Indonesia :: One and Only

Cyrillus Harinowo ,  Jakarta   |  Tue, 09/02/2008 10:20 AM  |  Opinion

Jakarta Post

In the coming weeks, most corporate businesses will start preparing their budgets. Some with more extensive operations and networks have in fact started the drafting process directly after the President’s Aug. 16 speech before Parliament.

During this process much time is devoted to predicting the direction of the economy. Will next year be bullish, as we are now experiencing, or will it be affected by the global downturn? (more…)

By Arijit Ghosh and Michael Munoz

Aug. 11 (Bloomberg) — Indonesia’s economic growth probably exceeded 6 percent for a seventh quarter as overseas demand for coal, palm oil and rubber boosted rural incomes and spending.

Gross domestic product expanded 6.2 percent in the three months ended June 30 from a year earlier, after gaining 6.3 percent in the preceding quarter, according to the median forecast of 20 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. The Central Statistics Bureau will release the data on Aug. 14. (more…)

Contact :
World Bank Office
Jakarta Stock Exchange Building
Tower 2, 13 Floor,Jl. Jend Sudirman

In Jakarta – Randy Salim
Tel 62 21) 5299-3259
rsalim1@worldbank.org

JAKARTA, July 15, 2008 – Indonesia’s strong commitment to reforms has improved policies and boosted trade performance, says a new World Bank database and ranking tool. World Trade Indicators 2008 – Benchmarking Policy and Performance, released today, shows that Indonesian trade restrictiveness was measured at 4.5 percent in 2006, lower than the East Asia and Pacific average of 4.9 percent and far lower than the middle-income country average of 8.7 percent. (more…)

Asia Sentinel
Our Correspondent
28 July 2008

Jakarta hopes to gain revenue and investment by cutting tax brackets, increasing collections. If all goes well, at the first of 2009 Indonesia will engineer a radical redesign of its tax structure, instituting election-year tax sweeteners, slashing income taxes and eliminating the country’s hated Rp1 million (US$108.71) departure tax for local residents and registered foreign workers.

The changes, finalized recently by Indonesia’s House of Representatives, are extremely important to the business community, particularly the foreign one. A September, 2007 study by the International Finance Corporation, a World Bank unit, found that despite the fact that Indonesia is reforming its government structures faster than any other Asian country except China, its performance still ranks below every country in the region except the Philippines. (more…)