Although in local media Indonesian property developer Lippo Cikarang is aggressively advertising its ambitious Meikarta project to the consumer, there is uncertainty whether the developer indeed collected all necessary permits required to construct the new township. Meikarta is marketed as a 500-hectare property development project with 100 hectares of open green space, 250,000 units of prime residential property, and 1,500,000 m2 of prime commercial space.

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Today (07/02) a court hearing takes place in Jakarta in which Goldman Sachs International, the London-based unit of Gold Sachs, opposes Indonesian business tycoon Benny Tjokrosaputro, president director of Indonesian property developer Hanson International. Both sides are suing each other and seek damages. The outcome of this case is considered important for the foreign investor community as it involves "legal certainty regarding legitimately executed share trading through the Indonesia Stock Exchange".

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Indonesian Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati was at a court hearing in Jakarta on Tuesday (20/09) to defend the legality of the nation's tax amnesty program. In July 2016 legal activists, gathered within the One Justice Foundation (Yayasan Satu Keadilan) and Indonesian People's Struggle Union (Serikat Perjuangan Rakyat Indonesia), filed for a judicial review at the Constitutional Court claiming that the program turns money laundering into a legal practice, protects criminals, teaches Indonesian citizens not to pay taxes, and constitutes an unfair program from a social point of view.

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In an effort to improve legal certainty and the business climate in Indonesia’s mining industry, the government announced it will revise a regulation that currently limits the time to start negotiating about an extension of a mining permit to two years before the concession contract’s expiration date. Sudirman Said, Indonesian Energy and Mineral Resources Minister, said the government plans to allow extension talks to start up to ten years before contracts end.

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The owners of Tujuh Bukit, a gold and copper project located near Banyuwangi (East Java), are planning to conduct an initial public offering on the Indonesia Stock Exchange in the third quarter of 2014. The project zone is estimated to contain at least 1.6 million ounces of gold and 60 million ounces of silver. If construction of the mine can be realized this year, then gold production can start in 2016. Construction of the copper mine is expected to start in 2019. Through the IPO, USD $75 million is targeted to be raised (used for concession development).

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On Friday (25/10), the World Bank released its 'Doing Business 2014' report in which it "ranks countries on their overall 'ease of doing business', and analyzes reforms to business regulation - identifying which economies are strengthening their business environment the most." In total 189 countries were analyzed. Indonesia, traditionally characterized by a complex and difficult investment environment, managed to climb 8 places in the ranking. Southeast Asia’s largest economy rose from number 128 to 120 in the 2014 edition.

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The government of Indonesia invites foreign and domestic investors to invest in the country's small islands and coastal areas in order to make these locations more attractive for tourism and other sectors. Facilities and infrastructure in these areas as well as transportation to and around these areas should be improved. Therefore, the government - through its Team for the Acceleration of Investment in Small Islands within the Ministry of Fishery and Maritime - is eager to make the investment climate more attractive. Currently, it sees three bottlenecks.

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In a new survey, conducted by the Fraser Institute, that assesses the state of the investment climate in the mining sector in 2012-2013 in countries around the globe, Indonesia is ranked at number 96. Both tax and regulatory uncertainties in Indonesia's mining sector are cited as reasons for the low ranking of the country. As investments in the mining sector are capital intensive and long-term in nature, investors thus need a clear legal framework that is not susceptible to sudden changes due to political issues.

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Whenever Indonesia Investments discusses or illustrates the risks that are involved in Indonesia’s investment environment, we usually take the 2009 Mining Law as an example to illustrate the lack of legal certainty in Indonesia. Lack of legal certainty is one the key obstacles in Indonesia’s investment environment, and has therefore been undermining investment realization in Indonesia.

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The local Jakarta administration has officially revoked principle permits for the development of 13 artificial islands (reclaimed islands) in the bay of Indonesia's capital city of Jakarta. For now, the decision means a complete stop to all activities related to the ambitious land reclamation project north of Jakarta.

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Indonesian Minister of Home Affairs, Tjahjo Kumolo, made a statement in support of the Lippo Group's controversial Meikarta integrated township project. At the Indonesia Future City & REI Mega Expo 2017 on Thursday (14/09) Kumolo said Indonesia's regional governments should not unnecessarily obstruct private projects that help to develop the regional economy. He cited Meikarta as an example.

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Although the Indonesian government has been eager to improve the nation's investment climate in a bid to attract more foreign direct investment (FDI) and thus boost economic growth of Indonesia, it is widely known that conditions in Indonesia's investment climate remain somewhat troublesome, reflected by the nation's mediocre ranking in the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business index 2017. Here it ranks 91 out of 190 countries across the globe.

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Indonesia is facing the risk of becoming a net importer of energy by 2019 as the nation’s energy demand will reach 6.19 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) whereas the domestic energy supply will only reach 6.04 million boepd by that year. Provided that the economy of Indonesia remains expanding at a pace of +5 percent (year-on-year) while investments in energy exploration do not rise accordingly, Southeast Asia’s largest economy will become dependent on foreign energy supplies.

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A total of 35 American companies are interested to invest a combined USD $61 billion in Indonesia over the next five years according to a survey conducted by the Paramadina Public Policy Institute, the American Chamber of Commerce in Indonesia (AmCham Indonesia), the Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo), and the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin Indonesia). These 35 US companies have already invested a total of USD $65 billion in Indonesia over the period 2004 to 2012.

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The dispute between the Indonesian government and mining giant Newmont Nusa Tenggara (NNT) over the recently implemented ban on the export of unprocessed copper, gold, nickel, bauxite and iron is heading for a climax. In Indonesian media, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was quoted saying “NNT has undermined the sense of justice of the Indonesian people” and pronounced his disappointment of NNT’s reluctance to respect the sovereignty of the state. Previously, the government said it may revoke mining permits of NNT.

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The plantation sector of Indonesia is vulnerable to land disputes. Noor Marzuki, a Director at the National Land Agency (Badan Pertanahan Nasional, or BPN), a non-departmental government institution, said that currently only 30 percent of Indonesia's total plantation estate area has been registered at the BPN. This implies that 70 percent of Indonesian plantation estates are unregistered and thus susceptible to land conflicts. The total size of Indonesia's plantation estate area is 120 million hectares.

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Newmont Nusa Tenggara (NNT), one of Indonesia’s largest copper miners, said on Thursday (05/06) that it sees no other option than to declare a force majeure at its Batu Hijau copper mine in Sumbawa (West Nusa Tenggara) due to the export tax dispute with the Indonesian government. President Director of NNT Martiono Hadianto also informed the Indonesian Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources that 80 percent of the company’s workers will be put on leave with reduced salaries.

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One of the major problems which is blocking Indonesia's economic growth is the country's infrastructure. The lack of quality and quantity of Indonesia's infrastructure causes logistics costs to rise steeply and thus makes investors (particularly the foreign ones) hesitant to invest as high logistics costs imply a weakening of the country's competitiveness. The problem of Indonesia's infrastructure is both 'hard' infrastructure (roads, airports and electricity supply) and 'soft' infrastructure (social welfare and health care).

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