In Bali, more Asia multilateralism

Posted By David Bosco 

With the ASEAN, APEC, and East Asia Summits passed, you might have thought the season of high-level multilateral gatherings in Asia had ended. Not so fast. On Thursday, the Bali Democracy Forum gets underway. The Forum is a recent addition to the regional multilateral stew; it was launched with Indonesian support in 2008 and has attracted a growing number of participants. This year, the United States is sending an observer delegation headed by a U.S. undersecretary of state. It's not entirely clear what, if any, concrete issues will be on the table, but at the very least the forum is proving to be a useful venue for continuing negotiations between Indonesia and Malaysia on outstanding territorial disputes. 

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Help for Bali's Sea Turtles

Quiksilver on board to help Bali's troubled sea turtles

Sea Turtle conservation spot : photo Tim Hain Balifornian supports environmental causes such as... Environment News- Bali Tours, Holidays and Vacations Quiksilver Gives Donations to Support Sea Turtle Preservation  |  Indonesian version below Surfersvillage Global Surf News,  -  Quiksilver gave a donation to support the conservation of Sea Turtles. The donation was given to the Kuta Beach Sea Turtle Conservation (KBSTC),  which will be used to preserve the existence of Sea Turtles in the area of Kuta Beach, Bali. The amount of the donation Rp. 25,014,338,- was handed over to Mr. I Gusti Ngurah Tresna, as representatives from KBSTC, by Simon MacGregor, Quiksilver Marketing Executive SEA and Bruce Waterfield, Business Services Director, Coca Cola Botling Indonesia. The hand over ceremony was done at the office KBSTC in Kuta Beach area. "This is a part of our awareness to support sea turtle conservation in Kuta Beach area. Quiksilver is very proud to have participated for several years, and we will continue the donations in the years to come. "Said Simon MacGregor. After the hand over ceremony, the crowd was doing the Sea Turtle release at Kuta Beach led by Simon MacGregor and Bruce Waterfield, as well as Quiksilver and Coca Cola Balinusa region teams. www.quiksilver.com Bahasa Indonesia Quiksilver Memberikan Donasi untuk Mendukung Pelestarian Penyu Laut Surfersvillage Global Surf News, - Kuta Bali, 26 November 2010. Quiksilver memberikan donasi untuk mendukung pelestarian penyu laut. Donasi diberikan kepada Kuta Beach Sea Turtle Conservation (KBSTC) yang selanjutnya akan digunakan untuk melestarikan keberadaan Penyu Laut di wilayah Pantai Kuta, Bali.   Donasi sebesar Rp. 25.014.338,- itu diserahkan kepada Bapak I Gusti Ngurah Tresna sebagai perwakilan dari KBSTC oleh Simon MacGregor, Marketing Executive SEA Quiksilver dan Bruce Waterfield, Business Service Director Coca Cola Botling Indonesia. Penyerahan dilakukan di kantor KBSTC di kawasan Pantai Kuta. “Ini adalah bentuk kepedulian Quiksilver untuk mendukung pelestarian Penyu Laut di wilayah Pantai Kuta. Kami sangat bangga telah ikut berpartisipasi selama beberapa tahun terakhir ini, dan kami akan terus memberikan donasi di tahun-tahun mendatang.” ungkap Simon  MacGregor. Setelah acara penyerahan donasi, dilakukan juga acara pelepasan Penyu Laut di Pantai Kuta dipimpin oleh Simon MacGregor, Bruce Waterfield, serta team dari  Quiksilver dan Coca Cola wilayah Balinusa. Balifornian Tours offers the best custom holiday experience on Bali and all of Indonesia.  Balifornian Travel Blog is your source for news and fun information on travel, vacationing, upcoming events and much more. What's your take on this? Let us know



Bali's Airport to finally get solid renovation

Long overdue...Bali’s Ngurah Rai International Airport Renovations Finally Begin

By Barrie      


No doubt many could name a few things that are badly in need of change at Bali’s Ngurah Rai International Airport; those things that really annoy you. I could name quite a few – the hard seating in the departure lounge that make your bum ache, the lack of budget-priced eateries, the early closure of shops when you are on a late-night flight and the high prices. But hey, it’s Bali and they gotta make a buck!
And, we have all seen the disruptions in the airport of late caused by minor renovations. There is a reason for all of that. Extensive renovations of Bali Ngurah Rai Airport are now set to commence next month. Apparently it is considered a top priority for this development considering the increasing amount of air traffic.
The article in the Bali Discovery explains further and according to it, the renovations are sorely needed due to rapidly expanding tourism arrivals and the under-capacity of Bali’s airport that now handles more than 10 million travellers each year.
I often ask myself why the sudden urgency as nothing is done in Indonesia without a cause. Indeed I was correct: an acceleration in the renovation of the airport is being done at the express orders of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono who wants the work completed in time for the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit (APEC) in 2013.
Let’s just hope they put in recliner rockers in the departure lounge and add a couple of kaki lima and cheap warungs while there at it!
Tags: Bali, Bali Daily, indonesia, Kaki Lima, Ngurah Rai International Airport, tourism, warungs

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Investments in Indonesia Soar~ Investors flock to new opportunities

Investing in Indonesia: Another Asian ‘Tiger’ Roars Ahead

by Tony D’Altorio, Investment U Research
Investments in Indonesia Soar~ Investors flock to new opportunities

Mention Asia and most global investors will think China or India. But they may want to start paying attention to another country in the neighborhood.

In 2009, Indonesia had the world’s second-best performing stock market, up nearly 86%. And so far this year, it has climbed 45%.

That’s a far cry from October 2008′s dark days, at the peak of the global financial crisis. Back then, Indonesia’s Jakarta Composite Index fell 50%, and even had to shut down for three days.

But today, those troubles seem long past. Things are looking up for the archipelago… and anybody smart enough to invest in it.

Indonesia’s Remarkable Awakening

Indonesia has experienced remarkable change in the past few years.

Twelve years ago, it broke free from three decades of authoritarianism. Today, it has the world’s fourth largest population and is one of Asia’s fastest growing economies.

The country still has issues with deeply entrenched corruption, failing infrastructure and legal uncertainties. Yet it still offers big returns for investors to revel in.

• Overall, Indonesia has sound economic fundamentals and sustainable economic growth at around 6%.
• It also boasts low benchmark interest rates, high foreign currency reserves and strong foreign direct investment.

That all factors into why the Japan Credit Rating Agency upgraded Indonesia’s government debt to investment grade this year.

It should know, since Japan is Indonesia’s largest, foreign, long-term investor. Investors there have long-kept parts of their fellow Asian nation in their portfolios.

Other countries are also beginning to take notice. In the World Economic Forum’s 2010-2011 Global Competitiveness Index rankings, Indonesia rose 10 spots to 44th place… the list’s third-biggest mover.

Indonesia’s Middle Class

Americans largely continue to view Indonesia as a commodities-based economy. But private consumption now makes up about two-thirds of the economy there.

It does have an abundance of natural goods such as coal, tin and palm oil. But its commodities sector has actually underperformed this year.

Instead, the consumer sector took off, thanks to the 60 million low-income Indonesian workers projected to join the middle class in the coming decade. If so, that makes the country the fastest growing consumer market after only China and India.

Market research company Euromonitor expects that to continue. It sees the number of Indonesian households with $5,000-$15,000 in annual disposable income growing from 36% of the population this year to over 58% by 2020.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) also recently noted growth in Indonesia shifting from urban centers on the main island of Java to other parts of the country. And poverty reduction in such rural areas is much bigger than in the urban areas.

Big retailers, banks, automakers, insurers and consumer goods producers are tapping the growth. In return, they’re posting record profits this year.

Astra International (PINK: PTAIF), Indonesia’s biggest automaker, certainly is. Its shares have risen over 60% this year thanks to booming business. Astra’s vehicle sales rose 60% January – September 2010. And the larger share of that came from the islands of Sumatra, Sulawesi and Kalimantan.

As a whole, Indonesia is set to be the region’s largest automotive hub, producing 730,000 automobiles and 7.2 million motorcycles. Despite expanding factory capacity, Astra says it can’t keep pace with demand.

Investing in Indonesia

U.S. investors who want a part of Indonesia’s growth should try one of two ETFs.

• iShares MSCI Indonesia Investable Market Index Fund (NYSE: EIDO): Fairly well balanced, it has about 29% in financials, 27% in consumer stocks and 22% in commodity stocks. It has about 13% in Astra International, its largest holding.
• Market Vectors Indonesia Index ETF (NYSE: IDX): It contains about 27% in financial stocks, 23% in consumer stocks and 26% in commodity stocks. Its largest position is also in Astra, but only with 8%.

The only downside to investing in Indonesia is the possibility of a short-term stock bubble. Thanks to QE2, some U.S. dollars could rush in there in search of higher returns.

The search for hard assets has already sent some of its commodity producers’ stocks rocketing higher recently.

Fortunately, many companies there still boast growth well above their 2011 P/E ratios. And the Indonesian rupiah continues to gain against the dollar.

So in the long-term, Indonesia looks good… and is set to look even better.

Good investing

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Indonesia to sell Carbon Credits for Sustainability

Indonesia Hopes to Sell Carbon Credits for Its Forests

Solenn Honorine | Jakarta  November 2010

Photo: AP - From VOA News

Trees smolder after a clearing fire near Bukit tiga puluh natural forest in Riau, Central Sumatra, Indonesia (file photo)

The international community will gather next week in Cancun, Mexico to negotiate an agreement to curb man-made climate change. While there are fears that goal will not be met, some countries already are implementing part of the plan - by reducing emissions due to deforestation and degradation. Heavily forested countries such as Indonesia hope to see more progress on the effort in Cancun.

Indonesia has almost 1 million square kilometers of forests, the second-largest in the world after Brazil's. The World Bank estimates that if the world put a monetary value on the carbon stored in trees, Indonesia could earn up to $2 billion a year by selling carbon credits.

Jakarta is ready for the plan, known as REDD for reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation. There are several pilot projects throughout the archipelago, and earlier this year the Russian company Gazprom bought the first carbon credits from a REDD project.

Agus Purnomo is the head of the Indonesian Climate Change Council:

"This shows that despite all the challenges that we are trying to overcome on good governance issues, on availability of resources, on expertise and whatnot, there are real opportunities of making things happen," said Purnomo.

Most climate experts say that greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, released by burning oil and coal, contribute to warming temperatures. To reduce the warming, countries are negotiating a binding plan to cut emissions.

For some nations, that will mean reducing the use of fossil fuels. But in heavily forested countries, such as Indonesia, it could mean protecting forests, which absorb carbon dioxide.

But the REDD plan has problems that need smoothing out, mostly due to poor governance in developing countries. For example, there is the question of how to guarantee that the carbon credits sold will not be wiped out by illegal logging. Environmental group Greenpeace warns that corruption also could reduce the benefits.

Nonetheless, Norway has committed $1 billion for Indonesia to protect its forests. Purnomo says this show of confidence has helped the country to start reforming its forest management.

"It's just like when you want to make a turn on a tanker ship: it will take several days to do a real turn," said Purnomo. "For us, it will mean several months to make a change. But the seriousness, the efforts, the consultations, the designs that have been put in place in the last two months is amazing. It's unprecedented"

In January, Indonesia begins a two year moratorium on new permits to clear natural forest.

Agus Sari, who heads Indonesian operations for the U.S. company Sustainable Conservation, says the progress made is not yet enough for a large carbon market to take off.

"We are probably 25 percent toward what we should have had in terms of good governance, but you know, it's 25 percent more than it used to [be]," said Sari. "But I think time-wise it is not too bad because if REDD was ready now, I don't think Indonesia would be ready"

Many taking part in climate negotiations see REDD as one of the least controversial points and they expect to make headway on implementing the program during the Cancun summit. But it might still be a few years before carbon credits from forests are sold widely.

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