All civil servants to be required to report wealth

Antara News, Wed, February 29 2012

 "the regulation would later affect not only first echelon employees and high ranking officials but civil servants at all levels."

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Yogyakarta (ANTARA News) - Administrative Reform Minister Azwar Abubakar said all civil servants would be required to report their wealth to anticipate the recurrence of cases of civil servants having huge bank accounts.

"We will extend the coverage of the regulation that requires civil servants to report their wealth to reach all," he said here on Wednesday after signing an integrity pact of working units in the Yogyakarta provincial administration.

He said the regulation would later affect not only first echelon employees and high ranking officials but civil servants at all levels.

"The policy of requiring all civil servants to report their wealth is aimed at supporting the program of bureaucratic reform launched by the government and made as an anticipatory measure against cases of huge accounts," he said.

The public has recently been once again shocked by the finding of another tax official having huge bank accounts. The public has earlier been shocked by former tax official Gayus Tambunan`s huge accounts in banks and wealth. Gayus has now been convicted of fraud.

Azwar Abubakar said a regulation to require not only echelon one official to report their wealth would be made, which would be put in a law.

"Their report could be sent directly to the inspectorate or the Corruption Eradication Commission. So, there will later be a yardstick and so those having an extraordinary account would be known," he said.

He said technically it will be regulated whether reporting would be done once in two or four years or when one is promoted.

Yogyakarta governor Sri Sultan Hamengku Buwono hailed the idea which he considered in line with the integrity pact and could help prevent corruption including administrative corruption and corruption of work hours and in procurement and public services.

"That (the integrity pact) will serve as a deterrent against abuse of power. By signing the pact the officials concerned are committed to not abusing their power," he said.

Editor: Heru

Indonesian Immigration Boss Arrested

Jakarta Globe, Zaky Pawas | February 27, 2012

The head of immigration at Soekarno-Hatta International
Airport has been arrested over the suspected forgery of
documents. (EPA Photo Mast Irham) 

  

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Police have arrested the head of immigration at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport on suspicion of signing a bogus document to cover for another falsified document in a convoluted legal wrangle involving a Singaporean national.

Sr. Comr. Rikwanto, a Jakarta Police spokesman, said on Sunday that Rochadi Iman Santoso had been detained since Friday.

“He was arrested on charges that he made a document containing false information regarding the traffic or trips made to and from Indonesia by a Singaporean named Toh Ke Ng Siong,” he said.

In the document, Siong was reported to have arrived at Soekarno-Hatta on a Tiger Airways flight on Aug. 5, 2009, and to have left for Amsterdam aboard a KLM flight a day later.

“The fact is,  Siong never came here, but there was a letter [stating that he did] that was signed by R.I.S.,” Rikwanto said, referring to Rochadi by his initials.

Rikwanto said it was Siong’s lawyers, identified only as B., D. and P. from the law firm Cakra & Co., who had asked Rochadi to sign the letter.

The lawyers, who were representing Siong in a civil suit filed by an Indonesian investment bank, Makindo, had been accused of faking a letter in which Siong granted them power of attorney to act on his behalf.

Makindo reported the lawyers to the police for document forgery, so the lawyers came up with a scheme to make it appear as though Siong had arrived in the country to sign the contract giving them power of attorney, Rikwanto said.

The police spokesman added that after obtaining the bogus immigration document from Rochadi, the lawyers presented it to the prosecutors who were handling the document falsification charge against them.

But after verifying with the Justice Ministry’s Directorate General of Immigration, Tiger Airways and KLM, the prosecutors discovered the immigration document had been falsified.

“The Justice Ministry confirmed that Siong had never been registered by the immigration office, nor did the airlines list him in their passenger manifests for those dates,” Rikwanto said.

He added that Rochadi would be charged with document forgery, which carries a maximum prison sentence of six years. He also said Rochadi had claimed it was all a clerical error.

“We want to find out if money was involved,” Rikwanto said. “He told us there wasn’t and said it was just a case of the wrong information being inputted and that the official who made the error is currently studying in Australia.”

Adj. Sr. Comr. Daniel Bolly Tifaona, the head of the Jakarta Police’s national security unit, said the police would question the three lawyers, who are based in Jakarta. He said the police had yet to talk to them because they traveled overseas often.

Maryoto, a spokesman for the Directorate General of Immigration, said he could not comment on Rochadi’s arrest because he had not yet been officially notified.

“I’m still trying to get information on it. I only heard about it in the media,” he said.

Siong is not being questioned.

Additional reporting by Rizky Amelia

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Brazil wants more IMF power for extra eurozone funds

BBC News, 26 February 2012

Global Economy 

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Guido Mantega wants eurozone nations
to put forward more of their own funds

Brazil has said that developing nations would be happy to provide more money to ease the eurozone's debt crisis, in return for more power within the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The comments were made by Brazilian Finance Minister Guido Mantega as he met with his opposite numbers at a G20 meeting in Mexico.

He also called on eurozone countries to contribute more of their own funds.

This position was echoed by UK Chancellor George Osborne.

Mr Mantega said: "Emerging countries will only help under two conditions; first that they strengthen their firewall and second for the IMF [voting rights] reform be implemented.

"I see most countries sharing a similar opinion that the Europeans have to strengthen their firewall."

Mr Mantega, and other G20 finance ministers, want eurozone nations to put more funds into the European Stability Mechanism, the fund set up to bail out nations struggling with their sovereign debt.

'Colour of money'

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said eurozone nations would look next month at increasing the size of the ESM.

Mr Osborne, speaking to Sky News, said the UK was waiting for this to happen.

"We are prepared to consider [increasing] IMF resources but only once we see colour of eurozone money and we have not seen this," he said.

"While at this G20 conference there are a lot of things to discuss, I don't think you're going to see any extra resources committed here because eurozone countries have not committed additional resources themselves, and I think that quid pro quo will be clearly established here in Mexico City."

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BRICs to mull plans for multilateral bank: source

BRICs to mull plans for multilateral bank: source

Reuters, Mexico City, Thu Feb 23, 2012

(Reuters) - Officials from top emerging market countries will discuss fledgling plans to set up a multilateral bank to fund projects in developing nations during upcoming Group of 20 meetings, a senior Brazilian government official said on Thursday.

Brazilian, Chinese, Russian and Indian delegates will meet for talks on Saturday morning on the sidelines of the G20 talks being held in Mexico City.

"The idea is for the BRICS to offer the capital for this bank, but we still need to discuss if this bank will serve to give out loans to other emerging market countries," said the official.

"The idea is in its infancy," and the countries are not likely to reach a decision this weekend, the official said, adding that Brazil's finance minister, Guido Mantega, "is sympathetic to the idea."

Brazil, one of the world's fastest-growing economies, has for many years sought to increase its influence at the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

Mantega called for a transparent election to replace Robert Zoellick as president of the World Bank after Zoellick he said he would step down last week.

(Reporting by Alonso Soto; Writing by Krista Hughes)

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Billions Believed Stolen In Latest Inside Bank Job

Jakarta Globe, Farouk Arnaz | February 20, 2012

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An employee at state-owned Bank Mandiri is under investigation for stealing billions of rupiah, according to a police source, raising more troubling questions about the safety measures in place at the country’s banks.

A source close to the National Police’s criminal investigations unit said the case involved a Bank Mandiri branch in Jambi, but details have not yet been released.

“They [Bank Mandiri] came to us but have not filed an official complaint. Maybe they are doing some tracking first before they lodge an official report,” the source, who did not want to be named, said on Saturday.

“It is suspected that a person inside the bank is involved, and once it is officially reported to us we’ll process the case and arrest the perpetrator.”

The source said the suspected embezzlement occurred on Wednesday. Billions of rupiah were transferred from an escrow account in the Jambi bank to an individual’s account in Probolinggo, East Java, the source said.

“From Probolinggo, within just a few minutes, the money was transferred again to an account belonging to a gold dealer in Jakarta, who then transferred the funds to his wife’s account,” the source said. “Maybe Rp 5.9 billion [$655,000] isn’t a huge amount for Bank Mandiri, with its trillions in assets, but if this isn’t followed up on, then it could cause new problems.”

When contacted by the Jakarta Globe, Brig. Gen. Arief Sulistyanto, the National Police’s director of special crimes, confirmed the embezzlement had been discussed with the police, but declined to comment further.

“There hasn’t been an official report to us, so I can’t say much,” Arief said.

In March last year, the police announced that Inong Malinda Dee, a Citibank Indonesia relationship manager, had been arrested for embezzlement. She was later indicted for stealing $5 million from clients, and on Thursday prosecutors asked the South Jakarta District Court to sentence her to 13 years in prison.

Also in 2011, Itman Hari Basuki, the head of a Bank Mega branch in Cikarang, Bekasi, was allegedly involved in the theft of Rp 80 billion that had been deposited at the bank by the Batubara district administration in North Sumatra.

The money was allegedly invested in two financial management companies, Pacific Fortune Management and Noble Mandiri Investment.

Prosecutors have completed the case file on Itman and he is expected to go on trial soon.

Itman is also a suspect in the embezzlement of Rp 111 billion from an account belonging to oil services company Elnusa at the same bank branch.

President stresses importance of press freedom

Antara News, Fri, February 10 2012

President Yudhoyono said he had appreciated press freedom since 1999 while he was still active in the military (TNI)."Until now I remain consistent that press freedom is very important to be maintained in Indonesia," he said.

Jambi (ANTARA News) - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono emphasized the importance of maintaining press freedom in the country on Thursday.

"Through press freedom people are assured information that they need and this meets the principles of `right to know of the people`," he said before hundreds of media people at an event to mark the National Press Day.

He said with the press freedom democracy would be safeguarded. With the press freedom the government and all state institutions could be controlled by the press and people`s aspirations as well as public policies and what the government has done could be made known.

With the press freedom openness would be created to make interactions between the head of state and the people possible. If all elements are really implemented he said he believed it would bring benefit and goodness to the country.

President Yudhoyono said he had appreciated press freedom since 1999 while he was still active in the military (TNI). He said in a discussion forum the President said it was important to assure that the press freedom remains alive in the country.

"Until now I remain consistent that press freedom is very important to be maintained in Indonesia," he said.

President Yudhoyono did not deny various impacts that press freedom had brought on several countries but he believed that it was better to have it rather than not having it such in countries under totalitarian system or authoritarian governments.

Regarding press development in the country President Yudhoyono said that the press community in the country had been better in developing communication with the public. They have big moral responsibility, he said.

He said what the press is doing will affect the people much and therefore the press community must continue to maintain its integrity and capacity.

"I am glad if the press could continue maintaining its integrity and improving its capacity. I would also like to thank the press for having participated in the country`s development," he said.

In the event that was also attended by First Lady Any Yudhoyono, several cabinet members and other officials including the chairman of the Press Council, Bagir Manan, the President received 22 books written by press components from the event committee chairman, Margiono.

Editor: Heru

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Indonesia's economy grows at fastest pace in 15 years

BBC News, 6 February 2012 

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Indonesia's economy has been growing
at a steady pace over the past few years

Indonesia's economy grew at its fastest pace in 15 years in 2011 boosted by increased investment and growing domestic demand.

Southeast Asia's largest economy expanded by 6.5% in 2011, the highest rate since 1996.

Indonesia also regained its investment grade status last year as total domestic and foreign investment rose by almost 20% to $28bn (£18bn).

Analysts said growth was likely to remain strong going forward.

The latest data also showed that the economy grew by 6.5% in the October to December quarter from a year earlier.

Raddhika Rao of Forecast said the strong data "validates the government's optimism on the growth front, driven for the most part by robust consumption and investment spending".

'Least exposed'

The data comes at a time when problems in the eurozone and the US have seen considerable uncertainty in the global economy.

As the eurozone struggles to find a solution to its debt crisis and the US copes with a high rate of unemployment, demand from two of the biggest economic zones in the world has been falling.

That has hurt many Asian economies that rely heavily on exports for growth.

However analysts said that Indonesia has benefited from the fact that a huge part of its growth is driven by domestic consumption.

"Indonesia is one of the least exposed economies in the region, with a vast domestic market and a relatively small share of exports to gross domestic product, so it is insulated from volatility in the global economy," said George Worthington of IFR.

Domestic consumption accounts for nearly 60% of Indonesia's economy.

Bakries Want Rothschild to Leave the Board of Bumi Plc

Jakarta Globe, Clara Ferreira-Marques & Rosalba O’Brien, February 05, 2012

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London. The Bakrie family and its shareholder partner in Bumi Plc are seeking to oust financier Nathaniel Rothschild and other key directors from the board of the London-listed coal miner.

The Bakries sold a stake in Bumi Plc in November to a group backed by businessman Samin Tan to extricate themselves from a debt crunch.

In a surprise statement on Friday, the Bakrie family and Tan, who now together own a 29 percent voting stake in Bumi Plc, announced they were seeking greater representation — demanding a shareholder meeting to replace not only Rothschild, the erstwhile partner and current chairman, but four other directors.

The request, which arrived at Bumi Plc’s headquarters late on Thursday, sparked fresh speculation over deteriorating relations between Rothschild and the Bakries and sent shares down 4.5 percent to 850 pence on Friday.

The Bakries and Tan are demanding the replacement of Ari Hudaya, who is also chief executive of part-owned, Jakarta-listed miner Bumi Resources, by Bakrie family lieutenant Nalinkant Rathod.

Andrew Beckham, chief financial officer, would also be replaced. If the changes are approved by shareholders at the general meeting, to be held within the next two months, Samin Tan would become chairman under the new structure, with Indra Bakrie as co-chairman. Indra Bakrie is regarded as the business head of the multi-billion dollar Bakrie family conglomerate.

Other directors who would leave if the changes are approved include the former Anglo-American head of coal, James Campbell, one of Rothschild’s first partners in his coal venture.

“This is not about personal relations,” a Bakrie spokesman said, brushing off talk of a deepening rift between Rothschild and his one-time partners. “This is about the best board structure for what is a listed company.”

Under the new structure, the executive roles are expected to be based in London, two sources familiar with the matter said, in a bid to improve visibility and relations with institutional shareholders. Last year, Rothschild, who owns just under 12 percent of Bumi Plc, called for a “radical cleaning up” of corporate governance at miner Bumi Resources, an affiliate of Bumi Plc, in a show of frustration with his Indonesian partners.

Reuters

British financier Nathaniel Rothschild, left, has criticized the
 management and corporate governance at Bumi Resources,
 the Indonesian coal company he is trying to transform into a
 top-tier global miner, the Financial Times reported on
Thursday. (Antara Photo/File)

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Maligned at Home, Bakrie Group Is the Face of Indonesia Inc. Around the World

Going ‘Green’ Key to Drawing Investment in Indonesia

Jakart Globe, Dion Bisara, February 03, 2012

Indonesia has been warned it may not fully benefit from its recent investment
 grade status to draw significant offshore funding if it fails to impress investors
looking for environmentally sustainable investments.

               

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Indonesia has been warned it may not fully benefit from its recent investment grade status to draw significant offshore funding if it fails to impress investors looking for environmentally sustainable investments.

Two international rating agencies have in the past month granted Southeast Asia’s largest economy investment-grade status, improving its chances of attracting long-term foreign funds.

However, Elmar Bouma, the director of the Indonesia Netherlands Association, cautioned that pension funds and investment managers, which together account for an estimated $30 trillion in capital, had strict sustainability requirements in line with the UN Principles for Responsible Investment.

“Its hard to say how much of that would come to Indonesia, because they apply much stricter standard regarding sustainability,” Bouma told a news conference on Thursday.

Data from Towers Watson and UNPRI’s Web site show that big funds include Norway’s Government Pension Fund Global, the world’s second-largest sovereign fund with more than $550 billion in assets, and South Korea’s National Pension, the world’s third largest with around $290 billion.

Indonesia, with its $706 billion economy, is fast becoming a magnet for foreign investors as its growth continues amid a global crisis marked by European debt and the US economic slowdown.

Indonesia’s prudent fiscal and monetary position, coupled with its demographic bonus — a productive population that outnumbers its unproductive one — provides a foundation for accelerating growth over the next decade.

“Indonesia promises growth in the long term, but the scope of those pension funds is longer,” said Poltak Hotradero, the head of research at the Indonesia Stock Exchange.

Bouma said Indonesia’s banking system should take the  initiative to spearhead sustainable banking practices. There are 120 commercial banks operating in Indonesia.

“The banking sector of Indonesia must anticipate this development to tap the new source capital,” he said.

Sakariza Qori Hermawan, group head of corporate sustainability at Bank Negara Indonesia, said Bank Indonesia, the central bank, may soon issue a regulation on green banking.

Lenders would be required to assess customers based on social and environmental sustainability standards as well as financial.

Thus far, he said, social and environmental sustainability were low priorities for Indonesia’s banks and businesses.

Sakariza said his Jakarta-based lender had only disbursed Rp 7.7 trillion ($862.4 million) in “green category” loans in 2010, or around 5.7 percent of its total outstanding loans valued at Rp 136.4 trillion. Some green loans financed geothermal power plants.

“Looking for excellent green companies is quite hard,” he said.

Sakariza said green banking would force corporations to comply with the UNPRI framework.

Rubin Japhta, a senior officer at the International Finance Corporation, said Indonesian companies and banks would need time to change their business paradigm.

While waiting for the shift, he said, Indonesian banks could try to tap the funds while committing themselves to transformation along the way.

The IFC, the investment arm of the Washington-based World Bank, has implemented these “flexible” policies with its investment partners in Indonesia including Bank Tabungan Pensiunan Negara, Bank Maybank Indonesia, Hana Bank and Bank Danamon.

Indonesia's Economic Growth at 6.45% in Q4 Last Year

Jakarta Globe, Novrida Manurung & Karl Lester M. Yap, February 03, 2012

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Indonesia’s economic growth probably exceeded 6 percent for a fifth quarter in the October-December period last year as domestic demand helped Southeast Asia’s largest economy withstand the European debt turmoil that has hurt exports across Asia.

Gross domestic product increased 6.45 percent in the fourth quarter from a year earlier, compared with a 6.5 percent pace in the previous three months, according to the median of 17 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey ahead of a government report due on Monday.

The economy may have grown 6.5 percent last year, Bank Indonesia said in a Jan. 12 statement. That’s the fastest pace since 1996, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Bank Indonesia will keep its benchmark rate at a record-low 6 percent, according to 11 of 15 estimates before a Feb. 9 decision.

Indonesia’s more than $700 billion economy is outperforming its neighbors including Thailand and the Philippines, as two rate cuts in the last quarter aided President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s efforts to increase gross domestic product by an average 6.6 percent a year. In the past two months, the country regained investment-grade rating from Moody’s Investors Service and Fitch Ratings for the first time since the Asian financial crisis in recent weeks, boosting investment prospects as it plans transport and utility projects. Domestic spending accounts for about two thirds of economic activity.

“The government needs to continue to build up infrastructure to sustain this kind of growth,” said Leslie Tang, an economist at OSK-DMG Group in Singapore. “Rising incomes are feeding into consumption which is supporting the domestic economy. There is no necessity for the central bank to cut rates further unless the external situation deteriorates significantly.”

Indonesia’s policy makers have signaled they are prepared to support the economy with monetary and fiscal stimulus as Europe’s protracted sovereign-debt crisis threatens global expansion and crimps demand for Asian exports.

Bank Indonesia, which kept its benchmark rate unchanged in January for a second month after reductions in November and October, has widened the lower range of its interbank lending rate since then to push borrowing costs lower. The government said in September it was preparing a stimulus package, and Bambang Brodjonegoro, head of fiscal policy at the finance ministry, said last month the country will increase spending to bolster growth and limit the impact of a global slowdown.

Yudhoyono’s push to boost infrastructure and curb corruption has lured funds, helping the nation’s bonds return 5.7 percent this year, the biggest gainers among 10 local-currency debt indexes compiled by HSBC Holdings. The Indonesian rupiah reached a three-month high last month.

Indonesia’s parliament approved in December a land-acquisition bill that will allow the government to accelerate road, port and airport projects.

Bloomberg