Maksindo: Indonesia's biggest machinery producer

PT Tk Machine Maksindo is a company engaged in the production and sale of food machinery, packaging machinery, machine for business, machinery hotels, catering, restaurant machines, etc.

PT. Tk Machine Maksindo has experienced since 2004 and has served thousands of customers throughout Indonesia and several countries.

More

Bukaka: Indonesia's biggest heavy industry companies

Commencing in 1978, from a small scale operation with only twelve employees and a single product line, this company has grown into a multi-million dollar company with thousand of employees. Pioneer in the line of its genuine businesses, PT Bukaka Teknik Utama’s main activities cover the engineering and manufacturing of infra-structure related products and services.

The focus and strength of the company lie with its continuing and innovating experience in serving the rapid national development of the most important support sectors, namely energy transportation, and communication. The challenging enormous demand for the infra-structure, strives the company to keep its attention to the ongoing innovation competing world-wide.



This is a company with breakthroughs of utilizing the maximum use of its productive personnel and continuous efficiency improvement to the attainable level of innovation.

The company is opened to all opportunities that promote efficiency in such a spread-wise area of activities. Though delivery as the final stage of operation is executed in an efficient and economical manner, the company keeps its improving process, even it has to invite and or to cooperate with expertises.

This is a company which implements the objective function of the good corporate governance. Governing the internal audit implementation to meet the objectives of good cooperate governance is totally inseparable.

About Bukaka See Here

More

Sany to Build $200m Factory in Cikarang

China-based coal mining equipment maker Sany signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Indonesia on Saturday tp invest up to $200 million to build a production base for its heavy machineries in Cikarang, Bekasi.

“Sany is convinced that we're able to sell our products to Asian countries,” said the president director of Sany, Liang Wengen.

“Our market share in the Asian market is still very small, at less than 5 percent. So [through] the investment in Indonesia, we hope we can increase our market share in Asian countries.”


Wengen said the initial injection would be $15 million, with the total investment at $200 million.

“This is going to the biggest investment that Sany has made.”

Sany's plan is part of the Chinese government's pledge to support development in Indonesia and improve the trade balance between the two countries.

Wengen said the factory would play an important role in boosting revenue to 350 billion RMB ($54 billion) in 2015, up from 90 billion RMB target for this year.

"We're not just going to manufacture here, but we will also transfer our technology to Indonesia," he said.

The factory will be located on 10 hectare in Cikarang industrial zone. It will have an annual capacity to manufacture 1,000 units of heavy equipment and is expected to absorb 1,500 workers. Construction is expected to star in July, with operations expected to open in 2012

"We have a passion for Indonesia. Its huge population and low labor cost are also what draw us here. We're optimistic that our operation here will break even in no time," Wengen said.

Sany group started operations in 1989 and currently has factories in the United States, Germany, India and Brazil. The corporation employs more than 53,000 people in more than 120 countries. It's sales last year reached 50 billion RMB.

Agus Cahyana, the secretary general of the Industrial Ministry, said that the government welcomed the new investment would facilitate it by helping the company find the location and providing market data.

More

China Pledges Larger Role in Indonesia’s Development

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao agreed on Friday to promote stronger relations between their two nations in a number of sectors, including trade.

“[China] will provide preferential export buyers credit of $1 billion, and $8 billion of commercial funding will go to the Indonesian government to support infrastructure development and Indonesian industry,” Wen said during a joint news conference with Yudhoyono at the State Palace.





“I will also lead a delegation of investment and trade promotion that will sign commercial agreements worth $10 billion.”

Agus Tjahajana, the director general for international industry cooperation at the Industry Ministry, said the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and Bank of China would provide lending for the industrial sector as part of the international investment package.

“They will provide financing for Chinese companies to invest in our industry here. ICBC will commit $4 billion, while another $4 billion will come from Bank of China,” Agus said.

Which areas of the industrial sector would receive Chinese investment was not yet known, he said. “It could be anything, but we have investment priorities such as sugar mills, fertilizer and transport machinery.”

Yudhoyono encouraged China to become involved in Indonesia’s development through its economic corridor plan.

“I told [Wen] that Indonesia will develop its economy in six corridors nationwide,” the president said. “I invite cooperation from our partners in China to coordinate with their Indonesian partners to build infrastructure, electricity, clean and renewable energy, and manufacturing. I’m glad that he agrees.”

The government plans to make Indonesia the world’s 12th-largest economy by 2025 by developing six economic corridors and using natural resources —such as coal and timber in Kalimantan and palm oil in Sumatra — to create value-added industries.

Chinese investment in Indonesia has been minimal to this point. According to Industry Minister MS Hidayat, China’s current investment in Indonesia is dwarfed by the trade volume between the two nations. While trade between China and Indonesia reached $40 billion last year, investment in Indonesia was a paltry $170 million.

“China does not like foreign investment. It only wants to sell,” Hidayat said. “They want the industry to be developed [in China] and then export it worldwide. That is something that we do not want.”

There are signs the imbalance is improving, though. Hidayat said on Tuesday that China pledged to invest $200 million in Indonesia’s heavy equipment industry in August.

Wen said he was optimistic that the trade volume between Indonesia and China would reach $80 billion by 2015. Yudhoyono and Wen agreed that the initial target of $50 billion in trade volume would be attained well ahead of the projected date of 2014.

More

Indonesia to build CPO processing plant in Subulussalam

A national private company plans to build a crude palm oil (CPO) processing plant with a production capacity of 20 tons per hour in Subulussalam municipality, Aceh province.

“I hope that the CPO processing plant could accommodate CPO from the local people`s plantations so the selling price of the commodity at farmer level will be better in the future,” Aceh Governor Irwandi Yusuf said here on Tuesday.

To date, Subulussalam has 31,030 hectares of oil palm plantations spreading in a number of subdistricts. Of the total, 13,568 hectares are owned by local people and 17,462 hectares by private companies.

The governor said two more CPO processing plants would also be built in Subulussalam which is one of the province`s southern coastal areas.

“Once the three CPO processing plants have been operating, we are optimistic that the plantation sector will be able to improve the income of the municipal government and local people,” he said.

Irwandi said he would try to attract investors to process CPO derivatives into finished goods in the area. “We will try to invite investors to build plants to process CPO into finished goods, such as soap and cooking oil as part of efforts to create more jobs in this area,” he said.

More

The lucrative Indonesia's geothermal sector still wide open for investment

Indonesia has huge potentials for investment in the geothermal energy development sector as until now investment in the sector still totals three percent, an official said.

"The potentials for investment in the geothermal sector is huge but not all of them have have tapped maximally," Head of the Capital Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) Gita Wirjawan said here on Thursday.

He said geothermal energy source in Indonesia is 40 percent of the world`s, offering a good opportunity for investment and foreign investors to come into the country.

"Many investors have been interested to invest in the sector," he said, adding investment has so far grown in Java, Bali and Sumatra while it has not yet grown in places outside the regions.

He said investors who would invest in Indonesia would later also develop infrastructure to smoothen their projects. "Investors will later also build infrastructure to support their investment," he said.

Gita said investment in the sector would also support the government`s program in reducing gas emissions by 26 percent.

"The emission reduction target is realistic, moreover if it is supported by investment program like this," he said.

He said geothermal energy development has also been the government`s focus for maximizing the use of renewable energy.

Gita said several countries have already made investments and several others have also expressed their interest in the sector. "Countries such as India and South Korea have already made investment reaching billion US dollars in total," he said.

More

Erdogan unveils vast canal project

Turkey plans to build a vast waterway to relieve congestion in Istanbul’s Bosphorus Strait, Turkey’s Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday, a week into the campaign for June’s parliamentary election.

Speaking at a glitzy event to mark the government’s vision for 2023, the centenary of the republic, Erdogan unveiled plans to redraw the map in his home town in what he called a “crazy project” which also involves building a third airport there.

“Istanbul will become a city with two seas passing through,” Erdogan, a former mayor of Istanbul, said in a presentation that lasted around an hour and was broadcast live.

“We are building the canal of the century, a project of such immense size that it can’t be compared to Panama or Suez canals.”

He said the canal would be some 45-50 km (28-31 miles) in length, 150 meters (492 feet) wide at the surface, and have a depth of 25 meters (82 feet).

The canal to be built on the European side of Istanbul will link the Black Sea with the Marmara Sea, and will be large enough for supertankers up to 300,000 dwt to pass through.

“Istanbul will become a city with two peninsulas and an island,” Erdogan said.

“The first peninsula already exists: the Asian side. The island will be formed between the canal and the Bosphorus when it cuts through the city, leaving a peninsula on the west.”

The aim is to relieve congestion through the Bosphorus Strait and reduce chances of an environmental disaster as tankers carrying oil and gas from Russia and Central Asia pass through the waterway separating the Asian and European halves of Istanbul.

“We are going to put an end to the heavy burden of traffic on the Bosphorus. Our aim is for between 130 and 160 ships passing through the Canal Istanbul,” Erdogan said.

The planned third airport for Istanbul will have capacity for 60 million passengers annually, he said.

The value of the projects were not given, but Erdogan expected to raise financing easily.

Kemal Kilicdaroglu, leader of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), said it was a scheme to enrich AK Party cronies.

“This country needs men who think and produce, but not crazy men. This project is not about people. It’s about making AK Party supporters rich,” the CHP leader said.

Having run the country since 2002, Erdogan’s AK Party is expected to secure a third term of single party rule when the country votes in general elections on June 12.

Opinion polls suggest a victory of similar margin to the 2007 result, when the AK scored 46.4 percent of the vote.

During Erdogan’s tenure Turkey has passed through a period of unprecedented prosperity, that has given confidence to a country once seen as one of Europe’s poor relations.

More

Indonesia to boost local industry

The government has scrapped import duties for some raw materials and machinery, but it also hiked tariffs for imported consumer goods in a bid to boost the competitiveness of local industries against imported goods.

In a decree released on Tuesday, the Finance Ministry eliminated import duties on 182 types of raw materials and capital goods needed by the chemical manufacturing, food manufacturing, machinery, electronics and shipping sectors. The previous duties were 5 percent.

However, the government also raised import duties for some processed goods from 5 percent to 10 percent. The affected goods include sardines, tuna, mackerel and candy.

“We will try to help local industries improve their competitiveness against imported products in Indonesia,” Bambang Brodjonegoro, the finance ministry’s head of fiscal policy, said on Tuesday.

Local industry players have voiced concerns about the flood of cheap goods from China into Indonesia after the Asian-China Free Trade Agreement was implemented in January 2010. Business representatives have complained that Indonesia opened up its market without first instituting the necessary policies to strengthen domestic businesses.

The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) reported that Indonesia recorded its largest trade deficit with China last year. Although it had a $22 billion overall surplus in international trade in 2010, it had a $4.7 billion trade deficit with China.

An Industry Ministry survey of 11 cities showed Indonesian textiles, furniture, electronics, metals and machinery manufacturers were hurt by the wave of cheap, Chinese imports, prompting fears that businesses would lay off workers.

Heri Kristono, director of tariffs at the Finance Ministry’s customs office, said the government scrapped some import duties that were related to the shipping sector to help local firms fulfill cabotage rules, which require vessels operating in the country’s waters to register as Indonesian-flagged vessels, except for six specific activities in the oil and gas sector.

Heri said Indonesia registered 898 foreign vessels, but about 460 of them have not paid the import tariffs as the ships were considered to be manufactured outside the country. With the decree, the owners of the vessels do not have to pay the fees.

Industry representatives and economists welcomed the government’s move.

Franky Sibarani, secretary of Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo), said scrapping import tariffs for some goods in the affected sectors would help manufacturers cut production costs.

He also said raising import tariffs for some processed goods would help protect local food manufacturers from a surge of imported goods.

Ahmad Erani Yustika, an economist at the Institute for Development Economic Finance, said the move was a step toward easing concerns about the trade deficit with China.

“It is good to know the government has started to think about industries, not just trying to earn as much as it can get from customs,” Erani said.

More

Makkah Gate project includes university

The Makkah Gate project along the Makkah-Jeddah Highway will include a university, medical city and an administrative district, the city’s mayor Osama Al-Bar said on Tuesday.

The project, covering 83 square kilometers, is being implemented by Bawaba Company, an affiliate of Al-Balad Al-Amin Company, which is fully owned by the Makkah Mayoralty. The project will be completed in 15 years and in several phases.

Al-Bar discussed on Tuesday the project with Bakri Assas, president of Umm Al-Qura University in Makkah, in the presence of managing director of Al-Balad Al-Amin Essam Kulthoum, and Muhammad Saifuddin, chairman of Omraniyun consultancy firm.

They also discussed the prospects of establishing a partnership between the university and the company to serve Makkah residents.

“We want to make reality the dream of (Makkah Gov.) Prince Khaled Al-Faisal to make Makkah a city with advanced facilities on par with those in other world-class cities,” the mayor said.

Al-Balad Al-Amin recently signed a series of agreements with the private sector to implement major residential, commercial, health and cultural projects in the area in the presence of Prince Khaled.

A residential district project will be established east of the government department complex, a company official said, adding that it will cover more than a million square meters. It will be developed by Sumou Holding, a leading real estate company.

A similar project with commercial and residential facilities will be carried out on an area of 3 million square meters north of the Jeddah-Makkah Expressway. Sheikh Ibrahim Afandi Group is the developer.

A charitable hospital to treat cancerous tumors will be established on the northwestern part of the expressway by a group of businessmen led by Abdul Rahman Faqeeh. An agreement was also signed for a cultural and knowledge center with Rawafid Charitable Foundation.

More

Aramco mulls refineries in China, Indonesia

Saudi Aramco chief executive Khalid Al-Falih said on Tuesday that the company's daily refining capacity would soon grow 50 percent from its current level to more than 6 million barrels per day.

That growth will be accomplished through two refineries under construction in Saudi Arabia and four more being considered in Jizan in the kingdom and projects in China, Vietnam and Indonesia, he said in remarks prepared for a morning lecture at the Korea Chamber of Commerce.

He also said Saudi Aramco's natural gas production capacity would grow within five years to 14 billion standard cubic feet per day (SCFD).

"The Far East is the destination for two out of every three barrels of crude oil that Saudi Aramco exports," said Al-Falih.

"Companies from Korea and other Asian nations are important suppliers of top quality goods, materials and services to our operations and we are seeing increasing volumes of foreign direct investment from Asia in the kingdom."

He also noted that Saudi Arabia would spend more than $450 billion on capital projects over the next five years, while Aramco will be spending a total capital budget of roughly $125 billion on domestic and global projects over the same period.

This spending covers upstream activities, including new crude oil increments, he said, adding that Aramco would soon expand and upgrade existing refining centres, without elaborating. More

Indonesia's Bank Victoria sells shares to UAE

PT Bank Victoria International Tbk (BVIC) has sold 414.58 million shares or 10% of its outstanding shares to Singapore-based Emirates Tarian Asset Management Pte Ltd at Rp142 per share.

Bank Victoria has obtained Rp58.87 billion from the private placement. The proceed will be used to strengthen the bank's capital structure in a bid to develop business.

The placement price was higher than Rp141.4 per share, the average price during 25 trading days before Bank Victoria announced the proposed plan of non-preemptive rights.

Post the placement, the bank's common stock increased to 2.73 billion shares from 2.32 billion shares. On last Friday, BVIC gained 2.68% to Rp153 per share from Rp149.

Bank Victoria is part of Victoria Group, a group in which the majority shares is controlled by Tanojo family, through Wakijo Tanojo's youngest daughter Suzanna.

Wakijo Tanojo is one of founders of Surabaya-based Wings Group (PT Sayap Mas Utama) with Katuari and Harjo Sutanto. Victoria Sekuritas is the controlling shareholder of Bank Victoria International. Victoria Sekuritas is owned by Suzanna Tanojo and Christien Tanojo through PT Gratamulia Pratama.More

32 Indonesian tourism businesses to participate in Arabian tourism expo

At least 32 Indonesian tourism businesses will participate in the upcoming Arabian Travel Market expo, anticipating a declining number of Middle Eastern tourists amid political crises in the region.

The expo is set to take place in Dubai on May 2-5.

“We will map tourist potentials from the Middle East, especially because of the political crises it is undergoing,” Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association (PHRI) executive director Carla Parengkuan said as quoted by kontan.co.id on Friday.

Head of the comptroller unit at the Jakarta branch of the PHRI, Diyak Mulahela, added that the Indonesian participants were targeting a total value of Rp 500 billion (US$58 million) in transactions inked during the event.

Among the 32 companies participating in the Dubai expo are Hard Rock Hotel in Bali, Aston Hotel in Bandung, Ciputra Hotel in Jakarta, Wita Tour and Travel and Lisa Tour and Travel.

Data from the Central Statistics Agency shows that Middle Eastern tourists contributed 1.5 percent of the total number of foreign tourists visiting Indonesia in 2010, which stood at about 7 million.

Despite the tiny share, the growth in the number of tourists from the Middle East has been high in recent years.More

Indonesia to mass produce biogas energy

The Indonesia Chamber of Trade and Industry (Kadin) is certain the development of biogas energy will increase rural welfare. “The public could enjoy cheap energy,” said Gunadi Sindhuwinata, the chairman of metal, machinery, electronics and transportation equipment sectors at Kadin, said in Jakarta yesterday.

Kadin plans to develop biogas in a number of underdeveloped villages, such as Lembang in Bandung and other areas in Bali and West Kalimantan. Kadin will provide human resources, equipment and the capital to support the program.






The program will involve all elements of the society, such as an environmental organization and academics. Gunadi said he hoped the government would play a significant role in the program. “Especially because quite a big fund is needed,” he said.

Deputy chairman of environment and climate change at Kadin, Shinta Widjaja Kamdani, also proposed that companies under Kadin prepare funds. The fund collection will be discussed at a special meeting to discuss the program in the future. “This is so all parties will be able to participate in the program,” noted Shinta.More

Indonesia: Foreign Investment Climbs Nearly 12%

Amid a bumper day of positive economic news for the country, the Investment Coordinating Board announced that foreign direct investment in Indonesia rose 11.6 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier.

News of the increase from the board, also known as the BKPM, complemented a standout day on the Jakarta Composite Index. The JCI rose 62.11 points, or 1.7 percent, to a record close of 3,794.76.

Sustained confidence in Indonesia’s economy showed as foreign direct investment rose to Rp 39.5 trillion ($4.6 billion) from Rp 35.4 trillion a year earlier, while domestic investment jumped to Rp 14.1 trillion from Rp 6.7 trillion a year earlier.

“Investors’ level of confidence can be seen here, especially after the central bank showed all the necessary statistics to support it and with rating agencies backing it up with improved ratings for Indonesia,” said Azhar Lubis, deputy chairman of investment controlling and implementation at BKPM.

Total realized investment grew 27.3 percent to Rp 53.6 trillion. Azhar said total investment is projected at Rp 240 trillion this year, with foreign investment accounting for Rp 170.4 trillion of that amount.

Private consumption accounts for about two-thirds of Indonesia’s economy, while investment makes up about 15 percent. The economy is projected to expand by 6.5 percent this year, up from 6.1 percent growth last year.

Azhar said the growth in investment was triggered by growing confidence in Indonesia’s business environment, as well as concrete steps from the government to improve the investment climate.

Destry Damayanti, an economist at Mandiri Sekuritas, said the news from BKPM showed Indonesia’s rising stature among foreign investors.

“This is clearly a positive sign. The talk about it being a good time to invest in Indonesia is finally starting to materialize,” Destri said on Wednesday. “The BKPM is targeting a 15 percent increase in foreign investment, so I think the first-quarter progress is on track and on schedule.

“The investment trend in the near future is also good. One of the drivers is the improvement in Indonesia’s rating, which indicates lower investment risk, better investment climate and good prospects for [economic] development.”

In January, Moody’s Investor Service upgraded Indonesia’s rating to one level below investment grade at Ba1. In February, Fitch Ratings upgraded Indonesia to BB+, while Standard & Poor’s did likewise in March.

Singapore is still Indonesia’s top foreign investor with $1.14 billion in 142 projects. Azhar pointed out that investors from Singapore are actually multinational companies that are not necessarily based in Singapore, but the subsidiaries in Singapore are the ones investing in Indonesia.

The United States was second after Singapore with 24 projects worth $359.1 million, while Japan followed in third place with $345.2 million.

The mining sector was the favorite among foreign investors, receiving $1.02 billion in 79 projects. Infrastructure projects, such as power plants, received $606.7 million, while transportation and communications received $593.1 million.

“We want more investment, but we also know which sectors need more attention than others,” Azhar said.

He also said the fate of a discussed tax holiday would be determined “around August.” The tax holiday would be directed toward investments considered a pioneer in their field or those in infrastructureMore

Doha to host tall building summit

Doha will host a key conference on tall buildings in June as Qatar prepares to build the necessary accommodation facilities for the 2022 World Cup.

Qatar has allocated $12.4 billion for the construction of accommodation to cater for the influx of international professionals drafted in to prepare Doha for the World Cup.

In addition, approximately 80,000 hotel rooms will be required for the 1.4 million visitors expected to descend on Doha during the four-week event.

As such, an estimated 800 towers (more than 20 storeys) of residential apartments, commercial premises, hotel accommodation and mixed-use structures are planned for completion in Doha over the next 10 years to provide the necessary high-density accommodation and commercial real estate, principally in the West Bay area, said a report.

In order to develop tower projects through the planning and consultation processes, the complexities of designing, constructing and operating tall buildings must first be addressed. A lack of stakeholder collaboration from the start of the development could result in an increased risk of technical faults and could compromise the integrity of the final delivery, experts said.

The wind, in particular, can compromise fundamental design aspects of super tall structures such as shape, height, suitability for occupancy and the amount of 'useable' space; and can create undesirable wind tunnels at ground level, they said.

Alf Seeling, design director at Woods Bagot, will review best practices methods to mitigate against the effect of the wind at the Tall Buildings Middle East summit.

Transforming facades for super tall towers to withstand tremendous wind forces and increase sustainability is also a critical element of the building concept and Marshall Strabala, chief architect at 2DEFINE Architecture, will discus the benefits of the innovative Shanghai Tower double skin facade design.

Alf and Marshall will be joined by Omar Al-Farouk Al-Damluji, structural design manager at Parsons; and Tony Marshallsay, chief mechanical engineer and Rukn Eldeen Mohammed, senior projects manager at Omrania and Associates; to review best practice solutions for overcoming the shared technical challenges of building tall.

In partnership with Qatar Society on Engineers, Middle East Facilities Management Association (MEFMA) and Institute of Structural Engineers, IQPC Middle East will be hosting this summit at the Oryx Rotana in Qatar between June 19 - 22 in order to bring together stakeholders within local and international tall building projects.

Key confirmed speakers include representatives from Barwa, Tameer Holdings, Gensler, RMJM and Arup. A full line-up of attending experts and senior speakers plus the agenda are available at http://www.tallbuildingsme.com

More