In the past ten years, Indonesia has seen its toll roads expand by about 300 kilometers only. In 2004, the total length of the country's toll road network was 611 kilometers. In 2014, it reached a length of 918 kilometers. This slow growth of toll road development is alarming as the lack of quality and quantity of infrastructure is one of the major bottlenecks for Indonesia's economic development. (as subsequent high logistics costs put off investors). The difficulty of land acquisition is possibly the most notorious stumbling-block for infrastructure development.

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Last week, global business magazine Fortune released the latest version of its world's 50 greatest leaders ranking. Fortune's annual ranking is based on a person's possession of rare leadership skills, admirability as well as having an influential role in society. The list was topped by Pope Francis who is considered to have attracted legions of non-Catholic admirers through the setting of a new direction. There was also one Indonesian leader included in the list. Governor of Jakarta Joko Widodo (popularly known as Jokowi) was ranked at number 37.

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Indonesia's Finance Minister Chatib Basri is optimistic that Indonesia's economic growth can reach 5.8 to 6.0 percent in 2014. According to Basri, three factors support this expectation: strong household consumption, an improving global economy, and the impact of Indonesia's legislative and presidential elections (scheduled for April and July 2014). However, one of the biggest challenges for the Indonesian government will be to offset the impact of further US Federal Reserve tapering and US interest rate hikes in 2015 and 2016.

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PTT Plc, a Thailand-based energy company which conducts coal mining activities in Sebuku, Jambayan and Laung (all on the island of Kalimantan), is planning to list its subsidiary, Sakari Resources, on the Indonesia Stock Exchange through an initial public offering (IPO). PTT Plc has been active in Indonesia's mining sector since 2008 when it acquired a 94 percent stake in (Singapore-listed) Sakari Resources. After the acquisition, Sakari Resources delisted from the Singapore Stock Exchange.

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