Sofyan Djalil, Indonesian Minister of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning, says the progressive tax on land that is deemed idle will not disturb the investment climate of Indonesia because industrial estates and land that has a clear development purpose are exempted from this tax (this includes land destined for property development projects). Through the progressive land tax the government wants to combat speculative land buying, something that has become a problematic phenomenon in Indonesia.

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Indonesian President Joko Widodo and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will witness the signing of a joint study (a cooperation between Indonesia's Transportation Ministry and the Japan International Cooperation Agency, or JICA) into the medium speed railway - connecting Jakarta to Surabaya - on 15 January 2017 at the Presidential Palace in Bogor. Besides the medium speed railway, Widodo and Abe will also discuss funding for a deep-sea port project in Patimban (West Java) as well as contracts for the Masela oil & gas block in eastern Indonesia.

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The Balikpapan-Samarinda toll road on the eastern coast line on the island of Kalimantan (in the province of East Kalimantan) will be extended to include the city of Bontang. During a visit to Balikpapan at the start of the week, Indonesian President Joko Widodo confirmed the extension plan. It implies that the project will more than double in length. The distance between Balikpapan and Samarinda is around 99 kilometers. However, from Samarinda further northeastwards to Bontang stretches across 116 kilometers.

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Budi Karya Sumadi, Indonesian Minister of Transportation, said the preliminary study into the medium-speed Jakarta-Surabaya railway could be completed before the end of 2016. In a bid to enhance connectivity and curtail logistics costs the government of Indonesia encourages the construction of a medium-speed railway linking Indonesia's capital city of Jakarta (on the western part of Java) to the nation's second-largest city of Surabaya in East Java. The preliminary study was started three weeks ago.

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In the 2017 State Budget the Indonesian government allocated IDR 387.3 trillion (approx. USD $29.8 billion) for infrastructure development, up from IDR 317.1 trillion in the 2016 budget. Since Joko Widodo became Indonesian President in 2014 the infrastructure budget of Indonesia has been raised rapidly, showing that Widodo kept his pledge and is serious about constructing roads, bridges, airports, harbors, and railways in an effort to enhance connectivity in Southeast Asia's largest economy, reduce logistics costs and enforce the multiplier effect.

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Indonesia's improving ranking in the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business Index shows that the government's reform efforts have had a positive effect. However, there is no time for complacency as most industries in Indonesia continue to lack competitiveness compared to regional counterparts, while many entrepreneurs in Indonesia continue to complain about (the lack of) legal certainty as well as (the lack of) good coordination and cooperation between Indonesia's central and regional governments (in terms of policy implementation).

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The Indonesian Iron and Steel Association (IISIA) predicts that steel sales in Indonesia will grow nearly 9 percent (y/y) to 12.5 million tons in 2016, from 11.5 million tons in 2015, on the back of new infrastructure projects. IISIA Director for International Relations Purwono Widodo adds that the market share of locally-produced steel is expected to rise from 40 percent to 60 percent. This is a positive development because the steel market in Indonesia has been dominated by imports (mostly from China).

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Jean-Claude Trichet, president of the European Central Bank (ECB) from 2003 to 2011, says the strategy of Indonesian President Joko Widodo to boost overall economic growth (and social development) in Southeast Asia's largest economy through infrastructure development is the correct strategy. Although this strategy requires time, it will result in structural long-term growth. Trichet spoke at an international seminar in Jakarta, themed "Challenges to Global Economy", organized by the Indonesian Deposit Insurance Company (LPS) to mark its 11th anniversary.

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Indonesia Infrastructure & "One Belt One Road" Investment Conference 2016 (IIC 2016) will be held on October 20th and 21st 2016 in Jakarta, Indonesia. The conference will be a stage of first-hand infrastructure investment information, a bridge of networking and discussing between local project leaders and investors, and will involve a full program of high quality international keynote speakers to give a global and local perspective on Indonesia infrastructure construction.

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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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A total of twenty Japanese companies engaged in the food and beverage industry are exploring investment opportunities in Indonesia. According to research conducted by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the food and beverage industry of Indonesia is regarded as a lucrative investment opportunity by these companies. If realized, these foreign direct investments could be worth between USD $400 million to USD $1 billion. However, JICA’s research did not mention any names of the Japanese companies.

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The plantation sector of Indonesia is vulnerable to land disputes. Noor Marzuki, a Director at the National Land Agency (Badan Pertanahan Nasional, or BPN), a non-departmental government institution, said that currently only 30 percent of Indonesia's total plantation estate area has been registered at the BPN. This implies that 70 percent of Indonesian plantation estates are unregistered and thus susceptible to land conflicts. The total size of Indonesia's plantation estate area is 120 million hectares.

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Regarding stock trading on the Indonesia Stock Exchange, investors who focused on property, banking and infrastructure stocks have made the highest profit so far in 2014. Although all sectoral indices that are contained within the benchmark stock index of Indonesia, known as the Jakarta Composite Index (abbreviated IHSG) have shown a good performance, the three aforementioned sectoral indices stand out as the country's top performers. Indonesia's IHSG has risen 16.14 percent between 1 January and 26 May 2014.

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Indonesian cement sales fell 0.4 percent (year-on-year) to 4.52 million tons in April 2014. The decline in cement sales was the result of the country’s legislative election that was held on 9 April 2014 as consumers bought few building materials during the campaign period. Head of the Indonesian Cement Association (ASI) Widodo Santoso stated that a number of large infrastructure projects are currently being tendered and are thus unable to boost domestic cement sales yet.

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As rapid economic development has pushed the percentage of people working in most East Asian countries to among the highest in the world, policy makers should enact labor regulations and social protection policies to benefit all workers, including those in the large informal economy, according to a new World Bank report, East Asia Pacific at Work: Employment, Enterprise and Well-Being (released on 8 May 2014). Current regulations, however, favor salaried, prime-age males at the expense of women and youth.

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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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Fitch Ratings, one of the three major global credit rating agencies, said that its latest annual survey on economic prospects and the business climate in Indonesia indicates an optimistic view. Respondents in the survey, mostly CEOs and Division Heads at financial institutions, companies, government and media, were asked 11 questions about the Indonesian economy, reformation and prospects for the next five years. Andrew Steel, Managing Director Head of Asia Pacific Corporate Ratings Group, presented results of the survey.

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Imports of oil will accelerate to 1.6 million barrels per day (bpd) by 2020 if fuels continue to be subsidized by the Indonesian government. This development will seriously burden Indonesia's trade balance (and current account). In 2013, Indonesia posted a trade deficit of USD $12.6 billion in the oil & gas sector. Due to improved performance in the non-oil & gas sector, the overall trade deficit was kept at USD $4.06 billion. Besides placing downward pressure on the rupiah exchange rate, expensive subsidies also burden the state budget.

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Tourism in Indonesia has posted impressive growth rates in recent years. This development is due to the fact that Indonesia has plenty of beautiful sites and cultural traditions to offer to foreign (and domestic) tourists, improved airline accessibility to Indonesia, and enhanced focus on promotional campaigns in foreign countries. Lastly, and not unimportantly, there have been no violent terrorist attacks in recent years. In the 2000s, a vicious terrorist attack always resulted in a temporary drop in foreign tourist arrivals.

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In 2015, Indonesia's Ministry of Public Works will start with the land acquisition process for the construction of the Trans-Sumatra Highway. This highway is a 2,732.2 kilometers-long toll road connecting Banda Aceh in the north of Sumatra to Bandar Lampung in the south through 23 routes that connect ten provinces. The total land area that needs to be acquired is roughly 218,976 million m² and is expected to cost around IDR 15 trillion (USD $1.3 billion). By 2025, construction of the project should be finished.

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