During the last couple of years of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY)'s second cabinet (2009-2014) there erupted a number of high profile corruption cases that involved several of his ministers as well as leading figures in his Democratic Party (in Indonesian: Partai Demokrat, abbreviated as PD). As a result, the PD party dropped significantly in the 2014 parliamentary election (this loss was also caused by the inability of SBY to find a new charismatic leader for the party, while SBY himself could not participate in the 2014 presidential election as he was finishing his final presidential term).

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Another (former) minister under the Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono administration was arrested in a corruption case. On Thursday (27/10) former state-owned enterprises minister Dahlan Iskan was named a suspect and arrested by the Prosecutor Office of East Java. Dahlan is suspected of being involved in irregular sales of assets owned by the Province of East Java and managed by regional state-owned property company Panca Wira Usaha. Dahlan served as president director of Panca Wira Usaha between 2000-2009. The irregular sales were reportedly conducted between 2002-2004.

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Indonesian state-controlled pharmaceutical company Kimia Farma will construct Indonesia's first pharmaceutical salt factory in Jombang (East Java) in an attempt to supply the domestic market and curb imports of this type of salt. Minister of State-Owned Enterprises Dahlan Iskan said that the plant can commence operations near the end of 2014 and will have an annual production capacity of 2,000 tons of pharmaceutical salt (approximately two thirds of domestic demand).

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The government of Indonesia expects to list two state-owned enterprises on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) in 2014. Minister of State-Owned Enterprises Dahlan Iskan announced that the two companies involve Perkebunan Nusantara III and Perkebunan Nusantara IV. The main reason behind conducting the initial public offerings (IPOs) is to reap funds for further expansion. The IPO plan needs to be approved first by the Privatization Committee, under the wings of the Ministry of Economy, and then by the House of Representatives (DPR).

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On Tuesday (20/08), Indonesia's benchmark stock index (IHSG) continued its decline with its fourth consecutive day of losses. Amid major concerns about Indonesia's economic growth, high inflation, tighter monetary policy and current account deficit, the IHSG fell 3.21 percent to 4,174.98 points. It means that the index now stands about 21 percent lower than its record peak in May 2013. Foreign investors have been pulling money out of the Indonesian market. According to Bloomberg, about USD $255 million has been retracted in the last two days.

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