A new large mosque - named Hasyim Asy'Ari Grand Mosque - was opened on Saturday (15/04) on Jalan Daan Mogot in West Jakarta. At the inauguration Indonesian President Joko Widodo emphasized the new mosque has to become a friendly and moderate Islamic symbol in Jakarta and Indonesia, acknowledging the diversity and pluralistic nature of the country, and strengthening the spirit of moderate and tolerant Islam. Although Indonesia has a clear Muslim-majority population, it is also home to millions of Christians, Catholics, Hindus and Buddhists.

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Heavy rains during the rainy season - in combination with insufficient drainage infrastructure - caused massive flooding across Indonesia's capital city of Jakarta. The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) reported that there are 54 areas in Jakarta, mostly in the eastern part of the city, that were flooded on Tuesday (21/02). At some locations in East Jakarta's Cipinang Melayu the water level was even as high as 150 centimeters.

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A new rally, organized by the Indonesian Muslim Forum (FUI), will be staged on Tuesday (21/02) in front of Jakarta's national legislative complex on Jalan Gatot Subroto in Senayan (South Jakarta). An estimated 10,000 protesters will urge authorities (in this so-called "212 rally") to suspend Jakarta Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama (Ahok). Ahok is currently on trial for blasphemy based on a manipulated video that surfaced on social media last year.

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Although all quick count results show that the Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama - Djarot Saiful Hidayat pair won the first round of Jakarta's 2017 gubernatorial election, the Anies Baswedan - Sandiaga Uno pair may feel like the moral winner of this election as there is only a small margin (less than four percent) between both pairs. The winner of the second round, ergo winner of the election, will thus be determined by those who voted on the Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono - Sylviana Murni pair in the first round (this pair cannot participate in the second round).

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Starting from 7:00 am local Jakarta time on Wednesday (15/02), the capital city of Indonesia is voting for their next governor. There are more than 13,000 polling places spread across Jakarta to accommodate the 7.1 million eligible voters. Although actually in more than 100 provinces, cities and districts the regional heads are being elected today, most attention goes to Jakarta where ethnic and religious tensions are high due to the participation of incumbent Jakarta Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama (better known as Ahok), a Christian, ethnic Chinese politician who is being prosecuted for blasphemy.

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On 12 February 2017, Indonesia Investments released the latest edition of its newsletter. This free newsletter, which is sent to our subscribers once per week, contains the most important news stories from Indonesia that have been reported on our website over the last seven days. Most of the topics involve political, social and economy-related topics such the Jakarta gubernatorial election, Indonesia's GDP growth, credit ratings, nautical tourism, rice production, legal certainty, investment, balance of payments, much more.

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Indonesian President Joko Widodo witnessed the inauguration of the first newly built container terminal, part of the New Priok Port, an extension of Indonesia's busiest port (Tanjung Priok) in North Jakarta, on Tuesday (13/09). At this occasion Widodo urged the developers of the New Priok Port to speed up construction of the port so that phase one can be completed by 2019. The New Priok Port, consisting of three phases, will relieve the overloaded systems at the existing Tanjung Priok port and bring Indonesia's port facilities on par with other world-class ports.

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Since the groundbreaking ceremony on 10 October 2013, witnessed by then-Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo, the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) project in Indonesia's capital city of Jakarta has made progress. According to the latest updates, the first phase of the North-South line has been completed for slightly over 50 percent per July 2016. This first phase, which is estimated to require USD $1.5 billion worth of investment, connects Lebak Bulus in South Jakarta to Bunderan Hotel Indonesia in Central Jakarta.

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At the first day of Indonesia's Idul Fitri holiday (4-8 July 2016), the capital city of Jakarta has become relatively quiet as some 6.7 million Jakartans are estimated to have left the city to spend a couple of days with their families in the suburban or rural areas (a tradition called mudik). The peak of the exodus occurred on Saturday-Sunday and choked toll gates in the Greater Jakarta area. Meanwhile, the number of air passengers during this year's Idul Fitri is expected to be the highest ever, supported by higher purchasing power and better airport and flight services.

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Good news for those who love beer and live in Jakarta. About one year after Indonesia announced it had banned sales of alcoholic beverages in minimarkets and kiosks - a move conducted to "protect the morals and culture of Indonesian society" - Jakarta Governor Basuki Purnama Tjahja (Ahok) said alcoholic beverages with alcohol content up to five percent (which includes beer) will again be available in the capital city's minimarkets, the small retailers that have mushroomed across the city streets.

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Dutch dredging contractors and marine engineering companies Van Oord and Boskalis have been awarded a contract to design and construct the artificial island off the coast of (North) Jakarta. On this (160-hectares sized) artificial island a new city - called Pluit City - will be developed. The contract, valued at EUR 350 million (split equally between the two Dutch companies) was handed to the Van Oord-Boskalis joint venture by Muara Wisesa Samudra. The project aims to relieve pressure on densely populated Jakarta.

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The Indonesian government is still studying the feasibility study for the National Capital Integrated Coastal Development (NCICD) masterplan. The NCICD masterplan, a joint project between the governments of Indonesia and the Netherlands, aims to protect the capital city of Jakarta against floods caused by high tides and faciliates sustainable development of Jakarta. The masterplan is developed by a consortium headed by Witteveen+Bos (main contractor) and Grontmij, with subconsultants KuiperCompagnons, Deltares, Ecorys and Triple-A.

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For a new column series, Indonesia Investments explores Indonesia's hospitality sector, particularly dining - whether in the context of business meetings or more casual gatherings. In the first installment of this series, we visited all-day dining at Collage in the Pullman Hotel located next to the Central Park Mall in West Jakarta. Pullman is the high-end international brand of the Accor group having 89 hotels and resorts in 24 countries around the globe. Three are located in Indonesia, two in Jakarta (Central Park and Thamrin CBD) and one in Bali.

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The position of consultant, tasked to conduct a feasibility study for the Jakarta-Surabaya toll road, will be tendered in early 2014. The realization of the Jakarta-Surabaya toll road, a 775 kilometer-long toll road that is built above the sea (along the coast line between Jakarta and Surabaya), is an ambition of the Indonesian government and expected to ease the difficulty of transportation on Java, Indonesia's most populous island. The feasibility study should explore the technical and environmental framework related to the establishment of the toll road.

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In order to improve Indonesia's intra-island connectivity on Java (and thus reduce logistics costs that are due to fragile infrastructure), the government is planning to build a toll road above the sea from the capital city of Jakarta in the western part of Java to Surabaya in East Java. Both these cities are Indonesia's centers of industrial productivity and economic growth. The 775 kilometer-long toll road, which is expected to cost about IDR 150 trillion (USD $13.3 billion), will be build by a consortium of 19 Indonesian state-owned enterprises.

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In order to avert a potential bubble in Indonesia's property sector, Bank Indonesia (the central bank of Indonesia) is planning to further tighten its monetary policy in the sector. After having raised the minimum down payment requirement on housing loans to 30 percent for first home ownership (thus a loan-to-value ratio of 70 percent) in June 2012, Bank Indonesia now intends to prohibit credits for the purchase of a second, third (or more) house that has not been built yet (still in the preconstruction phase). This new rule is expected to be introduced this month.

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Indonesia and Sweden intend to increase business relations between both countries. Last month, Indonesia's president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono made a state visit to Sweden, while in 2012 Sweden prime minister Fredrik Reinfeldt visited Indonesia. A number of topics were discussed during these visits, including trade and investment. After the discussions, both countries agreed that trade and investment between the countries should be expanded. Up to early 2013, 77 Swedish companies are in operation in Indonesia.

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The economy of Indonesia is booming with gross domestic product (GDP) surpassing six percent on an annual basis. And the country's strong economic fundamentals are confirmed by increasing international attention. But within the context of this economic growth it is important to take a look at whether economic growth is shared by all segments of Indonesian society. If, for example, only the higher classes of Indonesia would benefit from the economic boom, it could give rise to social issues in the future.

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One of the sectors that showed exceptional growth in 2012 was Indonesia's property market. On average, net profit of companies engaged in Indonesia's property sector grew 68 percent during the full year. Of the 45 property companies that are listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX), 26 posted net profit growth that exceeded 50 percent. But the success story did not end there. In the first quarter of 2013, the property sectoral index of the IDX continued its fast pace by rising over 41 percent.

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Whenever the topic of tourism in Indonesia is touched upon, most people will instantly think of Bali. This small but famous island harbors all sorts of entertainment that will appeal to various segments of international tourism: beautiful landscapes, Balinese Hinduism, lively nightclubs, beaches and more. But apart from Bali - and despite the fact that Indonesia has much to offer on other islands - the country has disappointed in attracting a large amount of foreign tourists so far.

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