• Huge Forest Fires on Sumatra Endanger Singapore's Health and Economy

    Forest fires on the Indonesian island Sumatra have brought severe smog over Singapore's skyline for the past five days, reaching record breaking levels of air pollution in Southeast Asia's wealthy city state. The forest fires are believed to be caused by illegal slash and burn practice on Indonesia's forest-rich island of Sumatra (for palm oil expansion) and represent a recurring problem in the dry season. Besides the environmental disaster, the forest fires cause health issues as well as economic losses for Singapore.

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  • Indonesia's Fuel Subsidy Policy: New Fuel Prices Effective from Saturday

    Both Industry minister M.S. Hidayat and Economic minister Hatta Rajasa confirmed that on Friday (21/06) the government will announce the increase in price of subsidized fuel after it had already been approved by the House of Representatives (DPR) last Monday (17/06). Immediately after the announcement, the price of fuel is set to be raised. It has been reported that the government's announcement will be revealed at midnight, implying that the price hike is effective starting from Saturday.

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  • Indo Tambangraya Megah, one of Indonesia's Largest Coal Miners

    PT Indo Tambangraya Megah Tbk (ITMG) is one of the leading coal producing companies in Indonesia. The company's main businesses include integrated coal mining, coal processing and operational logistics. The mining locations of Indo Tambangraya Megah are spread across six concession areas, all of which are currently operational and productive. Four concession areas are located in East Kalimantan, one in South Kalimantan, and the other one in both East and Central Kalimantan.

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  • Indonesian Government Makes Fund Available for Geothermal Exploration

    Bloomberg reported that the investment agency of Indonesia's finance ministry will start a fund of IDR 3 trillion (USD $302 million) to finance the exploration of geothermal energy resources in Indonesia this year. Saritaon Siregar, the agency’s chairman, said this in an interview at a conference in Jakarta this week. The investment fund is in line with Indonesia's intention of lowering its dependency on expensive and environmentally unfriendly fossil fuels as a source for energy and electricity.

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