Indonesia Morning News For February 15

Four sub-holdings established under oil and gas holding company
The government is going ahead with its plan to establish an oil and gas holding company, marked by the reorganization Wednesday of state-owned energy company Pertamina, a move that resulted in the removal of the gas directorate, an official has said.
— The Jakarta Post

Widodo woos Japan as infrastructure ambitions stall
Amid major delays in his trademark infrastructure program, Indonesian President Joko Widodo is working to strengthen ties with Japan in hopes of building a legacy ahead of the 2019 presidential election.
— Nikkei Asian Review

E-commerce contributes 0.75 percent to GDP
The Institute for Development of Economics and Finance (Indef) has estimated that e-commerce contributes just 0.75 percent of gross domestic product (GDP).
— The Jakarta Post

Indonesian Solok Radjo Coffee to Penetrate U.S. Market
Solok Radjo coffee, well known for its good quality, is capable to penetrate the U.S. market.
— Tempo

Garuda Indonesia to sell merchandises on JD.ID
National flag carrier Garuda Indonesia has announced a new collaboration with e-commerce JD.ID to launch a new service channel named “GarudaShop” that will be available on the platform’s website.
— The Jakarta Post

Ministry Plans to Issue Sedan Tax Rule Change in February
Industry Minister Airlangga Hartarto is targeting the discussion to revise the tax imposed on sedan cars—excluding it from the luxury goods category—to be completed this month.
— Tempo

Uber loss leapt in 2017 as final quarter showed hope
Ride-share titan Uber on Tuesday revealed that its losses last year swelled despite signs in the final three months that it was stemming the red ink.
— The Jakarta Post

Citilink eyes expansion to international market
Citilink Indonesia, a subsidiary of national flag carrier Garuda Indonesia, has announced it is planning to expand its operations to neighboring countries.
— The Jakarta Post

Gold Price Continues to Strengthen As Dollar Weakens
Gold futures contract on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange ended higher on Tuesday (2/13/2018) as the US dollar continued to weaken.
— Netral News

Indonesia remains lucrative market for Singapore tourism
Singapore saw tourist arrivals grow by a modest 6.2 percent to 17.4 million visitors in 2017, with Indonesia ranking second after China as the largest contributor of tourists, the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) said Tuesday.
— The Jakarta Post

Italy backs Indonesia`s palm oil in EU
Italy is supporting Indonesia`s bid to use palm oil as one of the biofuels in the European Union (EU) market, Indonesian Ambassador to Italy Esti Andayani said.
— Antara

Indonesia Shares Inherit Firm Lead For Wednesday
The Indonesia stock market has tracked higher in consecutive trading days, gathering almost 75 points or 1.5 percent along the way.
— Markets Insider

Subsidiaries Support PTPP IDR2.3 Trillion New Contract Achievement
PT PP (Persero) Tbk (PTPP), Indonesia’s leading construction and investment company, announced a total acquisition of a new contract worth IDR2.3 trillion in January 2018, consisting of PTPP Induk of IDR929 billion and subsidiaries of IDR1.4 trillion.
— Netral News

Visa Notes 31 Percent Jump in Jewelry Shopping on Valentine`s Day
International provider of payment technology Visa announced that Indonesians mostly spent money on jewelries and romantic dinners as a way to celebrate Valentine’s day.
— Tempo

China remains biggest market for West Papua`s exports
China remained the biggest export market for commodities of the Indonesian province of West Papua in 2017, Head of West Papua`s Central Bureau of Statistics Endang Retno stated here on Wednesday.
— Antara

Semen Gresik Builds Clean Water Facilities of IDR600 Mln in Rembang
PT Semen Indonesia (Persero) Tbk (SMGR.JK) through its subsidiary PT Semen Gresik is building clean water facilities for communities located in three villages around the Rembang plant, i.e., Kajar, Timbrangan and Ngampel Villages of Gunem Sub-district, Rembang Regency, Central Java.
— Netral News

Trawl fishermen to get debt restructuring
The government is encouraging trawl fishermen to switch to using environment-friendly fishing gears in an effort to promote sustainable exploitation of fish resources.
— Antara

Feature photo Prayitno

Find our previous morning news feature photos in the AEC News Today Morning News Feature Photos gallery where you will find a pictorial display of daily life throughout the Asean Economic Community (AEC).

Indonesia morning news by AEC News Today is your one stop source for Indonesia news on matters of governance and policies affecting Asean business communities and is published M-F by AEC News Today: Governance, not government; policies not politics.