April 21, 2015 edition
The meeting between the chief of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) and the Board of Commissioners of Telkom two weeks ago lasted two hours. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the state-owned enterprise's plan to swap shares of Telkom in Dayamitra Telecommunications (Mitratel) for shares in Tower Bersama Infrastructure (TBIG).
Telkom Commissioner Hendri Saparini arrived at the KPK building in Jakarta accompanied by three independent commissioners, namely Parikesit Suprapto, Johnny Swandi Sjam, and Virano Gazi Nasution. They were welcomed by interim KPK chairman Taufiequrrahman Ruki, and current KPK vice-chairman Johan Budi Sapto Prabowo. State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) Minister Rini Soemarno had been invited to the meeting but was not present.
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More Economy articles in other editions
April 14, 2015 edition
The Indonesian Air Force's Super Puma helicopter hovered over the coast of Cilamaya in north Karawang, West Java, with Vice President Jusuf Kalla inside. As the pilot turned to leave the area, Kalla ordered him to circle around for one last pass over the oil rigs and gas facilities owned by Pertamina off the Cilamaya shore.
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April 7, 2015 edition
In the beginning it was a dinner party at the Palace. On Thursday, March 12, President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo invited a number of palm oil entrepreneurs for an evening of Padang food. "It was a relaxed program. There was a buffet of food, but the theme of the night was serious," Managing Director of Sinar Mas Group, Gandi Sulistiyanto, related about the event on the phone last Wednesday.
Gandi accompanied his big boss, Franky Widjaja that evening. According to Gandi, the President focused discussions on the weakening rupiah. Collectively, the oil palm magnates represent Indonesia's largest non-oil and non-gas export foreign exchange earner. If the value of their exports was retained in-country, foreign exchange reserves could strengthen and keep the rupiah from slipping further.
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January 1, 1970 edition
Doni Tirtana, owner of Lorco Menara Multimedia, is carefully re-calculating production costs for a number of his firm's projects this year. One of his clients, a multinational oil mining company, has requested some changes to a contract involving the production of computer-training tutorials. Doni was asked to bring down the price, which he will achieve by replacing the voice talent. "Usually, we use expatriate voice talent. Now we are using local voice talent," Doni told Tempo on Tuesday last week. "The savings are quite significant, about 50 percent."
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January 1, 1970 edition
Sunari's nimble feet criss-crossed his coffee plantation in Sidomulyo village, Jember, East Java. Suddenly he stopped, kneeling to tend to a crop of young shoots sprouting on the ground. Fatigue from the heat was no deterrent; along with hundreds of other robusta coffee farmers, he was already imagining the windfall from the plunging value of the rupiah against the US dollar.
Historically, coffee exports soar when the dollar strengthens, boosting the incomes of Sidomulyo farmers significantly. "We will be able to replace our television antenna with a parabolic one," Sunari said last Thursday.
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January 1, 1970 edition
Nerves Are Tested As Rupiah Exceeds 13,000
The rupiah continues to fluctuate, nervously closing at a low of Rp13,206 per US dollar, testing market nerves. This exceeds the upper five percent limit from the Rp12,500 per US dollar level posted by the government in its revised 2015 budget. And although the monetary authorities appear comfortable with the current level as it keeps Indonesias exports competitively in line with regional currencies, it hurts those that rely on imports and those with US dollar liabilities. Foreign funds are starting to leave as well although in manageable amounts. Net foreign buy positions for both stocks and bonds have turned into net sell positions since last week.
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January 1, 1970 edition