Indonesia state saving bank BTN posts 167% rise in Q3 profit

State saving bank PT Bank Tabungan Negara (BTN) (JSX:BTPN) reported a 167 per cent rise in net profit to Rp316.3 billion (US$33 million) in the third quarter of this year.

BTN President Iqbal Latanro said the net profit grew to exceed the target set for this year.

The surge in net profit came with a 164 per cent increase in net interest income to Rp1.5 trillion with total outstanding credit rising 44.6 per cent to Rp30.07 trillion, Iqbal said.

source: Antara/Asia Pulse

ArcelorMittal akan bangun pabrik baja di Pasuruan dan Banten

Keinginan ArcelorMittal berinvestasi di Indonesia tidak pernah redup. Setelah sebelumnya gencar mengincar Krakatau Steel, kini pabrik baja dunia itu sudah minta izin mendirikan pabrik di Pasuruan dan Banten.

"ArcelorMittal telah meminta kepada kami, berdiskusi pada kami untuk membuka dua steel mill atau dua pabrik baja di Pasuruan dan Banten, tetapi mereka belum memasukkan aplikasi untuk tujuan penanaman modal," kata Ketua Badan Koordinasi Penanaman Modal (BKPM) M Lutfi dalam rapat dengan Komisi VI DPR, di gedung DPR/MPR, Senayan, Jakarta, Senin (14/7/2008).

Pemerintah sendiri kemungkinan akan memberikan lampu hijau, karena investasi di sektor ini menurut Lutfi adalah investasi yang terbuka dan tidak masuk dalam daftar negatif investasi (DNI).

"Maka ketika mereka nanti memasukkan aplikasi, pada waktu yang tidak terlalu lama sekitar 4 hari kami akan mengeluarkan izin untuk mereka berinvestasi," katanya.

Menurut Lutfi, pihak ArcelorMittal sudah membebaskan tanah seluas 100 hektar di Pasuruan. "Mereka juga sedang mencari tanah di Banten untuk memperluas kapasitasnya," ujar Lutfi.

Dari investasi ArcelorMittal ini, lanjut Lutfi, setidaknya ada pasokan 4 juta metrik ton baja untuk pasar dalam negeri.

Pemerintah lanjut Lutfi memang akan mempermudah izin investasi, karena harus bersaing dengan Vietnam yang kini menjadi tempat favorit investasi asing.

"Sudah banyak investor baja masuk ke sana misal komitmen Tata Steel di Vietnam dengan investasi US$ 10 miliar sehingga tahun 2011 di Vietnam akan ada produksi baru sebesar 10 juta metrik ton besi. Begitu juga Formosa steel dari Thailand yang berencana menanamkan investasi di Vietnam US$ 7,5 miliar," jelas Lutfi.

source: detik.com | July 2008

Indonesia aircraft component industry to pass global standards in 2009

The Indonesian government hopes that the aircraft component industry in the country, including its design engineering would have to meet global standards in 2009, an official said.

"We hope so. We have begun certification process by the DOA for PT Dirgantata Indonesia (DI) this year," Director for Certification and Airworthiness of the Ministry of Transportation Yurlis Hasibuan said here on Monday.

He was answering reporters` questions on the sidelines of a seminar on the Design Organization Approval (DOA).

The DOA is a design organization whose aircraft design and modification are approved by the directorate general of air transportation.

The government`s step to accommodate the DOA is contained in the Transportation Minister`s decree No. 13 / 2008 on Certification Procedures for Products and Parts dated April 4, 2008.

Director General for Air Transportation Budhi M Suyitno said his side wanted to develop the national industry to produce aircraft components in the country.

"The use of locally manufactured aircraft components could save 30 percent of the cost," the director general said.

He said that Indonesia was now able to produce some aircraft components such as interior components but still imported aircraft engines.

"With the DOA, locally produced aircraft components will be validated based on the standards in force. The validation requirement will also be imposed on components purchased overseas," he said.

source: Antara | July 2008

LPPI establishes center to standardize Islamic finance

In conjunction with several foreign institutions, the Indonesian Banking Development Institute (LPPI) has established a body to regulate Islamic finance laws and provide certification programs for professionals.

The body, the International Center for Development in Islamic Finance (ICDIF), will also provide education, training and fee-based consultancy on Islamic finance for local and foreign professionals and institutions.

Speaking at the inauguration of the ICDIF in Jakarta on Wednesday, central bank governor Boediono shared his hope for Indonesia to become a center for Islamic finance studies in Asia.

"I can say that Indonesia currently has good momentum to become the center for Islamic finance, as the House of Representatives issued last week a new Islamic banking law providing a legal basis that will support investment in the industry," Boediono said.

Bank Indonesia-owned LPPI, which provides training for the banking industry, first established a Sharia directorate in 2004 to offer training for professionals in Islamic finance.

In developing the ICDIF, the LPPI has collaborated with the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), the University of Kuwait and the Malaysia Islamic Banking and Finance Institute, and will continue to work with the institutions to provide future educational and training programs.

IDB economist Mohammed Obaidullah, who was also present at the inauguration, said Indonesia's experience in micro financing would support rapid development of Islamic banking and finance in the country.

The IDB, he said, expected Indonesia, through the establishment of the new body, to become a model for other countries in developing Islamic finance.

ICDIF director for sharia Arie Mooduto said several government and private institutions from the Philippines, Korea, Egypt and Maldives were among those seeking training and consulting services on sharia at the center.

"Their interest is a result of the fact that centers like the ICDIF are still very limited in the world," Arie told the Post.

Training human resources is crucial to developing a strong Islamic finance in Indonesia as most professionals are used to systems implemented by conventional banks, Arie said.

According to the central bank, Indonesia's sharia banks require 30,000 employees to support its target of 5 percent market share by the end of this year.

source: Jakarta Post | June 2008

Investor Asing masih berburu bank lokal

Industri perbankan Indonesia bak kembang desa yang cantik. Banyak investor asing yang berniat meminang bank-bank lokal. Bahkan, para investor asing itu kabarnya siap mengambil kepemilikan di bank lokal dengan harga tinggi. Beberapa investor yang dikabarkan rajin datang ke Bank Indonesia (BI) adalah perusahaan keuangan asal Timur Tengah, Al Baraka Banking Group, bank asal China, Bank Of China serta Hanabank, yang berasal dari Korea Selatan.

Nama Al Barakah dan Hanabank telah lama beredar sebagai peminat bank-bank Indonesia. Al Baraka sejak setahun silam telah melakukan uji tuntas alias due dilligence atas PT Bank Kesawan Tbk. Sementara Hanabank, yang telah mengakuisisi PT Bank Bintang Manunggal, dikabarkan masih berminat untuk membeli satu lagi bank di Indonesia. Sekadar catatan, Bank Bintang Manunggal sudah melebur dengan cabang Hanabank di Indonesia dan sekarang
menjadi Bank Hana.

Niat pemodal asing ini juga mendapat sambutan dari bank-bank lokal. Sejumlah bank domestik saat ini terang-terangan mengaku membutuhkan investor baru. Ambil contoh Bank Bukopin, yang menyatakan sedang mencari investor strategis. Pengelola Bukopin pernah menyatakan sudah mengundang sejumlah investor asing, asal Amerika Serikat dan Eropa. Yang akan mereka lepas ke investor adalah saham yang saat ini milik sejumlah koperasi.Pengamat Perbankan Mirza Adityaswara menilai, investor asing tertarik untuk membeli saham perbankan karena proses perizinan di Indonesia tergolong mudah dibandingkan negara lain. "Indonesia sangat terbuka terhadap kepemilikan asing. Padahal di luar negeri, izin untuk asing masuk ke bank sangat dibatasi," kata Mirza.

source: kompas.com | June 2008

Proses mudah, KUR mencapai Rp 7 Triliun

Program Kredit Usaha Rakyat (KUR) mampu menyerap 700.000 debitour dengan kredit mencapai lebih dari Rp 7 triliun hingga 2 Juni 2008. "Hingga 2 Juni lalu, KUR yang terserap sudah mencapai Rp 7 triliun dengan debitor sebanyak 700.000," kata Menteri Negara Koperasi dan UKM, Suryadharma Ali seperti dikutip Antara, di Jakarta, Selasa (24/6).

Menurut dia, perkembangan program tersebut luar biasa dibandingkan pada periode sebelumnya yaitu pada kurun Februari ke April dan dari kurun April ke Juni 2008. Ia mengatakan, kredit pola penjaminan yang diluncurkan Presiden tahun lalu ini dinilai sangat membantu banyak pihak. Di antaranya perbankan sendiri sebagai penyalur kredit juga terbantu karena risiko ditanggung oleh pemerintah melalui lembaga penjamin PT Askrindo dan Perum Sarana Pengembangan Usaha (SPU). "Jadi risiko perbankan menjadi semakin kecil di bawah 30 persen, di samping risiko kemacetan kredit di tingkat UMKM pada umumnya di bawah 5 persen dan bahkan ada yang 3 persen," katanya.

Sementara pelaku UMKM sendiri juga akan sangat terbantu oleh program KUR karena mendapat fasilitas perkuatan modal yang mudah. "Mereka dapat dengan cara yang mudah paling lama 4 hari bahkan ada yang dua hari untuk mengajukan KUR. Dan saat ini KUR juga sudah bisa diajukan secara kolektif," katanya.

Ia menambahkan, saat ini ada sejumlah lembaga keuangan mikro yang juga menjadi kepanjangan tangan perbankan penyalur KUR sehingga masyarakat di daerah-daerah terpencil saat ini bisa turut menikmati program tersebut.

Program yang diluncurkan pada 5 November 2007 itu dan efektif sejak Januari 2008 itu, menurut Menteri dapat dinilai berhasil karena hanya dalam waktu kurang lebih 5 bulan (hingga Juni 2008) mampu menyerap 700.000 debitur yang disyaratkan merupakan debitur baru. "Jadi selama 7 bulan ke belakang Rp14,5 triliun diharapkan dapat terserap dan pada 2009 diasumsikan habis," katanya.

Jika dana tersebut terserap habis maka pemerintah tetap akan mengalokasikan dana khusus untuk melanjutkan program tersebut. Pada 2009 nanti, pihaknya untuk sementara waktu mengalokasikan dana Rp 1 triliun untuk bisa menjamin kredit sebanyak Rp 10 triliun.

source: kompas.com | 24 June 2008

Govt's dollar bonds draw record bids

The government raked in US$2.2 billion Tuesday by selling dollar-denominated bonds in New York, higher than the $1.5 billion target, drawing record bids from investors, an official says.

"It was the largest book order of Indonesian bonds," Finance Ministry's director general of debt management Rahmat Waluyanto said in a text message Tuesday (Wednesday Jakarta time).

The bond sale attracted $6 billion of bids.

The government, Rahmat said, sold $300 millions of Indo-14 bonds maturing in March 2014 with a 6.69 percent yield, $900 million in Indo-18 notes maturing in January 2018 with 7.28 percent yield and $1 billion in Indo-38 notes due in January 2038 with an 8.15 percent yield.

It was "a very positive response from investors, boosted by Indonesia's improved credit ratings and strengthening economic fundamentals ... amid the difficult global conditions", Rahmat said.

In August, the government plans to sell its first Islamic bond (sukuk) to the domestic market. It plans also to sell sukuk to the international market in October, aiming to tap funds from Middle Eastern investors who are reaping windfall profits due to the soaring oil prices.

The government last sold dollar-denominated bonds in January, raising $2 billion. Indo-18 notes were sold with a 6.95 percent yield and Indo-38 bonds at 7.74 percent.

Hartadi A. Sarwono, the central bank deputy governor, said the dollar-denominated bond sale would improve market sentiment and strengthen the rupiah.

"The sale will go to our foreign reserves and the money can be used to buy the rupiah," Hartadi said.

As of May, the central bank's foreign reserves stood at $57.46 million.

source: Jakarta Post | 19 June 2008

Bank Muamalat plans expansion to central Asia

The country's first sharia bank, PT Bank Muamalat Indonesia, is studying possible expansion abroad by establishing subsidiaries in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.

Bank Muamalat has already discussed the plan with National Bank of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan Post respectively, to be a partner in the two countries. The two predominantly Muslim Central Asian countries have had no sharia banks until now, Assistant Director of Bank Muamalat Avantiono Hadhiyanto told the newspaper Bisnis Indonesia yesterday.

source: Business in Asia Today | 11 June 2008

Local insurance firms in Indonesia perform better than foreign ones

Local insurance companies perform better than many foreign-owned companies in Indonesia, a study released by a research company on Thursday in Jakarta shows.

The study, prepared by the Insurance Media Research Insitute (LMRA), was made based on the financial reports of 135 companies - 88 general insurance, 43 life insurance and 4 reinsurance companies excluding those that published their reports after May 15.

The list is further devided based on the capital value into categories. Best performers in each of the capital categories in the life insurance industry are all local companies: PT Asuransi Jiwa Sinar Mas, PT Asuransi Mega Life, PT Asuransi Bumi Asih and PT Multicor Life Indonesia.

Local companies also rule in the general insurance list under the same capital groupings: PT Asuransi Adira Dinamika, PT Asuransi JAya Proteksi, PT Asuransi Umum Mega and PT Asuransi Asoka Mas respectively.

Frans Sahusilawane, the president director of the national reinsurer for catastrophic risks company Maipark, said the research shows that local ownership and management teams have shown superior performance compared to foreign players.

Overall, the reports describes Indonesia life insurance industry achieved an overall growth of profits 20% in 2007 compared to 2006. In general insurance industry, profits grew by 47% compared to last year.

source: Jakarta Post | 13 June 2008