July 1, 2014 edition

Two state gas companies were suddenly competing to win over Mohamad Djajadi, CEO of Kawasan Industri Wijayakusuma in Semarang, Central Java. Djajadi was sweet-talked by a representative of the State Gas Company (PGN) to get him to purchase gas for companies in the industrial area. "They contacted me at the end of May," he told Tempo last week.
Djajadi was happy to accept the offer. Industry players in Central Java have long been waiting for a gas supply. Edy Sukam-to, PGN Area Manager for Central Java, asked Djajadi to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) regarding this transaction.

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More Economy articles in other editions

January 1, 1970 edition

AVIATION
Tigerair Mandala to Stop Flying
A continually increasing operating costs deficit has forced carrier Tigerair Mandala into closure. The Jakarta-based associate of Singapore's Tigerair Group will cease operations starting from July 1.
The weakening of the rupiah against the US dollarit recently hit Rp12,000 to US$1has squeezed the company's finances. "The gap between revenue and costs continues to widen," Mandala Chief Commissioner Jusman Syafii Djamal told Tempo last week.

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June 17, 2014 edition

The Transportation Ministry's inspectorate received a white envelope with three bundles of documents at the end of May. They came from the Japanese Embassy, but it was not clear to whom they were addressed.
Although it seemed like a normal package, the ministry was rocked by it. The documents contained information on bribes paid by Japan Transportation Consultants (JTC) to several officials from the Railways Directorate in 2012.

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January 1, 1970 edition

Eko Siswanto, 33, was maintaining his usual routine. After dawn, the Trans Pacific Petrochemical Indotama (TPPI) employee headed toward Tuban, East Java, on his motorbike, around 70 kilometers from his house. Just before 7am, he arrived at his office, which had been quiet since production stopped on May 21.
TPPI ceased operations when its tolling agreement with state oil and gas company Pertamina expired in May. The six-month partnership began in November 2013. Pertamina CEO Karen Agustiawan personally oversaw the first shipment of the plant's products at TPPI's port on December 13, 2013. The main product was paraxylene, on order to Chandra Asri, located in Banten.

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January 1, 1970 edition

Rising from his seat, Rizal Djalil, the new chair of the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK), pointed at the results of a 2012 audit of the Central Kalimantan government's assets and financial reports, projected on the wall in front of him. "From these findings, it's hard for us to give an 'unqualified opinion (abbreviated as WTP-Ed.)'," he said, referring to the BPK's highest rating.
This was the second time Rizal refuted allegations that he had interfered with audits. Two days after he was sworn in as the agency's chief on April 28, Rizal denied the accusations. "There has been no buying and selling of opinions," he said.

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January 1, 1970 edition

Mining
Bukit Asam Acquires Australian Company
Bukit Asam plans to acquire Australian mining technology company Ignite Energy Resource. Bukit Asam director Milawarma said the proposed acquisition was in line with the company's target to employ technology capable of turning coal into low-caloried crude oil and low-caloried and high-caloried coal.
Australia-based Ignite Energy has a bioenergy company and coal reserves of 16.4 billion tons. The companies' intention to cooperate has received the approval of the government of Victoria, Australia. The final verdict on the acquisition will be determined in September. "Our target is up to 30 percent of shares," Mila said.

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May 20, 2014 edition

After instructing PGN to take over Pertagas, Dahlan Iskan backtracked. The two state-owned firms have locked horns for years, but Dahlan thinks they should now cooperate.

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