Nico Afinta, Head of the Jakarta Police's Narcotics Unit, said the number of drug users in Indonesia is estimated to have grown up to 5 million people. They are particularly centered in Jakarta (where it is estimated that up to 1 million people use illegal drugs) and Bali. Afinta added that the high number of drug users makes Indonesia an attractive market for drug smugglers or traffickers, particularly as law enforcement in Indonesia is generally weak. Therefore, tough action is required.

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Rumors are that China's e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd is interested to expand its business in Indonesia, attracted by the nation's per capita GDP growth as well as rising smartphone and Internet penetration. Alibaba may invest in Indonesian online shopping facilitator Tokopedia. Tokopedia, established in 2009 by William Tanuwijaya and Leontinus Alpha Edison, is one of Indonesia's biggest online marketplaces.

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Fitch Ratings, one of the three big global credit rating agencies, affirmed Indonesia's long-term foreign- and local-currency issuer default ratings (IDRs) at 'BBB-' (investment grade) with a positive outlook. Meanwhile, the issue ratings on Indonesia's senior unsecured foreign- and local-currency bonds and foreign-currency sukuk was also affirmed at 'BBB-'. The country ceiling has been affirmed at 'BBB' and the short-term foreign- and local-currency IDRs at 'F3'. The senior unsecured short-term issues have also been affirmed at 'F3'.

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Mark Dynamics Indonesia became the 20th company to list on the Indonesia Stock Exchange in 2017. The company, based in North Sumatra, manufactures premium ceramic hand formers for industrial, medical, and household purposes. At the listing ceremony in Jakarta on Wednesday (12/07) Yeoh Sek Boon, President Director of Mark Dynamics Indonesia, said the listing is a historic event for the company, and should also be a great source for further growth.

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