[Kabar-indonesia] 22 RI Biz/Econ Reports: '05 per capita income 1, 308 usd vs 1, 166 in '04 [+JSX]

[JoyoNews at aol.com]

22 Reports:

- Indonesia 2005 per capita income
  1,308 usd vs 1,166 in 2004
- Indonesian Shares Close Higher 
  As 2Q GDP Beats Views
- Indonesia Rupiah Ends Lower,
  2Q GDP Data Fails To Move Mkt
- Indonesia hopes for 5.8 pct GDP 
  growth in '06-econ min
- Netherlands court declares unit of
  Indonesia's Argo Pantes bankrupt
- US $551 mln worth of transactions 
  concluded in Jivest Expo
- Bank Ekspor Indonesia to issue 
  500 bln rupiah bonds in H2
- Indonesia's Bank Jabar to issue 
  bonds in H2
- China's ICBC plans to buy 
  an Indonesian bank after 
  dual-listing - report
- Indonesia's Truba Alam 
  planning 400 bln rupiah
  IPO - report
- Indonesia OTC bond 
  transactions reporting to
  be speeded up - official
- Indonesia Govt To Auction 
  IDR2 Tln Local Bonds Aug 22
- Indonesia's July vehicle sales 
  down 56 percent
- Indonesia Astra July Car Sales 
  Down 7.9% On Mo To 10,781
- Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand 
  sign deal harmonizing laws 
  relating to AirAsia
- GT Kabel Indonesia seeks 
  debt equity swap
- Indonesia's Bakrie Telecom 
  H1 net profit 14.39 bln rupiah 
  vs loss 87.40 bln
- Indonesia's Bakrie Sumatra 
  H1 net profit 80.94 bln rupiah 
  vs 30.97 bln
- Bakrie Sumatera eyes rubber 
  for US$106 mln annual income 
  target
- Indonesia's Davomas H1 net profit
  128.89 bln rupiah vs 27.31 bln
- Indonesia palm oil up on tight 
  supply, good demand
- Rubber prices seen staying high 
  for long-term - Malaysia

Indonesia 2005 per capita income 1,308 usd vs 1,166 in 2004

JAKARTA, August 14 (XFN-ASIA) - Per capita income based 
on GDP rose to 1,308 usd in 2005 from 1,166 in 2004 and 
1,099 in 2003, Central Bureau of Statistics chief Rusman 
Heriawan said.

He said the 2006 figure is expected to be higher than 
previous years.

In the first half to June, per capita income reached 781 usd, 
he said. The figure is based on a total population of 221.3 
mln people. 

------------------------------------

Indonesian Shares Close Higher As 2Q GDP Beats Views

JAKARTA, August 14 (Dow Jones)--Indonesian shares closed higher
Monday, as a better-than-expected 2Q gross domestic product figure
inspired buying.

However, dealers were reluctant to build strong positions at the start
of a trading week that will be shortened because of public holidays.

Indonesian markets will be closed Thursday to Monday.

Gains were led by nickel miner Inco and car distributor Astra
International, dealers said.

"The better figure for economic growth in the quarter has sent a
positive signal to the market that the economy for the full year of
2006 will also be better than expected," said a trader with Paramitra
Securities.

Indonesia recorded a 5.22% on-year expansion in the second quarter of
2006, outpacing a Dow Jones poll of five economists, which predicted
an average 4.82% on-year growth. The Jakarta Stock Exchange Composite
index ended up 13.033 points, or 0.9%, to hit a three-month closing
high of 1415.224.

Inco jumped 12% to IDR23,900 on expectations that the company would
book solid 2006 earnings due to higher commodity prices.

Astra International rose 4.2% to IDR11,300 on growing expectations
that its car and motorcycles sales would pick up in the second half of
this year due to a lower interest rate outlook.

Dealers said expectations of lower interest rates also inspired
investors to continue to buy bank stocks, as that scenario could
increase lending and banks' net interest margins.

Bank Mandiri, the nation's largest bank by assets, rose 1% to
IDR2,050, Bank Central Asia ended up 2.4% at IDR4,200, while Bank
Rakyat gained 2.9% to IDR4,500.

Among decliners, gas and oil producer Medco Energi lost 6.9% to
IDR3,375 and drilling company Energi Mega ended down 4.8% to IDR590 on
fears that the companies may have to contribute to a large liability
cost from a hot mud spillfrom a PT Lapindo Brantas gas well in East
Java. The hot mud has so faraffected 25 square kilometers of land,
forcing more than 10,000 people from their homes. Medco owns 32% of
Lapindo, while Energi has 50%, and the remaining 18% is held by Santos
Ltd. (STO.AU).

"There are worries that the liability coverage will hurt the companies
earnings this year," said a trader with Erdikha Securities.

Volume was 984 million shares valued at IDR1.37 trillion, compared
with 800 million shares valued at IDR1.0 trillion Friday.

Looking ahead, dealers said they expect shares to trade higher Tuesday
on followthrough buying in mining and bank blue chips.

---------------------------------------------------------------

Indonesia Rupiah Ends Lower,2Q GDP Data Fails To Move Mkt

JAKARTA, August 14 (Dow Jones)--The Indonesian rupiah closed slightly
lower as the dollar rose against the yen, but tight currency liquidity
helped the local unit limit its slide, dealers said.

Data issued earlier in the day showed that the Indonesian economy grew
better than expected, but the market ignored this as the rate is still
among the lowest in Asia, dealers said.

'The second-quarter growth showed that the government will likely
struggle to achieve its 5.8%-6% growth target this year,' a dealer
with a foreign bank in Jakarta said.

The Central Statistics Agency said that economic growth accelerated to
5.22% on year in the second quarter from a revised 4.70% growth in the
first quarter.

The average forecast of analysts polled by Dow Jones was for an
on-year expansion of 4.82%.

The dollar opened at IDR9,090, up from its close Friday at IDR9,075,
as the dollar rose to above Y116, but failed to advance much further
as exporters sold the U.S. currency to pay tax falling due this week,
dealers said.

'The tax payment amount seemed to be quite huge,' a dealer said.

The dollar closed the session at IDR9,094.

Dealers said that the dollar may slide slightly Tuesday as foreign
funds may need the local unit to settle the purchase of local stocks,
which ended up 0.9% Monday.

The greenback will likely trade between IDR9,070 and IDR9,110 Tuesday.

The local bond market was quiet Monday, with dealers saying that no
bonds likely changed hands. Indonesia's secondary bond market is often
ill-liquid, with trading often taking place outside the ambit of the
bourse.

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Indonesia hopes for 5.8 pct GDP growth in '06-econ min

JAKARTA, August 14 (Reuters) - Indonesia hopes to achieve 5.8 percent
economic growth this year, the chief economics minister, Boediono,
told reporters on Monday.

Indonesia's statistics bureau is scheduled to release second quarter
GDP data at around 0630 GMT on Monday.

---------------------------------------------------------

Netherlands court declares unit of Indonesia's Argo Pantes bankrupt

JAKARTA, August 14 (XFN-ASIA) - A court in Amsterdam has declared
bankrupt Argo Pantes Finance BV, a unit of textile manufacturer PT
Argo Pantes, the administrator of the company said.

The bankruptcy petition was filed by Indo Plus BV.

In a published statement, the administrator, Sjoerd Postma, said the
first meeting of creditors would be held on Sept 12 at his office in
Amsterdam.

The statement invited all creditors and other interested parties to
file their claims, accompanied by evidence, on or before Sept 11.

----------------------------------------------------------

US $551 mln worth of transactions concluded in Jivest Expo

JAKARTA, August 14 (Asia Pulse/Antara) - The Jakarta International
Investment Expo (Jivest) at the Jakarta Convention Center, officially
closed by Jakarta Deputy Governor Fauzi Wibowo Sunday, had seen the
conclusion of a total of Rp5 trillion (US$551 million) worth
transactions, a spokesman said.

"Until today, a transaction was concluded between PT Kawasan Berikat
Nusantara, PT Komatsu Indonesia and PT Karina Busana worth US$7
million dollars, and between PD Pembangunan Sarana Jaya, PT Gapura
Prima Grup, PT Marka Buana and PT Leguna Alam Abadi estimated at Rp1.4
trillion," Samsul Hadi, head of the Investment, Assets Utilization and
Regional Business Agency, said here Sunday.

He also said the organizing committee was satisfied with the results
of the expo.

The related parties signed momoranda of undestanding prior to the
conclusion Jivest aimed at wooing foreign companies to invest in
Indonesia, in Jakarta in particular.

PT Komatsu Indonesia and PT Karina Busana leased 1.5 hectares and 0.5
hectares of land for their respective factories for 15 years.

Around 26 provinces, 36 municipalities and mayoralties, 15 state and
province-owned enterprises and 33 domestic and foreign companies took
part in the expo.

The Musi district administration, South Sumatra, also concluded
transactions with PT Yiwan Mining, PT Trihalim, PT Panca Logam, PT
Sari Kresna and other companies worth Rp1.75 trillion.

Apart from these, the district also concluded transactions with
Malaysian, Thai and Singaporean companies in plantatation and fishery
sectors.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Bank Ekspor Indonesia to issue 500 bln rupiah bonds in H2

JAKARTA, August 14 (XFN-ASIA) - State-run PT Bank Ekspor Indonesia
(BEI) will issue 500 bln rupiah in bonds in the second half this year,
a Surabaya Stock Exchange (SSX) official said.

"We have received an application from Bank Ekspor Indonesia to issue
bonds worth 500 bln rupiah in the second half this year," SSX director
Guntur Pasaribu told reporters on the sidelines of a workshop on
capital markets at the weekend.

He gave no further details on the planned bond issue.

Meanwhile, Pasaribu said rupiah-denominated corporate bonds issued in
the first half totaled 8 trln rupiah.

He said corporate bond issuances for the full year are targeted to
reach 12 trln rupiah, adding that "the target should be achievable."

----------------------------------------------------------

Indonesia's Bank Jabar to issue bonds in H2

JAKARTA, August 14 (Asia Pulse/Antara) - Bank Jabar, which is owned by
the West Java regional administration, plans to issue bonds valued at
Rp750 billion (US$83.3 million) in the second half of this year.

Ten securities companies such as PT Trimegah Securities, PT Mandiri
Sekuritas and PT Indopremier Sekuritas, have been invited to take part
in a selection of underwriters for the five-year bonds.

Earlier PT Andalan Artha Advisiindo and PT Dhanawibawa Arthacemerlang
were named financial advisors to prepare options to raise funds to
increase the bank's capital.

The two financial advisors have helped the bank prepare the launching
of initial public offering, which has been put off until next year.

-----------------------------------------------------------

China's ICBC plans to buy an Indonesian bank after dual-listing - report

BEIJING, August 14 (XFN-ASIA) - The Industrial and Commercial Bank of
China (ICBC), which is aiming to list on both the Shanghai and Hong
Kong bourses, plans to buy an Indonesian bank after its dual-listing,
the Hong Kong-based Oriental Daily reported, cited an unidentified
source.

Chinese media reported earlier that ICBC, the country's largest bank
by assets, is planning to raise as much as 19 bln usd in a
cross-border initial public offering, and may set identical prices for
its A and H shares.

The source refused to give the name of the Indonesian bank, but said
it has quality assets.

The report noted that the Indonesian government has previously
signalled its intention to sell the country's seven commercial banks,
including Bank Danamon Indonesia and Lippo Bank Indonesia, the report
said.

-------------------------------------------------------------

Indonesia's Truba Alam planning 400 bln rupiah IPO - report

JAKARTA, August 14 (XFN-ASIA) - PT Truba Alam Manunggal is planning to
sell 30-40 pct of its shares via an initial public offering to raise
about 400 bln rupiah, Bisnis Indonesia reported.

The report quoted Truba corporate finance head Hadian Iswara as saying
that the company may use the IPO proceeds to participate in the
so-called accelerated development of 10,000-megawatt new power
capacity being tendered by state power firm PT Perusahaan Listrik
Negara.

Truba Alam is the holding firm of PT Truba Jurong Engineering whose
core business is engineering, procurement and construction.

Bisnis quoted Steffen Fang of PT Danatama Securities, the underwriter
of the IPO, as saying that the company may sell 5 bln shares which
will be attached with 2.8 bln warrants.

He said listing on the Jakarta Stock Exchange is slated for late September.

----------------------------------------------------------

Indonesia OTC bond transactions reporting to be speeded up - official

JAKARTA, August 14 (XFN-ASIA) - Reporting on over-the-counter (OTC)
bond transactions will be required to be done within 15 minutes of the
deals in the near future, from the one hour that is being stipulated
from September this year, to avoid pricing manipulation, an official
at the Capital Market and Financial Institutions Supervisory Board
(Bapepam-LK) said.

"Our plan is to speed up the compulsory report on over-the-counter
bond transactions from 1 hour to 15 minutes to make bond market more
transparent as well as to avoid price manipulation," said Arif
Baharudin, the head of securities transactions and policy development
at Bapepam-LK.

He was speaking at a workshop on capital markets at the weekend.

Recently, the bourse issued a rule requiring all players undertaking
bond transactions over-the-counter to make a compulsory report within
an hour, with effect from September 1.

Baharudin said the compulsory report is also required to avoid wide
gap between the benchmark bond prices with OTC bond prices.

Baharudin added that his office is planning to launch a Bond Pricing
Agency (BPA) by end-June next year at the latest. The main task of BPA
will include monitoring bonds price as well as developing bond market
infrastructure.

Besides establishing the BPA, his office will also appoint primary
dealers for bond trading to make the country's bond market more
transparent and liquid, he said. He, however, gave no specific target
date.

Baharudin said the main tasks of the primary dealers will include
providing quotations for 'bid' and 'offer' of bonds prices.

Separately, Surabaya Stock Exchange director Guntur Pasaribu said
total value of state and corporate bonds that are being traded at the
bourse has now reached 463.2 trln rupiah -- comprising 400 trln rupiah
government treasury bonds and 63.2 trln rupiah of corporate bonds.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Indonesia Govt To Auction IDR2 Tln Local Bonds Aug 22

JAKARTA, August 14 (Dow Jones)--Indonesian government will auction
about IDR2 trillion ($220 million) in bonds on Aug. 22 to help finance
its budget deficit, a government official said Monday.

The government will offer two series - maturing in 2018 and 2023 -
Rahmat Waluyanto, the director of the treasury bond management
directorate at the Finance Ministry, told Dow Jones Newswires.

Waluyanto didn't give details on the coupons of the bonds.

The government plans to raise IDR35.8 trillion net in the local and
offshore bond markets this year to help finance its budget deficit. So
far, it has raised IDR30 trillion net.

----------------------------------------------------------

Indonesia's July vehicle sales down 56 percent

JAKARTA, August 14 (Reuters) - Indonesia's vehicles sales fell 55.7
percent last month compared with the same period a year ago as the
industry continued to feel the heat from high interest rates and weak
purchasing power, industry data showed on Monday.

Jodjana Jody, head of sales at PT Toyota Astra Motor, the distributor
for Toyota vehicles in the world's fourth most populous nation, said
official data from the auto industry association (Gaikindo) showed
total sales of 21,891 units last month.

That compared with 49,387 units in July 2005 and 24,564 units two
months ago. July's sales were 12.3 percent lower than average sales in
the first half of this year.

The country's largest automotive distributor, PT Astra International
Tbk , saw its sales fall 50.9 percent to 10,781 units, taking its
market share to 49.25 percent.

Astra International controls Toyota Astra Motor.

Indonesia's automotive industry has been hit hard by a government
decision last year to sharply hike domestic fuel prices in an effort
to trim costly fuel subsidies.

High interest rates have also sapped consumer demand, with domestic
vehicle sales down by nearly half in the January-June period.

Even the country's first international motor show, held last month in
Jakarta, did not lift flagging sales.

Jody said Toyota's own sales in the country fell nearly 52 percent to
7,652 units last month.

Gaikindo expects sales to recover to 500,000 units by next year from a
forecast 330,000-350,000 this year. Sales hit a record 533,910 units
in 2005, helped by low interest rates and cheap loans at that time.

---------------------------------------------------------

Indonesia Astra July Car Sales Down 7.9% On Mo To 10,781

JAKARTA, August 14 (Dow Jones)--Indonesia's PT Astra International
(ASII.JK) sold 10,781 new vehicles in July, down 7.9% from 11,702
vehicles in June, according to data released by the association of
local vehicle assemblers, Gaikindo, Monday.

Astra's July car sales dropped 61% from 27,424 unit in the same month
a year earlier.

Singapore's Jardine Cycle & Carriage Ltd. (C07.SG) owns 50.09% of
Astra, which is Indonesia's largest automotive company by output and
assets.

Vehicle sales in Indonesia have been hit by the government's move to
more than double fuel prices last October as well as by high interest
rates.

Total new vehicle sales in Indonesia in July dropped 11% to 21,891
units from 24,564 in June.

The nation's total car sales in July were down 56% from 49,387 units
in July 2005.

----------------------------------------------------------

Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand sign deal harmonizing laws relating to AirAsia

KUALA LUMPUR, August 14 (XFN-ASIA) - Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand
have signed an agreement to harmonize aviation laws relating to
AirAsia which will smooth the budget carrier's regional operations.

AirAsia's chief executive Tony Fernandes, who has urged the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to speed up
deregulation in the aviation industry in order to lower costs and spur
growth, has hailed the agreement.

'I am pleased that the regional cooperation has received full support
from the Department of Civil Aviation of Malaysia, Thai Department of
Civil Aviation and Directorate General of Air Communications
(Thailand),' he said.

Fernandes has said that the 10-nation bloc must harmonize regulatory
requirements if it wants to achieve its goal of having open skies, and
called for a European-style joint aviation authority.

The Malaysia-based budget airline has joint venture operations in
Indonesia and Thailand.

Under the new agreement, to be implemented in November, are four key
areas, including standardizing pilots' retirement age at 65. Currently
it is set at 60 in Malaysia and Indonesia and 63 in Thailand.

The second allows pilots to certify aircraft for flying and the third
is to allow engineers in respective countries to certify one another's
aircraft. Currently different rules apply in the three countries,
potentially causing delays.

The fourth area provides for aircraft from Malaysia or Indonesia to be
freely substituted in the case of a Thai AirAsia aircraft being
grounded.

Malaysia's Transport Minister Chan Kong Choy said the 'pragmatic
approach and cooperation will not only assist the growth of the
AirAsia group but more importantly spur the progressive growth of the
aviation industry in the region.'

Chan said separately that Malaysia and Singapore are considering
bringing forward an open-skies agreement due to be implemented in the
region by 2008, which will allow unlimited capital-to-capital flights
within ASEAN.

----------------------------------------------------------

GT Kabel Indonesia seeks debt equity swap

JAKARTA, August 14 (Asia Pulse/Antara) - Publicly listed cable maker
PT GT Kabel Indonesia (JSX:KBLI) said it hopes to convert US$25
million of its debt into shareS before the end of this year.

Company Director Lie Twan Hian said the debt to equity swap scheme is
30 per cent of its total debts to foreign creditors including JP
Morgan, Global Link and NTF Global.

The company will propose rollover with lower interest rate for the
remaining 70 per cent, Lie said yesterday.

The company recorded improvement in performance in the first half of
this year and with the restructuring, it hopes to chalk up a 29 per
cent increase in net profit to Rp33 billion (US$3.6 million) this year
from Rp25.6 billion last year.

Lie said so far the company recorded profit more from foreign exchange
gain rather than an increase in sales.

The company hopes to boost exports to offset a decline expected in
sales in the domestic market.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Indonesia's Bakrie Telecom H1 net profit 14.39 bln rupiah vs loss 87.40 bln

JAKARTA, August 14 (XFN-ASIA) - PT Bakrie Telecom, a unit of
diversified conglomerate PT Bakrie Brothers, first half to June
results:

Sales - 254.13 bln rupiah vs 101.79 bln
Operating profit - 31.91 bln rupiah vs loss 49.17 bln
EBITDA - 100.73 bln rupiah vs 14.31 bln
Net profit - 14.39 bln rupiah vs loss 87.40 bln

----------------------------------------------------------

Indonesia's Bakrie Sumatra H1 net profit 80.94 bln rupiah vs 30.97 bln

JAKARTA, August 14 (XFN-ASIA) - Crude palm oil producer PT Bakrie
Sumatra Plantations' first half to June results:

Sales - 451.78 bln rupiah vs 336.81 bln
Operating profit - 115.31 bln rupiah vs 72.08 bln
Net other income - 1.52 bln rupiah vs charges 44.89 bln
Net profit - 80.94 bln rupiah vs 30.97 bln
Earnings per share - 35 rupiah vs 13

----------------------------------------------------------

Bakrie Sumatera eyes rubber for US$106 mln annual income target

JAKARTA, Aug 14 (Asia Pulse/Antara) - PT Bakrie Sumatera Plantations
(BSP) (JSX:UNSP) hopes to chalk up a 20 per cent increase in income to
Rp960 billion (US$106.6 million) this year, up from Rp800 billion last
year, focusing on natural rubber as a main contributor to sales.

Company President Ambono Januarianto said rubber will account for 57
per cent of its total sales, largely because of a price hike of 46 per
cent in the first five months of 2006.

Palm oil is another major contributor to its total income, Januarianto added.

Its production of rubber in the first half of this year totaled 30,000
tons, up 35 per cent from the same period last year and its production
of palm oil increased 10 per cent to 140,000 tons.

He said the price of rubber is expected to continue to climb with
strong demand from China and India.

Januarianto said the company's exports of rubber to China grew 50 per
cent in the first six months of this year.

He said starting this year BSP, which is 54.17 per cent owned by PT
Bakrie & Brothers (JSX:BNBR) plans to expand with funds raised from
dollar bonds.

The company plans to issue bonds valued at US$125 million in the third
quarter of this year to finance an expansion of 100,000 hectares of
plantations by 2013.

A portion of the US$125 million earned from the bond fund will also be
used to build a bio-diesel factory.

----------------------------------------------------------

Stockwatch- Bakrie Sumatra lower in midmorning on profit-taking after H1 
results

JAKARTA, August 14 (XFN-ASIA) - Crude palm oil producer PT Bakrie
Sumatra Plantation turned lower in midmorning trade as profit takers
cashed in gains following an earlier rise on news of the firm's strong
first half to June net profit.

At 11.09 am, Bakrie Sumatra was down 20 rupiah at 1,050, off a high of 1,090.

The composite index was down 1.024 points at 1,401.167, off a high of 
1,412.150.

Teuku Hendry Andrean, an analyst with Mega Capital, noted that the
stock price ran up strongly at the outset of trade in response to the
results, but the shares then eased back by midmorning, on profit
taking and in line with a retreat in the composite index.

The company reported that its first half net profit grew 161.3 pct
year-on-year to 80.94 bln rupiah, while sales reached 451.78 bln from
336.81 bln the year before.

The sales growth was due to higher CPO and rubber prices in the world
market, partly driven by strong demand from China, Teuku Hendry
Andrean, an analyst with Mega Capital said.

Meanwhile despite the profit taking, brokerage house Henan Putihrai
said it believes the stock has good upside potential for the medium to
long term and it put the 'intrinsic' price of the shares at 1,655
rupiah.

'With the assumption that the CPO price in the world market will not
change much from today's price and if the company's plan to produce
biodiesel goes ahead smoothly, we expect the above price can be
achieved by the end of this year,' it said.

In April this year, the company established a joint-venture company
with PT Rekayasa Industri (Rekin) to construct a biodiesel plant with
annual capacity of 60,000-100,000 tons at a cost of around 25 mln usd.

Bakrie Sumatra holds 70 pct of the jv firm, with the rest held by Rekin.

----------------------------------------------------------

Indonesia's Davomas H1 net profit 128.89 bln rupiah vs 27.31 bln

JAKARTA, August 14 (XFN-ASIA) - PT Davomas Abadi's first half to June results:

Sales - 769.44 bln rupiah vs 489.22 bln
Operating profit - 144.52 bln rupiah vs 63.41 bln
Net other income - 21.56 bln rupiah vs charges 31.15 bln
Net profit - 128.89 bln rupiah vs 27.31 bln
Earnings per share - 21 rupiah vs 4

Davomas Abadi is Indonesia's leading cocoa powder and butter producer.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Indonesia palm oil up on tight supply, good demand

JAKARTA, August 14 (Reuters) - Indonesian palm oil prices were higher
on Monday due to persistent tightness in local crude palm oil supplies
and good demand amid weakening Malaysia crude palm oil futures,
traders said.

Crude palm oil in the state marketing centre's auction in Jakarta
traded at 4,472 rupiah ($0.492) a kg, up from 4,463 rupiah on Friday.

Crude palm oil prices were not available in North Sumatra's Medan, the
key port for palm oil exports, due to the absence of local palm oil
auctions.

"Some buyers desperately need fresh supplies to refill their stocks
and that supports the prices, although Malaysia is a bit weak today,"
said an official at the state marketing centre which sells palm oil
from state plantations.

Malaysian crude palm oil futures slipped by midday on Monday, dragged
down by lower prices of soybean oil and crude oil, with the benchmark
third-month October <KPOV6> crude palm oil contract down 13 ringgit to
1,646 ringgit ($447) a tonne.

Lingering tightness in crude palm oil supplies continued to keep
cooking oil prices firm. In Jakarta, cooking oil was traded at 5,170
rupiah a kg on Monday, up from 5,100-5,140 on Friday.

"It's still difficult to get crude palm oil supplies. We don't sell
much cooking oil either," said a trader in Jakarta.

Traders have said dry weather in the past weeks has reduced the water
levels of rivers, delaying shipments from palm oil-producing areas
such as Kalimantan to ports in Sumatra and Java, the centre of olein
refiners.

On the exports front, August/September shipments were offered at
$462.5 a tonne, free on board Belawan, but buyers did not bid.

Sellers offered October shipment at $467.5, free on board Belawan.
Bids were at $460 without any deals reported.

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Rubber prices seen staying high for long-term - Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR, August 14 (AFX) - Rubber prices, already at 20-year
highs, will stay firm in the long term as global demand outstrips
supply and oil prices boost the cost of alternatives, the Malaysian
industry said in a report.

Demand from China's automotive sector is among the factors pushing up
the price of natural rubber, along with sky-rocketing oil prices which
are boosting the cost of synthetic rubber, it said.

'The shrinking of total rubber area in the world, high oil prices,
expansion of the world's car industry and growth in the medical area
also lend support to the strong price,' the Malaysian Rubber Board's
deputy director general Mohamed Akbar Mohamed Said told The New
Straits Times newspaper.

The daily cited a study by the London-based International Rubber Study
Group, which forecast rubber prices to stay firm to 2020 because
synthetic rubber prices are expected to increase to well over 2.50 usd
or 9.20 rgt per kilo.

Mohamed Akbar said natural rubber producers are working hard to ensure
that the price of their produce does not fall below the 5.00-6.00 rgt
per kilo level.

Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia -- the world's top three rubber
producers respectively -- account for some 80 pct of the world's
natural rubber output.

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Joyo Indonesia News Service
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