State-controlled cement producer Semen Indonesia is eager to expand its business outside of Indonesia. After acquiring a - USD $157 million worth - 70 percent stake in Vietnam's Thang Long Cement last year, it is now eyeing to take over a cement factory in Myanmar. Semen Indonesia has set aside USD $200 million for the acquisition, which it plans to conduct next year. Which Myanmar-based cement company will become target of the acquisition is still under evaluation.

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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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Cement sales in Indonesia - a key indicator to measure the state of infrastructure and property development - declined 3.3 percent year-on-year (y/y) to 5.64 million tons in September 2016. This decline was attributed to fewer cement demand from the property sector (housing and apartments). Meanwhile, shares of state-controlled cement maker Semen Indonesia fell 2.91 percent on Tuesday (11/10) after Jakarta's Supreme Court revoked the environmental permit for the company's USD $320 million cement plant in Rembang (Central Java).

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