INDONESIA OUTLOOK

From Reuters Oct 19, 2012 South Korean steelmaker POSCO will almost double its investment in Indonesia to $11 billion over the next five years, from $6 billion currently, Chief Economics Minister Hatta Rajasa said on Friday. The world's fourth-biggest steelmaker, already has a multi-billion dollar joint venture with Indonesian state-owned PT Krakatau Steel, the country's biggest steel producer. Earlier this year, the South Korean firm's affiliate POSCO Engineering & Construction, formed a consortium to build two 300-megawatt power plants on Indonesia's Sumatra island, worth around $1 billion. A POSCO spokesman in Seoul said the South Korean firm has yet to make detailed investment commitments in Indonesia, and noted other partners would jointly invest in any projects. Foreign direct investment in Indonesia stayed strong in the second quarter, showing the G20 member remained a magnet in a troubled global economy and that changes in mining ownership r

From Business Day Oct 19, 2012 AMID its push to diversify exports, Indonesia expects to seal a preferential trade agreement with South Africa, one of the fastest-growing markets in Africa. Indonesia planned to conduct a preliminary study to assess areas of mutual needs in both countries and focus on those that would benefit the most from increased trade, the Indonesian trade minister, Gita Wirjawan, said in Jakarta this week. "We have to clearly identify what we can offer each other and find out what is hampering trade on these products, then determine our moves. This is the necessary process to prepare for an agreement," Mr Gita said after a second joint trade committee meeting which discussed, among other things, market access and sectoral co-operation. The study was due to begin next year with completion set for six months to a year thereafter, he said. Trade between Indonesia and South Africa expanded 78.93% last year to $2.14bn from a year earlier. Indonesia

From Wall Street Journal Oct 19, 2012 Standard & Poor's Ratings Services is on the threshold of raising the credit ratings for Indonesia and the Philippines to investment grade, but the ratings firm said the upgrades may take some time because the countries need to implement further reforms. S&P rates both Indonesia and the Philippines at BB-plus, just one notch below investment grade. It affirmed Indonesia at that level in April with a positive outlook and raised the Philippines to that rating in July with a stable outlook. "The positive outlook on Indonesia recognizes ongoing improvement in the government's balance sheet and the country's income metrics. A modest improvement in the country's political and policy dynamics--combined with Indonesia's other credit attributes--could lead to an upgrade," said S&P credit analyst Agost Benard in a statement. Indonesia is already at investment grade by Fitch Ratings and Moody's Investor

From Al Arabiya Oct 19, 2012 Abu Dhabi’s flag carrier, Etihad Airways, has signed a code sharing agreement with Garuda Indonesia, local media reported on Thursday.  The agreement will come into effect on October 28 and is the airlines’ 42nd code sharing contract, Gulf News said.  Etihad Airways President and Chief Executive Officer, James Hogan, said the codeshare with Garuda Indonesia was key to the airline’s network development strategy. “Indonesia, the world’s fourth most populous nation, is an important source of global tourism growth and this new agreement will position both airlines to benefit from the strong demand for travel between Indonesia and the Middle East and Europe that we have seen in recent years.” The Etihad representative believes “it will also stimulate trade in foodstuffs, manufactured goods and other commodities between Indonesia and trading partners in the western hemisphere which, in turn, will contribute to the profitability of the airlines’ cargo operation