Indonesia Morning News For March 15

China to build Indonesia’s longest bridge in North Kalimantan
The Chinese government has expressed interest in building a Rp 12 trillion (US$14.50 billion) bridge, which would be Indonesia’s longest, in North Kalimantan.
— The Jakarta Post

Indonesian bitcoin investors set to outnumber stock participants
The biggest Indonesian platform to buy and sell digital currency may soon have more
members than the nation’s century-old stock exchange.
— Bangkok Post

BRI Customers Lose Money, YLKI: Proof of Weak Banking IT System
Chief Executive of the Indonesian Consumers Foundation (YLKI) Tulus Abadi stated that the information technology (IT) system of Indonesian banking is still weak and so easily broken.
— Tempo.co

Indonesian Gov’t Targets $2 Billion from Furniture and Handicraft Exports in 2018
The Indonesian government has targeted the export of furniture and handicraft products to reach US $2 billion this year.
— Netral News

Jokowi refuses to sign MD3 law
After huffing and puffing over the past few weeks, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has decided not to sign the new Legislative Institution ( MD3 ) Law, citing public unrest over controversial articles in the revised law as his main concern.
— The Jakarta Post

Indonesia to offer more interesting tax incentives for investors
The Indonesian government will offer more interesting tax incentives than other ASEAN countries, to lure more investment inflow, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati stated.
— Antara News

Telkomsel Teams up with UI in Presenting Indonesia’s First Bike Sharing with NB-IoT Technology
In collaboration with Universitas Indonesia (UI) as one of the leading educational institutions in Indonesia, subsidiary of PT Telkom (IDX:TLKM) engaged in mobile phone network operator, Telkomsel, is demonstrating the development of the first bike-sharing experiment in Indonesia using Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) technology.
— Netral News

Bank Indonesia Expects Rupiah to Strengthen
Bank Indonesia expects the rupiah to continue to strengthen and currency market volatility to subside as market price in expected US Federal Reserve’s interest rate hikes, a senior official said on Wednesday (14/03).
— Jakarta Globe

7 Things You Need to Know About Criminal Code Revamp
Deliberations on revisions to Indonesia’s criminal code are said to be in their final stage in the House of Representatives.
— Jakarta Globe

Amendment of six mining contracts brings US$20 million in revenue
The Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry amended six contracts of work (CoWs) on minerals on Wednesday, bringing the total number of amended contracts to 28 since negotiations with miners began in 2009.
— The Jakarta Post

Ministry of Environment Discovers 47 Freeport Violations
The Ministry of Environment and Forestry imposed administrative sanctions on PT Freeport Indonesia for damaging the environment around the Grasberg mine, Papua.
— Tempo.co

8 Negative Sectors, JCI Closed Down 0.4 Percent
The Jakarta Composite Index (JCI) closed down 0.4 percent to 6,382 on trading of Wednesday (3/14/2018).
— Netral News

LRT progress reaches 35%, constructor waits payment
The construction progress of Greater Jakarta’s light rail transit (the Greater Jakarta LRT) or LRT Jabodetabek has reached 35 percent, said state-owned construction company PT Adhi Karya president director Budi Harto in Jakarta on Wednesday.
— The Jakarta Post

US Businesses Commit to Increasing Investments in Indonesia
The US-ASEAN Business Council has expressed appreciation for the improvement of ease of doing business ranking in Indonesia.
— Netral News

Indonesia SIPF Protects Investor Assets in the Capital Market worth IDR4,491 Trillion
Widodo Tudjo, Director of Indonesia Securities Investor Protection Fund, also known as Indonesia SIPF, says the company has protected investor assets in the capital market worth IDR4,491.6 trillion as of the end of February, 2018.
— Netral News

Indonesia seeks to produce LPG in Algeria
The government is seeking to produce liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) from assets owned by state-owned energy giant Pertamina in Algeria amid Indonesia’s increasing domestic demand and limited production of the commodity.
— The Jakarta Post

Bitcoin Indonesia Rebrands to Indodax
The digital assets provider company Bitcoin Indonesia changes its brand name under Indonesia Digital Asset Exchange or Indodax. The new label put into effect starting today, March 14.
— Tempo.co

Indonesia’s Aceh considers beheading as penalty for murder
The conservative Indonesian province of Aceh known for publicly caning gays, adulterers and gamblers is considering the introduction of beheading as a punishment for murder, a top Islamic law official said Wednesday.
— News & Observer

482 Flights to Bali will Not Operate During Nyepi
PT Angkasa Pura I I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport, Bali, has stated that 482 domestic and international flight schedules will not operate on Saturday (March 17). The airport would remain closed for 24 hours in honor of the Seclusion Day (Nyepi).
— Tempo.co

Rupiah Weakens Eight Points on Wednesday Afternoon
Rupiah exchange rate for interbank transactions in Jakarta, Wednesday (3/14/2018) afternoon rose eight points to IDR13,723 compared to the previous position of IDR13,731 per US dollar.
— Netral News

Feature photo Sip Khoon Tan

Find our previous morning news feature photos in the AEC News Today Morning News Feature Photos gallery where you will find a pictorial display of daily life throughout the Asean Economic Community (AEC).

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.

Indonesia Morning News For March 15 added by Stella-maris Ewudolu on March 15, 2018
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Stella-maris Ewudolu

Journalist at AEC News Today

Stella-maris graduated with a Bachelor of Arts, Education from Ebonyi State University, Nigeria in 2005.

Between November 2010 and February 2012 she was a staff writer at Daylight Online, Nigeria writing on health, fashion, and relationships. From 2010 – 2017 she worked as a freelance screen writer for ‘Nollywood’, Nigeria.

She joined AEC News Today in December 2016.