July 15, 2014 edition

The Indonesian Navy's seizure of the Bina Marine 75 tugboat as it towed a barge loaded with illegal tin exports caused Trade Minister Muhammad Lutfi to make an unscheduled trip to Batam, Riau Islands. Sitting in Sriwijaya Air economy class, Lutfi was accompanied by the director-general of international trade, Bachrul Chairi; the president commissioner of the Indonesia Commodity and Derivatives Exchange (ICDX), Fenny Widjaja; the head of the Commodity Futures Trading Supervisory Agency and a representative of the directorate-general of customs.
It was late March, and Lutfi had only been minister for two months. Upon arrival in Batam, he was met by the commander of the Western Fleet, Vice Admiral Arief Rudianto, and the commander of the Navy Staff and Command School, Rear-Admiral Desi Albert Mamahit. Lutfi and the group were taken directly to the Palm Springs Golf & Beach Resort. Coordinating Minister of Political, Legal and Security Affairs Djoko Suyanto, Commander-in-Chief of the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) General Moeldoko, Navy Chief of Staff Laksamana Marsetio and National Police Chief General Sutarman were already waiting for them at the resort.

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More Economy articles in other editions

January 1, 1970 edition

BASUKI Tjahaja Purnama could not say he was surprised by Agung Firman Sampurna's speech before the Jakarta Regional House of Representatives (DPRD) on Friday two weeks ago. Basuki, or Ahok as the acting Jakarta governor is known, already knew that Agung, a member of the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK), would announce that there had been many irregularities in Jakarta's accounting of its assets. "We knew we would be getting a 'qualified opinion' report," Ahok told Tempo on Thursday last week, referring to one of the BPK's less-than-perfect grades.
What confused Ahok was that Agung did not explain why there had been differences from audits of previous years. Accounting problems had already emerged in 2013. "There were irregularities before, yet an 'unqualified opinion' report was given," Ahok pointed out, referring to the BPK's best rating.
The BPK had given the Jakarta government's financial statements two consecutive unqualified opinions with explanatory paragraphs. These were in 2011 and 2012, during former Governor Fauzi Bowo's administration. The opinion became qualified for the 2013 financial statementsGovernor Joko Widodo's first year in charge. "We are more transparent and systematic now. How could they give me a qualified opinion?" Ahok asked.

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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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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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