Ciputra Development, part of the Ciputra Group, is one of the largest property companies in Indonesia. It focuses on residential and commercial property projects, which include housing, hotels, shopping centers, apartments, office space, recreational places and related facilities. Ciputra Development develops various mega-projects, such as the Ciputra World 1 project in Jakarta which contributes to the development and transition of Jakarta towards becoming a modern and luxurious city.

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PT Pelabuhan Indonesia II (Indonesia Port Corporation in English but most widely known as Pelindo II), the state-owned enterprise that is involved in port and harbour services in ten Indonesian provinces, will choose its partner for the construction of terminal II and terminal III of the New Priok Port project from a selection of 12 companies. These companies can either opt to join the tender for the construction of one terminal, or, for both terminals together. At the end of the year, the winners of the tenders will be announced.

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In April 2013, more than 646 thousand foreign visitors entered Indonesia. This number is a 3.20 percent increase compared to the same month last year. As usual, the three busiest ports of arrival were Ngurah Rai on the island of Bali (a highly popular tourist destination), Soekarno-Hatta just outside Indonesia's capital city Jakarta, and Hang Nadim Airport on the island of Batam (an important industrial zone close to Singapore). These data were presented by Statistics Indonesia (BPS) on Monday (03/06).

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In order to tackle Jakarta's grave traffic problem, brought on by a lack of quantity and quality of infrastructure and public transportation in combination with millions of daily travelers, governor Joko Widodo has given great priority to the development of the Jakarta Mass Rapid Transit System (MRT). Similar to the Sunda Strait Bridge, Jakarta's MRT project has been a topic of heated discussion and study for decades. However, pressure from Jakarta's governor Joko Widodo (who is better known as Jokowi) put an end to the lingering delay.

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Royal HaskoningDHV, a Netherlands-based international project management and engineering consultancy services provider, has won the contract to supervise the construction of the extension of the main port of Jakarta, Tanjung Priok. The contract is part of the New Kalibaru Terminal Development. The first phase includes the development of a new 4.5 million TEUs container terminal which aims to enhance the economic development of Indonesia and will bring Indonesia's port facilities on par with other world-class ports.

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Joko Widodo, who became Governor of Jakarta in 2012 and enjoys much popular support, has high ambitions to turn Jakarta into a better organized city in terms of public transportation, housing and water management. Currently, Indonesia's capital city - which contains about ten million inhabitants - is plagued by continuous traffic jams, annual floods as well as poor and overcrowded housing for the poorer segments of Jakarta's society. Housing which is frequently flooded.

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Seven suspected terrorists have been shot dead and 20 more have been arrested by Densus 88, Indonesia’s anti-terrorism squad, on Wednesday (08/05/13) during raids in Kendal (Central Java), Sumedang (West Java), Bandung and Banten. The suspects are believed to be part of a terrorist network that imported weaponry from the Philippines and engaged in violent robberies on bank branches of Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI) to fund various terrorist activities in Poso (Sulawesi).

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Express Transindo Utama (TAXI), Indonesia's second largest taxi operator after the famous Blue Bird Group, is showing signs of aggressive expansion. In 2012, it became the first Indonesian taxi company ever to go public on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX). It plans to expand its taxi fleet size from the current 8,000 units to over 15,000 by 2015. Regarding expected net profit in 2013, the company has mentioned a 50 percent increase from last year's IDR 79.2 (USD $8.2 million).

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PSA International (the Port of Singapore Authority) is one of the participants in the tender - organized by PT Pelindo II - for the construction of terminal two and three of the Kalibaru New Priok harbour in North Jakarta. According to the Director of Pelindo II, RJ Lino, there are 18 participants in the tender, of which the winner will probably be announced in September 2013. Companies can either opt to join the tender for the construction of both terminals, or, one of the two terminals.

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Foreign tourist arrivals in Indonesia went up 14.50 percent in February compared to the same month last year, according to data published by Statistics Indonesia (BPS). In absolute numbers, this translates to more than 678 thousand foreign tourists that visited Indonesia in February. As usual, most tourists entered Indonesia through Bali (Ngurah Rai airport) or Jakarta (Soekarno-Hatta airport). Together, these airports account for over 60 percent of total foreign arrivals.

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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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