Indonesia Morning News For October 12

Gov’t Prepares Regulation for Airport and Seaport Management by Private Sector
Minister of Transportation Budi Karya Sumadi disclosed the policy to manage airports in Indonesia professionally.
— Netral News

Jokowi lauds Indonesia`s export hike
President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has praised the private and government sectors for increasing the countrys exports by 17.58 percent, to US$108.79 billion, in the January-August 2017 period.
— Antara

Indonesian, Belgian foreign ministers discuss palm oil, wood issues
Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi held talks with her Belgian counterpart Didier Reynders and Vice President of the European Commission for Foreign Relations and Security Policy Federica Mogherini to discuss various issues on Tuesday.
— Antara

Indonesia set to test demand for Komodo bonds
If India’s experience of selling local-currency notes in the overseas market is anything to go by, Indonesia’s plan to issue Komodo bonds may not be all plain sailing.
— Business Mirror

Asia-Pacific Crude-NWS condensate premiums rise on Indonesian demand
Condensate premiums rose in the Asia-Pacific crude market, buoyed by Indonesian demand as TPPI is scheduled to restart in December.
— Times of India

APEX: 5 Starts for Garuda Indonesia
The Airline Passenger Experience Association (APEX) named Garuda Indonesia as a five-star airline at the APEX Award Ceremony Expo 2017 held in Long Beach, California some time ago.
— Netral News

RAI Invites Partners to Develop Aircrafts
PT Regio Aviasi Industri (RAI) continues to invest in R80 aircraft development. Moreover, the government has included the development as National Strategic Project.
— Netral News

Laos Shows Interests to Buy Pindad Sniper Rifles and Pistols
Laos is interested in buying SPR2 sniper rifles and G2 Elite pistols and ammunition made by PT Pindad (Persero).
— Netral News

West Java Bans Ride-Hailing Apps, for Now
App-based ride-hailing services have to halt their operations in West Java until the government issues a regulation governing their presence, following an agreement with a local transportation alliance on Monday (09/10), after it threatened to hold a mass strike.
— Jakarta Globe

Easing Restrictions on Labor Migration Offers Opportunity for Asean: World Bank
Reducing restrictions on labor migration offers an opportunity for Southeast Asian countries to improve their economies by providing better employment alternatives to workers, according to a new report by the World Bank published on Monday (09/10).
— Jakarta Globe

Motorcycle Sales Drop in September, but Manufacturers Remain Upbeat
Motorcycle sales in Indonesia dropped 1.6 percent in September compared to the same month a year ago, ending a two-month run of sale increases. The drop is nevertheless unlikely to derail manufacturers’ sales target for this year.
— Jakarta Globe

Indonesia aims to finish first phase of key Java rail line by 2019
Indonesia and Japan agreed to initial discussions on the project in January during Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s visit to Jakarta, but it was not clear if a Japanese company would be involved in building the railway.
— Free Malaysia Today

Matahari collaborates with Disney to launch merchandise
Local retailer Matahari department store has announced a collaboration with Walt Disney Company South Asia to sell the latter’s official merchandise across all Matahari stores in Indonesia.
— The Jakarta Post

Is coffee culture of Indonesia’s capital Jakarta becoming one of world’s best?
Jakarta’s notoriously congested roads could actually be helping the city nurture its own unique coffee culture. We look at three coffee sellers – from online deliverers to Starbucks – whose business models thrive on the chaos.
— South China Morning Post

108 illegals arrested in Kuching
THE state Immigration Department has rounded up 108 illegal immigrants during a raid on a premises producing wood products here on Saturday.
— New Strait Times

Indonesia bishop resigns in finance, mistress scandal
An Indonesian bishop has resigned following reports that he had a mistress and siphoned off more than $100,000 in church funds.
— Business Insider

IKEA extends reach with new Surabaya ‘distribution point’
Swedish furniture giant IKEA has opened an e-commerce distribution center in the East Java capital of Surabaya to extend its customer reach, Antara reported on Tuesday.
— The Jakarta Post

Bank Indonesia tightens its rules as e-money takes off
Leading Indonesian e-commerce startups have had to partially suspend e-wallet operations until they are granted a license by the central bank as the growing popularity of e-money services attracts greater regulatory scrutiny.
— Nikkei Asian Review

Difficult to Achieve Indonesia’s Tax-to-GDP Ratio Target in 2017
Lana Soelistianingsih, economist at Samuel Aset Manajemen, said it will be very difficult for Indonesian authorities to achieve its 11.5 percent tax-to-GDP ratio target in 2017 despite the positive impact of the government’s recently completed tax amnesty program.
— Indonesia Investment

Feature photo Arian Zwegers
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Indonesia morning news by AEC News Today is your one stop source for Indonesia news on matters of governance and policies affecting Asean business communities and is published M-F by AEC News Today: Governance, not government; policies not politics.