[Kabar-indonesia] 16 RI Biz/Econ Reports: Single-Digit Interest Rates Possible: BI
Joyo3
Joyo at aol.com
Thu Nov 16 13:30:23 MST 2006
16 Reports:
- BI Gov: Single-Digit Interest Rates Possible 06
- Dow Jones: RI Growth Picked Up in 3rd Quarter
- Foreign investment in Indonesian property remains
relatively low- Jones Lang
- Decline in FDI due to "bad luck": presidential spokesman
- Indosat plans 3G service this month
- Lippo sells $200 mln bond - source
- RI to sell stakes in BII, Lippo banks
- RI raises 514 bln rph from BII, Lippo sale
- BII suspended from trading on govt stake divestment plan
- JSX
- BI approves US$54bln in sub-debts
- Lippo buys Singapore redevelopment site for 132 mln sgd -
report
- PT Duta Pertiwi post 2.93pct fall in Q3 net profit
- PT Kencana Graha to build US$71mln office block
- Kawasaki Heavy Wins Cogeneration System Order in
Indonesia
- Malaysia's Pantai Hldgs unit wins waste Java management
project
- Indonesian palm oil rallies on thin supply, high demand
Bank Indonesia Gov: Single-Digit Interest Rates Possible 06
JIMBARAN, November 16 (Dow Jones)--Bank Indonesia Governor
Burhanuddin Abdullah said Thursday that Indonesia's policy
interest rates could ease into single digits by the end of
this year.
"The possibility is there," he said on the sidelines of a
central bankers' conference, but added that it will depend
on economic developments in November and December.
"We hope we will see single-digit interest rates by the
start of next year," he said.
He also said he hopes to see economic growth of 6.3% in
2007. [ 16-11-06 0324GMT ]
Bank Indonesia's Board of Governors cut the benchmark rate
to 10.25% on Nov. 7, the sixth reduction since the current
monetary easing began in May.
Analysts expect the central bank to cut its benchmark rate
by another 50 basis points in December as inflation will
likely ease further.
October's on-year inflation rate eased to single digit for
the first time since September 2005.
Indonesia recorded 6.29% on-year inflation in October,
markedly slower than the 14.55% rate in September.
---------------------------------------
Dow Jones Newswires
Friday, November 17, 2006
Indonesia Growth Picked Up Pace In Third Quarter
By I MADE SENTANA
JAKARTA, Indonesia -- Buoyant household consumption helped
Indonesia's economy expand at a slightly faster-than-
expected pace in the third quarter, signaling that the
government is closer to achieving its ambitious growth
target for 2006.
Gross domestic product rose 3.49% in the third quarter from
the second quarter, which was faster than a downwardly
revised 1.96% expansion in the April-June period, according
to Central Statistics Agency data. Compared with a year
earlier, GDP, or the value of all goods and services
produced in a nation, rose 5.52% in the third quarter,
outpacing a downwardly revised 5.08% growth in the second
quarter compared with a year earlier.
Still, the acceleration isn't expected to stop the country's
central bank from continuing to cut interest rates, because
economic activity is rising from a low base and isn't
boosting inflation.
Household consumption, government consumption and exports
were the three pillars of growth in the third quarter, said
agency Chairman Rusman Heriawan.
Household consumption rose 1.66% from the second quarter,
which contributed a little more than 60% of the quarterly
growth rate. Investment rose 1.76% from the second quarter.
Analysts forecast that Bank Indonesia will continue to cut
its benchmark interest rate, to below 10%, in coming months,
which should further assist the government in achieving its
growth target of 5.8% for this year.
"We see growth continuing to accelerate slowly this year,"
said ING's chief economist for Asia, Tim Condon. "This
should give the authorities comfort that they can adhere to
their policy."
Mr. Condon expects the central bank to cut the Bank
Indonesia rate by 0.5 percentage point in December to 9.75%
and further reduce the rate by 0.25 percentage point at each
policy meeting in 2007.
Some analysts say the country might be hard-pressed to meet
the government's forecast of 6.3% GDP growth in 2007. The
government needs accelerated economic growth to fulfill an
election pledge to achieve average annual economic expansion
of 6.6% from 2005 to 2009 to help slash unemployment and
reduce poverty.
--Farida Husna contributed to this article.
---------------------------------------
Foreign investment in Indonesian property remains relatively
low- Jones Lang
JAKARTA, November 16 (XFN-ASIA) - New investment in
Indonesia's property market is still dominated by local
investors, with foreign interest remaining relatively small,
Jones Lang LaSalle said in its Q3 property market report.
'As the market is considered to be still in the early stage
of a revival, foreign investors prefer to take a wait-and-
see approach until they see structural improvement in the
economy and the business operating environment,' it said.
Peter Barge, Jones Lang CEO for Asia Pacific, told a media
briefing that 43 bln usd worth of capital investment flowed
into commercial property in Asia in the past six months. A
large portion of it went into mature markets like Japan,
Hong Kong or Singapore.
'I haven't seen foreign investors investing (in a
significant way) in Indonesia's property sector yet. They
are still looking and undertaking some due diligence. We
should see some capital investment start to come in next
year, including the property sector,' he said.
Jones Lang noted around 19 office projects were scheduled
for completion over the next three years in the central
business district (CBD) area of Jakarta.
The projects will add over 816,000 square meters of new
office space, the property firm said..
By the end of September 2006, the total supply of commercial
office space in Jakarta was approximately 4.26 mln sqm with
about 3.14 mln sqm in the CBD area and 1.12 mln sqm in the
non-CBD area.
Jones Lang noted that the supply of office space in both the
CBD and non CBD areas in the September quarter was unchanged
from Q2, with no projects completed during the period.
----------------------------------------
Decline in foreign investment due to "bad luck":
presidential spokesman
Jakarta, November 16 (Antara News) - The decline in realized
foreign invstment projects in the January-October 2006
period by 47.6 percent compared to a corresponding period
last year was more caused by "bad luck" than anything else,
presidential spokesman Dino Patti Djalal said here Thursday
"There has indeed been a decline in foreign investment.
Sometimes we are lucky, sometimes we are unlucky. We however
continue to convey the message to investors that Indonesia
is a good place to invest in," Dino told the press at the
presidential office here Thursday.
Dino was asked why it was that the value of foreign
investment had yet to increase after the country had been
ruled by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono`s government for
two years while the head of state had continuously tried to
improve the investment climate and visited many countries to
attract investors.
Dino said the president`s visits to several countries were
among other things aimed at explaining the improved
conditions in Indonesia in the hope that more foreign
investors would sink their capital in Indonesia.
However, he said, foreign investors could not be forced to
invest in Indonesia as they would first see what benefits
they would gain and what the investment climate in the
country was like.
"The president continues to invite foreign investors to
Indonesia but they cannot be forced to come as they will
first consider the returns on investment and the investment
climate in Indonesia," he said.
Dino shrugged off the notion that the decline in the foreign
investment value was proof the government had failed in the
economic sector, arguing that the country`s macro-economic
conditions this year had improved and were gaining in
stablity.
"This year, the economy is predicted to grow by 5.6 percent,
the country`s debt rating and our foreign exchange reserves
are also good. So, there is a lot of good news indicating
that our economic conditions are good," he said.
According to data released by the National Investment
Coordinating Agency (BKPM), the value of foreign investment
in Indonesia has dropped by 47.6 percent. Despite the
decrease, the number of workers absorbed by the foreign
investment sector in 2006 had increased compared to that in
2005.
As many as 191,473 new workers were recruited during the
January-October period in 2006 compared with 133,011 in
2005.
Meanwhile, the value of domestic investment during the
January-October period in 2006 reached Rp13.55 trillion in
128 projects representing a decrease by Rp3.09 trillion or
18.57 percent compared with the figures reorded for the same
period in 2005.
-----------------------------------------
Indonesia's Indosat plans 3G service this month
JAKARTA, November 16 (Reuters) - Indonesia's second largest
mobile phone operator, PT Indosat Tbk , is aiming to launch
third generation (3G) services by the end of this month, a
senior company official said on Thursday.
Two of Indosat's rivals, market leader PT Telekomunikasi
Selular (Telkomsel) and number three player PT Excelcomindo
Pratama Tbk , have already launched the service -- faster
Internet access -- in the second half of this year.
"We will launch 3G commercially on November 29 in Jakarta
and Surabaya for a start," Wahyu Wijayadi, marketing
director of Indosat, said.
He declined to say how many customers it expected to sign up
for the service. Singapore's ST Telemedia is the single
biggest shareholder in Indosat.
Wijayadi said Indosat expected to have 16 million mobile
phone customers by the end of this year, out of an expected
total market of nearly 60 million.
Many analysts said it will take some time before the 3G
segment can reach critical mass as most users are still
price-conscious, pre-paid customers.
The latter accounts for more than 90 percent of the
country's more than 50 million mobile phone users.
There are nearly 1 million 3G-capable handsets in Indonesia
and Telkomsel already has almost 400,000 3G customers.
Indonesia's largest telecommunications company, PT
Telekomunikasi Indonesia Tbk , holds 65 percent of Telkomsel
while Singapore Telecommunications Ltd owns the remaining 35
percent.
Only about a quarter of Indonesia's 220 million population
subscribes to a mobile phone service, compared with around
80 percent in Malaysia and more than 40 percent in the
Philippines.
---------------------------------------
Indonesia Bank Lippo sells $200 mln bond -source
HONG KONG, November 16 (Reuters) - PT Bank Lippo Tbk ,
Indonesia's 10th-largest bank by assets, has priced a $200
million, 10-year bond to yield 7.375 percent, a market
source familiar with the transaction said on Thursday.
The lower tier II subordinated bonds, callable in 2011,
carry a coupon of 7.375 percent and were sold late on
Wednesday at par to yield 7.375 percent, or 277 basis points
above five-year U.S. Treasuries.
Bank Lippo, controlled by Malaysian state investment agency
Khazanah Nasional Bhd., had initially set the indicative
yield at 7.50 percent, but later lowered it to 7.375 percent
with the offer being 13 times covered, the source said.
UBS is the sole bookrunner.
Asian investors bought 75 percent of the deal, while
European buyers took 23 percent and the remainder went to
offshore U.S. accounts, the source said.
By investor type, banks accounted for 31 percent, asset
managers 38 percent, retail 20 percent and insurance
companies 11 percent.
---------------------------------------
Indonesia to sell stakes in BII, Lippo banks
JAKARTA, November 16 (Reuters) - Indonesia's finance
ministry said on Thursday it has asked state-owned asset
management company PT Perusahaan Pengelola Aset to sell the
government's 5.22 percent stake in PT Bank Internasional
Indonesia Tbk (BII) .
The ministry also said in a statement posted on its Web site
that the government would also sell around 500 shares -- all
its remaining stake -- of PT Bank Lippo Tbk through a market
placement.
"The sale of remaining shares in these banks is part of an
effort to finance the 2006 state budget," the statement
said, without giving a specific timeframe for the sales.
The value of the stake in BII, the country's sixth largest
lender, is around $57 million, based on its closing price on
Wednesday, while Lippo shares traded unchanged on Wednesday
at 1,360 rupiah each.
---------------------------------------
Indonesia raises 514 bln rph from BII, Lippo sale
JAKARTA, November 16 (Reuters) - The Indonesian government
raised 514 billion rupiah ($56.14 million) on Thursday from
the sale of its remaining stakes in two medium-size banks to
help finance the state budget, a senior official at the
state asset management company said.
The finance ministry said on Thursday it has asked PT
Perusahaan Pengelola Aset (PPA) to sell the government's
5.22 percent stake in PT Bank Internasional Indonesia Tbk
(BII) and around 500 shares of PT Bank Lippo Tbk .
Mohammad Syahrial, the head of PPA, said it sold BII shares
at 205 rupiah each and Lippo for 1,350 rupiah per share.
Trading in BII shares, the country's sixth largest lender,
was suspended on Thursday due to the sale. BII shares
changed hands for 210 rupiah each on Wednesday.
---------------------------------------
Indonesia's BII suspended from trading on govt stake
divestment plan - JSX
JAKARTA, November 16 (XFN-ASIA) - Trading in the shares of
PT Bank Internasional Indonesia (BII) will be suspended from
today after the government announced it will divest 5.22 pct
of its stake in the bank through market placement, Jakarta
Stock Exchange said.
It said the suspension was ordered to prevent sharp
fluctuations in the share price.
Trading in BII will remain suspended until further notice.
---------------------------------------
Bank Indonesia approves US$54bln in sub-debts
DENPASAR, BALI, November 16 (Asia Pulse/Antara) - Up to
October 2006, Bank Indonesia (BI), the central bank, had
approved proposals for the establishment of a total of
US$1.3 billion and 41 billion Euros (US$52.57 billion) in
subdebts from 15 state and private banks, a spokesman said.
"The figures are expected to increase until the end of this
year and go up further in 2007," Budi Mulya, the central
bank's director of strategic planning and public relations,
said in Denpasar on Thursday.
Speaking to the press on the sidelines of a seminar on
global imbalances and their impact on emerging market
economies here on Thursday, Mulya was asked whether subdebts
to such an amount would not plunge the country into another
monetary crisis.
He said Bank Indonesia had advised the banks about their
financial capacities and the feasibility of their credit
proposals.
The central bank, he said, could not do anything to prevent
banks from seeking the subdebts.
Indeed, it supported the banks' efforts to strengthen their
capital to improve their performance.
-----------------------------------------
Indonesia's Lippo buys Singapore redevelopment site for 132
mln sgd - report
SINGAPORE, November 16 (XFN-ASIA) - The Lippo group has
bought Kim Seng Plaza here for 132 mln sgd, the Business
Times reported.
The newspaper, without identifying its sources, said Lippo
was expected to redevelop Kim Seng Plaza into a mixed-use
retail and apartment complex.
Kim Seng Plaza sits on a 60,400 square-foot site on which
the redeveloper is allowed to construct a maximum of 187,200
square feet of floor space contained in building not higher
than 35 storeys.
Lippo owns another site adjacent to Kim Seng Plaza on which
it is building a 230-apartment condominium.
---------------------------------------
Indonesia's Duta Pertiwi post 2.93pct fall in Q3 net profit
JAKARTA, November 16 (Asia Pulse/Antara) - Diversified real
estate developer PT Duta Pertiwi (JSX:DUTI) on Thursday
reported a 2.93 per cent decline in net consolidated profit
for the third quarter of 2006 to Rp45.15 billion (US$4.95
million) compared to the previous year.
Despite a rise in total income to Rp680.09 billion from
Rp627.74 billion, gross profit dropped to Rp379.26 billion
from Rp386.43 billion, leading to a decline in operating
profit to Rp71.38 billion from Rp95.34 billion, the
publicly-listed company said in its October report.
In the nine months to September 2006 its total assets rose
to Rp4.66 trillion from Rp4.53 trillion a year earlier.
Meanwhile, total liabilities dropped to Rp685.20 billion
from Rp762.45 billion.
Total equities rose to Rp1.62 trillion from Rp1.56 trillion
with the debt equity ratio down to 74 per cent from 87 per
cent.
Sales in the January-September 2006 period dropped to
Rp990.14 billion from Rp1.09 trillion a year before.
----------------------------------------
Indonesia's Kencana Graha to build US$71mln office block
JAKARTA, November 16 (Asia Pulse/Antara) - Property
developer PT Kencana Graha Mandiri (KGM) announced on
Thursday that it plans to build a Rp650 billion (US$71.1
million) 33-floor office building in Jakarta's most
expensive business district.
The project will be built over a 6,000 sq.m. plot of land at
Jalan Thamrin in Central Jakarta, KGM president Harry
Gunawan said.
Construction of the office building, to be named The City
Tower, will start in February and is scheduled to be
completed by the end of 2008, Gunawan said.
He said 40 per cent of the building's 72,500 sq.m. floor
space will be sold and the rest will put up for rent, adding
KGM wants to maintain control of the operation of the
building so that it can maintain first-rate services.
He said he is optimistic the office space will attract many
investors.
----------------------------------------
Kawasaki Heavy Wins Cogeneration System Order in Indonesia
Tokyo, November 16 (Jiji Press)--Kawasaki Heavy Industries
Ltd. said Thursday that it has received an order for a gas
turbine cogeneration system from Indonesian paper producer
PT Pelita Cengkareng Paper.
Kawasaki Heavy did not disclose the value of the order,
which was landed jointly with Indonesian engineering firm PT
Euroasiatic.
The cogeneration system, to be completed in August 2007,
will have capacity of generating 12,000 kilowatts of
electricity and 30 tons of steam per hour.
The system will be comprised of two gas turbines, which use
natural gas as energy for power generation, and two boilers
that generate steam using heat emitted from the turbines.
---------------------------------------
Malaysia's Pantai Hldgs unit wins waste management project
in West Java
KUALA LUMPUR, November 16 (XFN-ASIA) - Pantai Holdings Bhd
said its wholly-owned unit Pantai Medivest Sdn Bhd will work
with the local government of West Java, to undertake and
implement a 30- year privatization program for the
management of medical and hazardous wastes in West Java.
A co-operation agreement has been signed, it said in a
filing to Bursa Malaysia.
Pantai Medivest will be responsible for the development of
facilities and the overall implementation and operations, it
added.
---------------------------------------
Indonesian palm oil rallies on thin supply, high demand
JAKARTA, November 16 (Reuters) - Indonesian palm oil prices
extended gains on Thursday, lifted by strong trading
interest and tight supplies in the market, traders said.
In North Sumatra's Medan, the main port for palm oil
exports, crude palm oil traded at between 4,620 and 4,705
rupiah ($0.505-0.514) a kg compared with 4,588-4,637 on
Wednesday.
At the state marketing centre in Jakarta, crude palm oil was
offered at 4,720 rupiah a kg, while highest bids were seen
at 4,700 without any deals reported, compared with 4,653 on
Wednesday.
"Demand is firm, on the other hand, sellers were holding
back stocks due to expectations of lower output, pushing
prices higher," a Jakarta trader said.
"Malaysian gains also added some support to the market."
By the midday break, the benchmark February contract <KPOG7>
on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives exchange was up 16 ringgit
at 1,773 ringgit ($485) a tonne.
The gain came after it surged 3 percent to hit a fresh two-
year high on Wednesday.
"Output has been falling in the last few months due to
Ramadan and Eid al Fitr. And dry weather in central
Indonesia, including Kalimantan caused by the El Nino might
cut output even lower this month," another Jakarta trader
said, referring to Muslim fasting month and main festival
last month.
Thin stocks and Malaysian gains also supported cooking oil
prices in Jakarta with RBD palm olein up at between 5,100
and 5,150 rupiah per kg compared with 5,025-5,075 on
Wednesday.
On the exports market, December shipment was offered at $480
a tonne, without any bids reported.
January, February and March shipments were offered at $485
per tonne, while buyers bid at $477.5.
------------------------------------------
Joyo Indonesia News Service
------------------------------------------
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