insists on pushing ahead with the new roads project, Tri went on, it must ensure that a consortium of city-owned contractors win the construction and operation tenders.
“If a private company wins the tenders, they keep all the profits,” he said. “But if the city wins, it can use the profits for other development projects.”
Governor Fauzi Bowo has long championed the construction of new roads, arguing that the 6.2 percent of city area currently dedicated to roads, or road ratio, must be increased.
He also cited the growth rate of new roads of only 0.01 percent a year as one of the reasons for the worsening traffic in the capital.
“We can’t build many more regular roads, so we’re looking at building elevated roads for long-distance commutes,” he said.
The six toll roads will be built in four stages, at a total cost of Rp 40 trillion ($4.4 billion).
The first 28-kilometer stretch will link Semanan in West Jakarta to Pulogebang in East Jakarta, and is expected to cost Rp 17 trillion.
The first phase of that stage, a 7.5-km link from Semanan to Pedongkelan in West Jakarta, will have a budget of Rp 5 trillion. Construction of this phase is expected to begin next year and end in 2012.
An estimated 21.9 hectares of land will be purchased for the roads themselves, while an additional 44 hectares will be from the current owners.
The entry and exit ramps alone will require 69.5 hectares of acquired land and 54 hectares of rented land.
Dutch investor to build resort in Lombok Barat
ANTARA News, Lombok Barat – 25/08/2010
A Dutch investor is planning to build a tourist resort in Lombok Island and name it The Palmsat at Gili Tangkong Sekotong, a regional development official said.
The foreign investor was to spend US$1.55 million to transform the area, located 70 km from Mataram, into a "Haneymoon Island", HM Taufik, head of Lombok Barat District`s Development Planning Board, said.
Taufik did not name the Dutch investor who, he said, was now still attending to the administrative requirements for the project which was to be completed in early 2011 barring unexpected obstacles.
The envisaged resort would include a Gili Tangkong restaurant and bungalows whose designs would be different from those in Bali and other places because the main purpose was to attract tourists visiting Bali.
But the Lombak Barat district chief had asked the investor not to overlook nuances of Lombok culture although he would basically use Balinese designs.
The disrict chief had also asked the investor to use local materials and employ locals in the project, he said.
The project was expected to have a multiplier effect on the local economy and also help improve the people`s welfare, he said.
He added, many investors had shown interest in Gili Tangkong but the local administration had not responded seriously because they failed to show green designs.
Indocement: Home Cement Demand Likely To Rise 10%-15% In 2011
Dow Jones, Jakarta – 24/08/2010
Indonesia's second-largest cement firm by production, PT Indocement Tunggal Perkasa Tbk (INTP.JK), said domestic cement demand is likely to rise 10%-15% next year as the government boosts infrastructure spending, the company's financial director said Tuesday.
"Demand will likely rise between 10 and 15 percent next year, faster than around 8 percent this year," Christian Kartawijaya told reporters.
Kartawijaya added that Indocement plans to increase annual production capacity by two million metric tons next year to tap the increased demand.
Indocement, controlled by Germany's HeidelbergCement AG (HDELY), expects annual production capacity to reach 18.6 million tons by the end of the year.
Analysts have said cement companies will benefit from the government's plan to boost infrastructure spending by 28% next year.
Domestic cement demand is forecast to reach nearly 42 million tons this year, up from around 38 million tons in 2009.
Information and Communications Technology
Indonesia tops Asia list of copyright pirate centres: survey
AFP, 25/08/2010
Indonesia has the worst record when it comes to protecting intellectual property rights (IPR) in Asia and Singapore the best, a survey of expatriate business people showed Wednesday.
"Indonesia seems to have lost its momentum for cracking down on IPR abuses and making the system more compliant with international standards," Hong Kong-based Political and Economic Risk Consultancy (PERC) said.
Indonesia "has passed new laws that should improve protection of intellectual property, but those rules are not enforced effectively at all, and piracy levels in Indonesia remain among the highest in the world."
Indonesia was given the worst score of 8.5 out of a maximum 10 points compared to 11 other Asian economies in the PERC survey of 1,285 expatriate managers condcucted between June and mid-August. Zero is the best possible score.
More advanced economies fared better, with Singapore heading the list with 1.5, followed by Japan (2.1), Hong Kong (2.8), Taiwan (3.8) and South Korea (4.1).
At the other end of the scale, Vietnam was second worst at 8.4, China scored 7.9, the Philippines 6.84, India 6.5, Thailand 6.17 and Malaysia 5.8.
The rankings largely reflect studies by the global software industry, which is alarmed by the easy availability of pirated movies and software in Asian cities despite governments' pledges to crack down.
"Of the emerging Asian countries, Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines are all poorly rated not only for their low level of IPR protection but also for such criteria as physical infrastructure, bureaucratic inefficiency and labour limitations," PERC said.
China also came under strong scrutiny because of the sheer size of its economy and the presence of large companies "capable of using pirated technology to compete in foreign markets," said PERC.
"Countries like Vietnam, the Philippines and Indonesia do not have this same ability to inflict global damage through IPR piracy as Chinese companies do."
While China has made strides in clamping down on IPR infringement, its goal of securing transfers of foreign know-how to Chinese firms, using access to its huge market as leverage, remains problematic, it said.
"So far many of the world’s largest multinationals have been convinced that it is worth the risk of transferring key technology to China in order to develop business there," PERC said.
"This policy is not illegal, but it could become a growing source of friction.... The more China consolidates its position as a global economic power, the more other governments will be willing to take off the gloves and fight to protect their interests."
Indosat 1H Net Profit Falls 72% On Higher Costs
Edhi Pranasidhi. Dow Jones, Jakarta – 24/08/2010
Higher costs weighed on the first-half net profit of PT Indosat (ISAT.JK), Indonesia's second largest telecommunications company by subscribers and assets.
Indosat said Wednesday that net profit for January to June fell 72% to IDR287.13 billion from IDR1.01 trillion a year earlier.
Total operating revenue rose 5.7% to IDR9.66 trillion from IDR9.14 trillion, but this was offset by an 11% increase in operating costs to IDR8.05 trillion from IDR7.22 trillion, as well as higher miscellaneous costs, which more than doubled to IDR1.12 trillion from IDR453 billion a year earlier.
Miscellaneous costs included, among others, the cost of funds which rose to IDR1.08 trillion from IDR882 billion a year earlier and a drop in foreign exchange gains to IDR370 billion from IDR729 billion a year earlier, Indosat said.
Assets at end-June were at IDR53.39 trillion, compared with IDR54.32 trillion a year earlier.
Indosat said subscriber numbers increased to 37.8 million from 28.1 million. It added that revenue from its cellular business grew 6.7% on year, while revenue from non-cellular businesses rose 2.42%.
"Improved mobile phone business momentum however does indicate that headway has been made with the company clawing back some revenue market share for the period," Citigroup had said in a report on Aug. 17.
"We continue to reiterate our sell recommendation as we believe the street will narrow down its profit estimates. Our forecasts currently lie 46%-54% below those of the street for the full year of 2010 and 2011," Citigroup said, which has a target price of IDR4,000 for Indosat's stock.
Indosat's weak earnings weighed on its shares, which were down 0.5% at IDR4,600 at 0233 GMT.
Indosat is 55%-owned by Qatar Telecom (Qtel Asia) Pte. Ltd, with 14.29% held by the Indonesian government, 15.62% by the Bank of New York Merlin and 14.3% by the public.
U.S. Embassy Kicks Off Pesta Blogger 2010: Celebrating Diversity
Embassy of the United States, Jakarta – 24/08/2010
On August 18, the U.S. Embassy announced it would be the main sponsor for Pesta Blogger 2010: “Celebrating Diversity.” This is the third year in a row U.S. Embassy Jakarta has sponsored Pesta Blogger, Indonesia’s premiere blogging event.
Ambassador Designate Scot Marciel and Deputy Chief of Mission Ted Osius attended the press conference. Also in attendance were Pesta Blogger 2010’s Chairperson, the Director General for ASEAN – Indonesia, and more than sixty reporters and bloggers.
Pesta Blogger includes ten regional blogging workshops, or “blogshops” held in different cities across the country, and the main Pesta Blogger festival in Jakarta. In 2009, more than 1,400 participants attended the Pesta Blogger festival.
On August 21, U.S. Embassy representatives hosted the first blogshop of 2010 in Makassar. Almost forty participants attended the blogshop to learn about blogging and other social media tools, including Facebook and Twitter.
After the blogshop, approximately 100 Makassar bloggers, who blog about topics as varied as events in Makassar, open source software and their favorite personal computers and mobile devices, gathered to meet the blogshop participants and discuss issues facing Makassar’s blogging community.
In addition to Makassar, Pestat Blogger 2010 blogshops will take place in Padang, Manado, Yogyakarta, Pontianak, Banjarmasin, Surabaya, Madura, Aceh, and Medan.