The twenty-first APEC Economic Leaders Meeting, chaired by Indonesia's president Bambang Susilo Yudhoyono, has been concluded and in the words of the president the Summit "went on successfully and was indeed very productive." During the two-day Summit the central theme of APEC 2013: “Resilient Asia-Pacific, Engine of Global Growth” was discussed thoroughly and a number of strategic points were agreed upon. Seven of these points are highlighted in the APEC joint statement‏, delivered by Yudhoyono on Tuesday (08/10).

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The APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC), a permanent high-level business advisory group that is created by the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), has given five recommendations to the 21 member countries of the APEC. These recommendations involve regional economic integration, sustainable development, entrepreneurship as well as small and medium enterprises (SMEs), an economic and banking forum, and lastly, a dialogue in the industry sector concerning scientific innovation.

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Kawasan Industri Jababeka is an Indonesian industrial estate developer that also has stakes in the country's power generation and infrastructure sectors. Between 70 and 80 percent of the company's total sales are derived from its real estate sales. Currently, the company owns strategic land banks on three locations in Indonesia (all on the island of Java): Kota Jababeka, Cilegon Industrial Park, and Tanjung Lesung. Kawasan Industri Jababeka was the first publicly listed industrial estate developer in Indonesia.

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The realization of infrastructure projects through the Indonesian government's public-private partnership (PPP) scheme is yet to bear fruit. Up to this day, PPP infrastructure projects in Indonesia are still constrained by the difficulty of land acquisition, regulatory uncertainties and lack of funding. These investments projects are not among the most popular investment projects of private investors because they usually involve expensive (and risky) investments as well as patience while waiting for return of investment.

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About one week ahead of the APEC Economic Leaders' Week in Bali, Indonesia's President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono inaugurated the 12.7-kilometer long toll road in Bali on Monday (23/09). The toll road, which runs almost entirely on viaducts above the sea, consists of a north-south route from the city of Denpasar to Nusa Dua, as well as a branch to the Denpasar airport (Ngurah Rai International Airport) and a connection to the port of Benoa. Operator of the Bali toll road is Jasamarga Bali Toll, a consortium of state-controlled companies.

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With the development of a production hub for low cost green cars (LCGCs), Indonesia hopes to become the leading car producer within the group of ASEAN nations. Total car sales in ASEAN in 2012 surpassed the three million cars mark. The two largest contributors to these sales were Thailand (1.3 million sold cars) and Indonesia (1.1 million). Currently, Thailand is still the largest car production hub in the ASEAN region, both in terms of production rate and domestic sales (despite having only 60 million citizens to Indonesia's 240 million).

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Indonesia's Ministry of Transportation has issued a temporary moratorium on the issuance of permits for the establishment of new airlines in Indonesia. A spokesman of the Ministry said that airports will become too crowded if more applications are approved. Overcrowded airports will result in more flight delays and entails risks for safety. An increase in flight frequency of already established airlines is still permitted. The Ministry is also concerned that if more permits are issued, current rife competition between airlines will intensify.

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Indonesia's Ngurah Rai Airport on the idyllic island of Bali is now the country's largest airport in terms of passenger capacity. Being newly renovated, it can handle 25 million passengers per year. As such, it has surpassed Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, located just outside Jakarta (Java), and the new Kuala Namu airport in Medan (Sumatra), which have passenger capacities of 22 million and 8.1 million respectively. However, after renovation of terminal three at Soekarno-Hatta will be finished, Ngurah Rai is to lose its top spot again.

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Jasa Marga is a state-controlled toll road operator that constructs and provides toll road services in Indonesia. Approximately 73 percent of total toll roads in Indonesia are operated by Jasa Marga, which makes this company the dominant player in Indonesia's toll road sector. Up to the end of 2012, the company has 22 toll road concessions - with a total length of 545 kilometer - in operation and 193 kilometer of toll road that is expected to become operational between 2013 and 2016.

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The total value of investments in the Masterplan for Acceleration and Expansion of Indonesia's Economic Development (MP3EI) between 2011 - when the Masterplan was first introduced - and July 2013 amounted to IDR 647.46 trillion (USD $58.86 billion). Coordinating Economic Minister Hatta Rajasa said this to state-owned news agency Antara. State-owned enterprises invested a total of IDR 173.63 trillion, followed by the private sector with IDR 231.88 trillion, the government with IDR 99 trillion and public-private partnerships with IDR 143.12 trillion.

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The Finance Ministry of Indonesia announced that it plans to inject USD 1.63 billion into state-owned financing company Sarana Multi Infrastruktur and to transform this company into an infrastructure bank in a move to boost infrastructure development across Southeast Asia’s largest economy. The central government needs private capital to fund its massive infrastructure program for the next five years as it can only account for 30 percent of required investment. For the remainder it relies on private capital and state-owned enterprises.

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In his presentation at the Indonesia Investment Summit 2015, organized in Jakarta on 15-16 January, Standard Chartered Bank Senior Economist Fauzi Ichsan said that despite the challenges amid global uncertain times, there remains plenty room and opportunity for Indonesia to grow robustly on the long-term. In fact, by 2030 Ichsan believes that Indonesia will be among the world's top ten countries in terms of largest economies. For investors it is important to understand the challenges and key pillars of economic growth.

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Takehiko Nakao, President of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), estimates that the Indonesian economy will grow 5.6 percent year-on-year (y/y) in 2015, lower than the target that has been set by the Indonesian government in the 2015 State Budget (5.8 percent y/y). Nakao is slightly less optimistic as he expects a slowdown in government spending this year. On a positive note, Nakao’s forecast implies a sharp improvement in Indonesia’s economic growth in 2015 from an estimated 5.1 percentage point (y/y) GDP growth in 2014.

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The Indonesian government changed the funding scheme for the construction of the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport Railway project (which will connect Soekarno Hatta International Airport, located nearby Jakarta, and Halim Airport in Jakarta). Previously, it was planned that this project, valued at IDR 26 trillion (USD $2.1 billion), would be offered through a public-private partnership (PPP) construction in which the Indonesian government would finance 55 percent of the costs. Now, however, the project is offered fully to the private sector.

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The Governor of Indonesia’s central bank, Agus Martowardojo, said that he expects inflation to accelerate to 6.1 percent year-on-year (y/y) in November 2014, significantly up from 4.83 percent y/y in the previous month. Accelerated inflation is caused by the multiplier effect triggered by the recent subsidized fuel price hike in Southeast Asia’s largest economy. On 18 November 2014, the government introduced higher prices for subsidized fuels in a bid to reallocate public spending from fuel consumption to structural development.

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Last week, Indonesian President Joko Widodo introduced higher subsidized fuel prices in Southeast Asia’s largest economy in a bid to shift generous public spending from fuel consumption to productive and structural economic and social development. Prices of subsidized low-octane gasoline (premium) and diesel (solar) were raised by over 30 percent, or IDR 2,000 (USD $0.17) per liter, starting from 00:00 on Tuesday (18/11). Widodo aims to reallocate these funds to infrastructure, social welfare and the maritime sector.

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A total of 35 American companies are interested to invest a combined USD $61 billion in Indonesia over the next five years according to a survey conducted by the Paramadina Public Policy Institute, the American Chamber of Commerce in Indonesia (AmCham Indonesia), the Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo), and the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin Indonesia). These 35 US companies have already invested a total of USD $65 billion in Indonesia over the period 2004 to 2012.

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The number of air passengers in Indonesia will most likely fail to meet its growth target in 2014. Based on government data, the number of air passengers in Southeast Asia’s largest economy reached 47.5 million in the first eight months of 2014, a 5.82 percentage point growth from the same period last year. However, the Indonesia National Air Carrier Association (INACA) initially targeted annual passenger growth in the range of 12-15 percent for 2014. Amid slowing economic growth, people’s purchasing power has declined.

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Investment in Indonesia’s processed food and beverage industry is expected to grow at least ten percent to IDR 55 trillion (USD $4.6 billion) in 2015 from an estimated investment realization of IDR 50 trillion in 2014. Adhi Lukman, General Chairman of the Indonesian Food and Beverage Association (GAPMMI), said that investments in this sector have been solid due to rising consumption of food and beverages in Southeast Asia’s largest economy. Particularly foreign investments have been strong in 2014 and are expected to continue next year.

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Today (20/10), Central Jakarta seems to have changed into one big party as Joko Widodo was inaugurated as Indonesia’s seventh president earlier this morning. For the remainder of the day celebrations will be held at Monas (National Monument) and surrounding areas. However, it is of vital importance that Widodo (popularly known as Jokowi) will start to focus on this presidential duties tomorrow as the country is facing a number of economic challenges. What are these challenges?

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