[Kabar-indonesia] 13 Biz/Econ Reports: BCA-Philip Morris; Japan investment up; Bhakti Investama;

[Joyo at aol.com]

13 articles compiled, selected, formatted, and distributed 
by Joyo Indonesia News Service

- Indonesia's BCA to provide US$111 mln in credit to
  Philip Morris 

- Stock alert - Indonesia's Bank Central Asia higher
  after positive H1 results 

- Japan's investment up 110 pct in Indonesia in first
  half of '06 

- Acom, BOTM Negotiating To Buy Indonesia Bank Shrs 

- Indonesia's Bhakti Investama sells 13.1 pct stake in
  AGIS for 49 bln rupiah 

- Bank Ekspor Indonesia sets 12.25-13.125 pct coupon 
  for 500 bln rupiah bond 

- Indonesia cancels introduction of free zone for meat
  imports 

- Prices of natural rubber sliding: Indonesian 
  producers 

- NST: Guthrie H1 net profit surges to RM130m 

- Indonesia to import rice ahead of holiday seasons,
  drought 

- Vietnam Rice-Prices firm on Indonesia demand 

- Australian exhibition targets construction sector in
  Indonesia 

- Asia-Pacific's travel set for double-digit growth

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Indonesia's BCA to provide US$111 mln in credit to
Philip Morris

JAKARTA, August 30 (Asia Pulse/Antara) - Bank Central
Asia (BCA) (JSX:BBCA) said it has agreed to provide
Rp1 trillion (US$111 million) in credit for cigarette
maker Philip Morris .

The U.S. company, which owns HM Sampoerna (JSX:HMSP),
the country's third largest cigarette producer, needs
the fund to expand its clove flavored cigarette
factory in the country.

Jahja Setiaatmadja, vice president of BCA , said
Philip Morris is a premium customer for which credit
facility has been set aside until the end of this
year.

Jahja said the credit for Philip Morris is part of Rp4
trillion the country's fourth largest lender by asset
hopes to provide for the corporate sector.

In the second half of this year BCA targets to provide
Rp6 trillion in new credits.

By the end of June the bank had Rp52.9 trillion in
outstanding credits, up 216 per cent from a year
before.

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Stock alert - Indonesia's Bank Central Asia higher
after positive H1 results

JAKARTA, August 30 (XFN-ASIA) - PT Bank Central Asia
was higher in early trade after reporting a 15.9-pct
rise in its first half to June earnings.

The company said yesterday that its net profit in the
half rose to 2.04 trln rupiah from 1.76 trln the year
earlier, with net interest income increasing to 4.68
trln from 3.66 trln.

At 9.42 am, BCA was up 25 rupiah at 4,500.

The composite index was up 0.968 points at 1,433.899.

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Japan's investment up 110 pct in Indonesia in first
half of '06

JAKARTA, August 30 (Asia Pulse/Antara) - Japan's
investments in Indonesia in the first half of 2006
jumped 110 per cent to US$650 million from the same
period last year but the figure still fell short of
the pre-crisis level.

"Figures from Japanese investors suggest that they
took a commanding lead in the January-June 2006 period
but if compared to the pre-crisis level the Japanese
investments have not recovered," Trade Minister Mari
Elka Pangestu said after chairing the fourth meeting
of the Indonesia-Japan Forum here on Tuesday.

According to the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM),
Japanese investments in the January-June 2006 period
reached US$650 million in 62 projects against US$310
million in 67 projects in the same period last year.

Japanese Ambassador to Indonesia Ebihara said the
Japanese investments had increased lately but still
had not returned to the pre-crisis level.

"Admittedly, there has been a slight increase. Last
year, they stood at US$1.2 billion but in 1997 they
reached US$8 billion," he said.

Although Japan was the biggest investor in Indonesia
over the period, Indonesia was not the main
destination of Japanese investments, Mari said.

"Indonesia was not the main destination of Japanese
investors. They preferred to invest in Vietnam, China
and Thailand. That becomes cause for major concern to
the two sides because before the crisis we had
mutually beneficial relations," she said.

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

Acom, BOTM Negotiating To Buy Indonesia Bank Shrs

TOKYO, August 30 (Dow Jones)--Japan's Acom Co.
(8572.TO) and Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd. said
Wednesday they have decided to start talks with
shareholders of an Indonesian bank to take a majority
stake in the lender.

 The two firms said in a joint statement that they aim
to acquire shares in PT Bank Nusantara Parahyangan
Terbuka by the end of December.

Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ is a unit of Mitsubishi
UFJ Financial Group Inc. (8306.TO), one of Japan's
biggest banking groups. Acom is a consumer finance
company that has close ties with Bank of
Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ. [ 30-08-06 0724GMT ]

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

Indonesia's Bhakti Investama sells 13.1 pct stake in
AGIS for 49 bln rupiah

JAKARTA, August 29 (XFN-ASIA) - PT Bhakti Investama
said it has sold a 13.1 pct stake in PT Arta Graha
Investama Sentral (AGIS), equivalent to 245 mln
shares, at a price of 200 rupiah per share, Bhakti
Investama president Hary Djaja said in a letter to the
stock exchange.

The sale, executed on August 16-24, has resulted in
Bhakti's holding falling to 27.7 pct from 40.8 pct
previously, Djaja said.

In late afternoon trade, Bhakti Investama was up 25
rupiah at 290, while AGIS was unchanged at 80.

Djaja said the sale was decided for 'strategic
reasons', though he did not elaborate further.

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

Bank Ekspor Indonesia sets 12.25-13.125 pct coupon for
500 bln rupiah bond

JAKARTA, August 29 (XFN-ASIA) - State-owned PT Bank
Ekspor Indonesia has set an indicative coupon range of
between 12.25 pct and 13.125 pct for its planned 500
bln rupiah bond issue, company president Arifin Indra
Sulistyanto said.

He said the bonds will be sold in three series, in
tenors of three, four and five years.

Sulistyanto said bond proceeds will be used to support
the company's export financing business.

The book building period starts today and will last
until Sept 8, while the offering period is planned for
Sept 25-27.

PT Trimegah Securities and state-owned PT Danareksa
are the underwriters of the bond.

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

Indonesia cancels introduction of free zone for meat
imports

JAKARTA, August 30 (Asia Pulse/Antara) - The Ministry
of Agriculture eventually cancelled its plan of
introducing a foot and mouth free zones for the import
of meat and livestock.

Agriculture Minister Anton Apriyantono said on the
sidelines of a training in character building of
future civil servants of the agriculture ministry in
Bogor, West Java, on Tuesday said that in making the
decison the government mainted the old regulation in
meat and livestock imports, namely that the imports
would only be from countries which had been declared
free of the foot and mouth disease by the
International Animal Health Council (OIE).

Some time ago the ministry of agriculture launched a
plan to revise the government's decision on the import
of meat and cattle only from countries that had been
declared free of the foot and mouth disease, that the
import should use free zones.

Under the new ruling, meat and livestock can be
imported not only from countries that had been
declared free of the foot and mouth disease, but also
from countries which have yet to be declared by OIE as
free of the animal disease provided the meat and
livestock came from free zones.

The government is considering the import of meat and
cattle from any country free of the foot and mouth
disease so that it would be possible also to import
the commodities from other countries in the hope to
maintain adequate supply of meat and at competitive
prices.

But the ministry's plan to import meat and livestock
from countries free of the foot and mouth disease was
believed by certain circles to be risky as the animal
disease could always return to Indonesia, and if this
happens it would take a 100 years to declare the
country free of the disease, and Indonesia would loose
the confidence of many countries, former animal
husbandry director general Sofjan Sudardjat said
recently.

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

Prices of natural rubber sliding: Indonesian producers

JAKARTA, August 30 (Asia Pulse/Antara) - The price of
natural rubber in international market sank to 236.8
yens per kg or the lowest since April down from a peak
of 318.5 yens on June 12, producers said.

The decline followed weaker demand from China and a
number of tire makers in the world, Executive Director
of the Rubber Company Association (Gapkindo) Suharto
Honggokusumo said Tuesday.

A number of rubber processing companies in the world
already cut their their production, Suharto said.

China, the largest consumer in the world, has reduced
purchases when the prices were rising causing a surge
in production cost to be paid by tire makers in that
country.

Small tire makers could no longer cover their
production costs in China, which imposes a 20 per cent
import duty on that commodity, Suharto said.

Meanwhile, Thailand the world's largest producer of
natural rubber and Malaysia, the third largest, are in
peak performance in production, he said.

Indonesia is the second largest producers making the
three Asean countries highly dominant in natural
rubber supply.

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

New Straits Times (Malaysia) 
Wednesday, August 30, 2006

Guthrie H1 net profit surges to RM130m

KUMPULAN Guthrie Bhd has benefited from foreign
exchange gains and stronger results from its
Indonesian operations, with its net profit surging to
RM130 million for the first half year ended June 30
2006 from RM4.7 million before.

Its earnings per share rose from 5 sen to 12.9 sen for
the same period.

The strengthening of theringgit and the rupiah against
the US dollar boosted Guthrie's results with an
unrealised exchange gain of RM87.4 million, against a
loss of RM38.8 million for the previous period.

Its plantation business in Indonesia posted
significant growth for the first half of 2006,
registering a 27 per cent increase in fresh fruit
bunch production totalling 1.39 million tonnes.

With the rising crop yield and lower cost of
production, the plantation operations in Indonesia is
geared to be the key growth driver for the group this
year, Guthrie group chief executive Datuk Abdul Wahab
Maskan said in a statement.

"We will be the largest listed producer of crude palm
oil (CPO) in the Asean region, producing about one
million tonnes a year and this is expected to increase
further to 1.5 million tonnes by 2010.

"This in turn will reduce the average cost of
production to about RM600 per tonne of palm products,"
he said.

He said the group is also expanding its planted land
bank by about 29,000 ha in Indonesia. The new planting
has started and is scheduled to be completed in 2008.

Currently, Guthrie Plantation Indonesia operates on a
total plantation area of 220,000 ha spanning Sumatera,
Kalimantan and Sulawesi, with 170,000 ha already
planted with oil palm.

Guthrie is also increasing its capacity in Indonesia
with a focus on enhancing quality and delivery,
increasing operational efficiency while reducing
costs.

The group is building four more mills in Indonesia at
a cost of RM120 million.

Currently, it operates 17 mills in the country.

On the Malaysian operations, Abdul Wahab said Guthrie
will build a new palm oil mill in Johor, bringing its
total number of mills in Malaysia to 14.

"Going forward, with the projected higher crop yield
for both Plantation Indonesia and Plantation Malaysia
and the current level of CPO prices, plantation
earnings of the group is expected to be higher for
2006," he added.

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Indonesia to import rice ahead of holiday seasons,
drought

JAKARTA, August 30 (Asia Pulse/Antara) - Indonesia
plans to import rice to secure domestic stock ahead of
holiday seasons and drought affecting several regions
in the country, a cabinet minister said here on
Tuesday.

State Minister for National Development Plannng Paskah
Suzetta said that rice consumption usually increased
during post-fasting Islamic holidays of Lebaran as
well as Christmas.

Therefore it was felt that the current stock may not
be sufficient to meet the rising demand.

"The imported rice will be used to cover the shortage
that might happen during the holiday seasons and to
cover a possible shortage as a result of the drought,"
he said.

He said if domestic stock was short while consumption
rose it was feared the price of the staple would rise
sharply and therefore the government would import the
commodity to also stabilise its price.

He did not disclose the import schedule, but said the
government was not in a hurry.

He said the government was currently still checking
the stock held by the National Logistics Agency or
traders to prevent speculation.

Regarding requests from nine regions to import rice,
the minister said that the final decision was in the
hands of the governors concerned.

"It was for the regions to decide, while the logistics
agency would deal with the mechanism," he said.

He said the government still had yet to check if the
regions that have a rice surplus could cover the
shortage in other regions to avoid imports.

"I myself actually do not agree with the import idea
fearing it might disrupt farmers' production," he
said.

However he said that the drought problem could not be
ignored as it had also affected main rice producing
regions such as West and Central Java.

"So we will see if the surplus in some regions could
be used to cover the shortage in other regions," he
said.

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Vietnam Rice-Prices firm on Indonesia demand

By Ho Binh Minh

HANOI, August 30 (Reuters) - Rice prices have been
rising in Vietnam as exporters are stockpiling ahead
of possible tenders in Indonesia, traders said on
Wednesday.

They said Indonesia was seeking to buy in a tender
450,000 tonnes of 15-percent broken rice from Thailand
or Vietnam, the world's top rice exporters, for
shipment between September and December.

Indonesia Trade Minister Mari Pangestu said on Tuesday
that the country was likely to lift a ban on rice
imports and allow state logistics agency Bulog to open
rice tenders to boost stocks. She gave no details of
the tenders.

A Vietnam Food Association official said Vietnam had
not been invited officially to any tenders in
Indonesia.

But traders said Vietnamese trade officials told a
rice meeting last Friday that exporters were preparing
for a tender in Indonesia next month and another in
October.

"It is 99 percent certain that Indonesia will open the
tenders and also 99 percent that Vietnam will win," a
trader with an European firm in Ho Chi Minh City said.

The Agriculture Ministry-run Nong Nghiep Vietnam
newspaper said on Wednesday the food sector will
achieve a rice export target of 5 million tonnes in
2006 after Indonesia's tenders.

So far, Vietnam has contracted to export 4.5 million
tonnes, of which 3.82 million tonnes have been
shipped.

"Rice companies have been buying to prepare for
Indonesia's tenders, pushing up prices," another
trader said.

On Wednesday, the food association quoted 15-percent
broken rice at $270 per tonne, free on board at Saigon
Port, compared with $255-$257 last week.

Five-percent broken rice was offered at $265-$275 per
tonne, compared with $268-$270 a week ago
<RICE/ASIA1>.

DWINDLING STOCKS

Traders said low stocks caused by pests and demand
from Africa and the Middle East also supported prices.

Farmers in the Mekong delta key rice-growing provinces
of Dong Thap, An Giang and Long An have completed
harvesting the summer-autumn crop before seasonal
floods turned dangerous.

The Agriculture Ministry said the delta's paddy output
would fall by 1 million tonnes this year due to pests.
In Dong Thap alone, the yield fell 6.4 percent to 4.4
tonnes per hectare. Mekong delta farmers often grow
three rice crops a year, but agriculture officials
have advised them to reduce or skip growing a third
crop this year to wipe out pests before production of
the next winter-spring crop, their highest yielding
crop.

But the pest problem did not hurt Vietnam's rice
exports due to strong import demand, officials said.

"The import demand from various countries is very
high. We do not need to worry about the consuming
markets," Deputy Trade Minister Phan The Rue said at
the rice meeting last Friday.

Vietnam wanted to compete with India and Pakistan in
selling rice to Africa and also needed to secure
direct rice deals with Iraq and Iran, he said.

All the 163,000 tonnes of Vietnamese rice coming to
Iraq this year arrived via foreign trading houses, Rue
said.

"With the rice export scheme now, selling Vietnamese
rice to the Middle East has become much more
difficult, but in time to come we need to push our
re-penetration into Iraq and Iran," he was quoted by
the Nong Nghiep Vietnam newspaper as saying.

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Australian exhibition targets construction sector in
Indonesia

JAKARTA, August 30 (Asia Pulse/Antara) - Australia is
targeting the Indonesian construction market by
holding a development and construction exhibition,
AUSBUILD 2006, in Jakarta from August 29 to 30, 2006.

Cooperation between Indonesia and Australia in the
construction sector has great potential, Australian
ambassador to Indonesia Bill Farmer said here on
Tuesday.

AUSBUILD 2006 would display Australia`s latest
technology in the development and construction sector,
the ambassador said prior to the opening of the
exhibition at the Ritz Hotel.

The expo also would present noted architects from both
countries, he added.

The expo, which is being held for the first time by
Australia in Jakarta, is a forum for Australia`s
industries to target the Indonesian market and to
share knowledge on architecture.

Development and construction trade between Australia
and Indonesia over the years has continued to increase
with the total value reaching about Rp800 billion in
2005, the ambassador said.

Farmer said AUSBUILD 2006 featured the latest
development technology which is environment-friendly,
sophisticated, stylish and economical.

The expo will also be highlighted with a seminar on
2006 architectural trends featuring Philip Cox, a
designer and project director of original and
innovative development projects such as Sydney
SuperDome, Singapore Expo, Kuwait Pearls Sea Cities
and Shanghai Riverfront.

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Asia-Pacific's travel set for double-digit growth

Singapore, August 30 (DPA) -- The Asia-Pacific region
is set for double-digit year-on-year growth in
outbound travel for the second half of 2006, a report
said on Wednesday.

The most optimistic outlook centered on Hong Kong.
MasterIndex of Travel forecast 15 per cent growth
year-on-year for outbound travel for the destination
compared with 3 per cent expected six months ago.

Malaysia and China were tied for second place with
12.5 per cent year-on-year growth anticipated.

"The continuing strength in the growth of outbound
travel in (the) Asia-Pacific further reinforces our
view that personal travel is being entrenched as an
integral part of the lifestyles of the expanding
middle class in the region," said economic adviser
Yuwa Hedrick-Wong.

The 22.07 million Malaysians forecast to travel
overseas in the next six months will benefit such key
markets as Indonesia, Japan and China, the report
said.

The forecast by MasterIndex of Travel was supported by
Abacus International's release of new monthly travel
figures.

The Asia-Pacific travel industry sustained a steady
pace in the first half of 2006 with total bookings up
over 2005 for almost every month.

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Joyo Indonesia News Service
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