Semen Gresik plans Rp 3.5t new plant
State cement producer PT Semen Gresik is planning to invest Rp 3.5 trillion (US$3.5 million) to build a new cement plant in Indarung, West Sumatra, to boost its production capacity.
“Semen Gresik subsidiary PT Semen Padang will manage the new plant,” Semen Gresik president director Dwi Soetjipto said at a memorandum of understanding signing ceremony between state electricity company PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) and the Semen Gresik group in Jakarta, on Friday.
Dwi said the new plant’s construction would be financed using internal funds and loans.
“The new plant will be operational by the end of 2011 or at the beginning of 2012,” Dwi said, adding Semen Gresik would start building it in 2010.
According to Dwi, the new plant will be designed to produce 2.5 million metric tons of cement per year and will contribute to 10 percent of Semen Gresik Group’s total production capacity.
Semen Gresik, located in East Java, has two subsidiaries — PT Semen Padang in West Sumatra and PT Semen Tonasa in South Sulawesi.
“The new plant’s capacity will almost match the production capacity of our two factories in Gresik and Tuban,” Dwi said.
Dwi acknowledged that Semen Gresik sales fell 3.4 percent to 8 million tons in the first half of this year.
“This drop is not as deep as the fall in national cement consumption. We hope our sales will grow in the second half,” he said.
Although its sales dropped in the first semester, the company saw a 15 percent revenue growth.
“Last year, our revenue grew by 12 percent,” he said, without elaborating on the first semester’s profit.
He said price fluctuations in the world market contributed to the company’s revenue.
Semen Gresik posted a net profit of $66.4 billion in the first quarter this year, up by 17 percent from the same period last year.
It also posted a revenue of Rp 3.22 trillion in first quarter, up by 20 percent on a year-on-year basis.
The volume of domestic sales in the first quarter reached 3.78 million tons, declining by 23 percent on a year-on-year basis.
Semen Gresik is 51 percent owned by the government. Blue Valley Holdings — a subsidiary of business conglomerate Rajawali Group — owns a 24 percent stake and the remaining 25 percent is held by retail investors.
Semen Gresik group is the largest cement producer in Indonesia, with 45 percent market share of Indonesia’s cement industry. It produces 18 million tons per year, 98 percent of its total designed capacity.
Meanwhile, State Minister for State Enterprises Sofyan Djalil suggested state cement producers increase their production capacity to fulfill the country’s growing demand for cement.
“We predict the country will need 140 million metric tons in the next 10 years,” Sofyan said.
“So far, we only produce 46 million metric tons to provide for the country’s annual consumption.”http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/07/25/semen-gresik-plans-rp-35t-new-plant.html
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Police intensify investigations of man bearing likeness to Noordin
The police's anti-terror unit, Densus 88, is currently questioning a 50-year-old man arrested in Makassar, South Sulawesi, recently, resembling Indonesia’s most-wanted terror suspect, Noordin M. Top.
"We have intensified our investigations with Densus 88. We arrested [the suspect] because he bears a likeness to Noordin M. Top," South Sulawesi Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Herry Subiansauri said on Sunday.
Police suspect Noordin was behind the recent bombings of the JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotels in Jakarta.
The new suspect carried five identity cards and two passports bearing different names, Herry said. He allegedly claimed to have used the different ID to commit several criminal acts, including stealing around Rp 100 million [US$9,900] from four banks via their internet banking services.
"We won’t just believe what he said. We will cross-check this information with the four banks and will trace the flow of his money," Herry said.
The suspect was arrested at his rented house on Jl. Pengayoman in Makassar early on Saturday morning. Police confiscated his five ID cards (all with the same picture), two passports, four debit cards, nine credit cards and a number of cell phone chips.
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/07/26/police-intensify-investigations-man-bearing-likeness-noordin.html
Chris John heads to LA for rematch against Juarez
Friday, May 29, 2009
WBA world featherweight champion Chris John will depart to Los Angeles on Wednesday for his June 27 rematch against Rocky Juarez.
The first match in Houston on Feb. 28 ended in a controversial draw, with Chris, who dominated his opponent, retaining his title.
The Indonesian camp is looking for a KO win this time.
"I predict there will be a 10th-round KO for Chris," said Chris's coach and manager, Craig Christian of Australia.
Chris expressed relief the rematch would not be in Houston.
"I'm glad to finally have the rematch in LA. It was almost another Houston bout again," Chris said during a media conference Tuesday at the sports ministry office.
"We'll fight more strongly. There's always a chance to KO the opponent. However, I don't want to be burdened by the target. I'll just play to my best," he said.
Chris will have a month to adapt to the local conditions before the rematch planned for the Staples Center in LA on June 27. RCTI will broadcast the bout live for Indonesian viewers.
A day before the match, the World Boxing Association will confer the Super Champion title belt on Chris for his 10 successful defenses of his belt. He becomes the first Asian featherweight boxing champ to have attained this feat.
The ceremony will be held at the Indonesian Consulate General.
Oscar de la Hoya from Golden Boy Promotions agreed to move the rematch from Houston to LA by requiring Chris's camp to purchase 5,000 tickets for the match, each worth US$25 to $50.
"Greater Indonesian audience support in LA will definitely fuel my fighting spirit," Chris said, pointing out there were less than 100 Indonesians at his Houston match.
Indonesia faces higher subsidy costs
Despite a forecast lower electricity production cost next year, the government proposes a higher budget for the power subsidy than this year's, because of increased national power consumption.
The Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry told a hearing with lawmakers on Thursday that the government proposed to increase the budget allocation for the electricity subsidy next year to between Rp 43.25 trillion (US$4.19 billion) and Rp 48.39 trillion, up from Rp 42.46 trillion allocated for this year.
J. Purwono, the ministry's director general for electricity and energy utilization, said the projected subsidy cost was largely based on two assumptions - Indonesia crude oil price (ICP) of between $50 and $60 per barrel and a rupiah rate of between 10,000 and 10,200 per dollar.
"The proposed subsidy is higher than the Rp 42.46 trillion allocated for this year. The increase is mainly caused by the growth of electricity consumption, which is forecast *to grow* at 6 percent next year," Purwono told lawmakers from Commission VII overseeing the energy and mineral resources ministry.
State utility PT PLN, the sole distributor of electricity, plans to use more coal to generate power next year partly due to the running of newly constructed power plants under PLN's 10,000-megawatt (MW) power program to meet power demand in Java and Bali.
Purwono said that the subsidy proposal would be incorporated into the 2010 state budget bill, along with other allocations. Thursday's hearing was part of the series of meetings to formulate government revenue and expenditure for next year.
PLN forecasts it will sell as much as 144.52 TWh (tera watt hours) of power in 2010, up from 135.99 TWh forecast to be sold this year, president director Fahmi Mochtar said.
He added PLN's average production cost would decline from Rp 962 per kWh (Kilowatt Hour) in 2009 to Rp 931 per kWh next year. "We will reduce our oil-based fuel consumption and this will reduce our costs," Fahmi said.
He said PLN expected to reduce its oil-based fuel consumption from 8.01 million kilo liters in 2009 to 4.56 million kilo liters in 2010. As a consequence, PLN consumption of coal and gas will increase.
Fahmi said that coal consump-tion would increase from 23.77 million tons in 2009 to 31.70 million tons in 2010, while gas consump-tion would increase from 313,716 Billion British Thermal units of gas (BBTU) in 2009 to 323,447 BBTU in 2010.
Although PLN's production cost will be lower next year, Fahmi said the company would still not be able to make a profit.
"Our average selling price is still lower than our average production cost," he said, adding that PLN's average electricity price was at Rp 654 per kWh.
Last year, the company suffered around Rp 13.1 trillion in losses.
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