Indonesia Morning News For February 7

Indonesia’s largest bank posts 49% net profit jump in 2017
Indonesia’s largest bank by assets on Tuesday reported a surge in net profit for 2017 as a rebound in commodity prices helped reduce bad loan provisions, although it said earnings growth will be slower this year due to heated competition.
— Nikkei Asian Review

CPO exports to continue increasing in next 10 years
Economic analyst, Bustanul Arifin, has predicted the export volume and value of crude palm oil (CPO) and its derivatives to continue to rise in the next 10 years.
— Antara

Siemens Indonesia interested in waste-to-energy plants: Official
New PT Siemens Indonesia CEO Prakash Chandran expressed an interest in investing in waste-to-energy plant projects that would be constructed in a number of cities, Industry Ministry machinery and agriculture machinery director Zakiyudin said.
— The Jakarta Post

PepsiCo demands more action from IndoAgri over palm oil labour abuse allegations
PepsiCo is urging Indonesian palm oil supplier IndoAgri to take further action against allegations of labour abuses on its plantations.
— Food Navigator-Asia

Merdeka Copper Gold to jack up gold production in 2018
Publicly listed mining firm PT Merdeka Copper Gold is aiming to produce around 155,000 to 170,000 ounces of gold in 2018, an increase of between 8.8 and 19.3 percent from its full-year production last year.
— The Jakarta Post

Ministry to Auction Work Areas Mid-February
The Energy Ministry will hold the first auctions for oil and gas work areas in mid-February. Deputy Energy Minister Arcandra Tahar said that 25 to 59 work areas will be offered in the auction.
— Tempo

Mahakam’s oil and gas production plummets
State-owned energy giant Pertamina has seen a significant drop in oil and gas production from the Mahakam block, the largest gas field in East Kalimantan, just a month after the company acquired the block from France’s Total E&P Indonesie and Japan’s Inpex at the beginning of this year.
— The Jakarta Post

Industrial Bank of Korea to acquire 87.34% of Indonesia’s Bank Agris
Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK) will acquire an 87.34 per cent stake in Indonesia’s Bank Agris for an undisclosed amount, according to a disclosure the latter made to the Indonesian Stock Exchange (IDX).
— DealStreetAsia

Jakarta’s new governor in a bait-and-switch
Jakarta governor Anies Baswedan recently marked his first 100 days in office after an election campaign that played on religious and racial divisions while promising low-income city dwellers generous social programs.
— Asia Times

Bitcoin Falls: Half Its Value Lost in 2018
Bitcoin briefly slid below $6,000 on Tuesday to its lowest point so far this year in a sell-off that has seen the cryptocurrency lose more than half its value.
— Tempo

Commercial vehicle expo eyes 3,000 buyers
The Indonesian Automotive Manufacturers Association (Gaikindo) is targeting 3,000 buyers at its Indonesia International Commercial Vehicle Expo (GIICOMVEC) held at the Jakarta Convention Centre (JCC) from March 1 to 4.
— The Jakarta Post

What’s in a name in Indonesia?
Mohammad Hamdan is the spiritual caretaker of Mesjid Raya Al Mashun, the largest mosque in the Indonesian city of Medan on the island of North Sumatra. One of his top responsibilities is to help parents name their new born children.
— Asia Times

Eyeing SE Asia’s $1b market, tokens platform Waves partners Indonesia’s Tokenomy
Blockchain-based token platform Waves has announced a collaboration with Indonesian counterpart Tokenomy to tap opportunities in the Southeast Asian token market, which it said in a blog post is worth $1 billion.
— DealStreetAsia

Elven Digital launches web-builder service for SMEs
Digital agency company PT Elven Digital Indonesia has launched a new service called Djaring, a web-builder, aimed at assisting small and medium enterprises (SMEs) wanting to construct their own websites and digital platforms.
— The Jakarta Post

Indonesia: Kresna Graha Investama to back ICT firm SMC Co-Design
Publicly-listed investment firm Kresna Graha Investama (KREN) and its subsidiary, digital kiosk firm M Cash Integrasi (MCAS), have announced plans to acquire a 20 per cent and 30 per cent stake in ICT firm Sistem Mikroelektronik Cerdas Co-Design (SMC Co-Design) respectively.
— DealStreetAsia

Soekarno-Hatta Landslide May Caused by Construction Failure
The Indonesian Contractors Association (ICA) predicts that the landslide at the Soekarno-Hatta airport area that caused a concrete wall to collapse is due to construction failure.
— Tempo

Floods strike Indonesia’s capital, business activities remain undisturbed
Several parts of Jakarta have been hit by floods, displacing thousands of people, but business activities remained undisturbed in the city.
— Xinhua

Supporting Investment Development, Govt Revokes 32 Regulations
To support investment development, the Government through the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources has revoked 32 regulations to simplify the rules.
— Netral News

Indonesia has great sharia finance potential: President
At the session of National Committee for Sharia Finance President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has remarked that the potential of Islamic finance development in Indonesia is very great, considering the country has largest Muslim population in the world.
— Antara

Feature photo Juan Antonio Segal

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