RI economy grows 6.1 percent in Q3

The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Mon, 11/17/2008 6:42 PM | Business

The global economic downturn has been blamed for slowing growth in the Indonesian economy which was recorded at 6.1 percent for the third quarter of 2008, according to data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS).

The Q3 growth was 0.4 percent lower than the 6.5 percent recorded for same period last year, BPS data shows.

The drop in global commodity prices, including crude palm oil and aluminum, decreased Indonesia's export volume which had contributed to the slowing economic performance, Kompas.com reported Monday.

Another contributing factor mentioned was the high prices of fuels, water and electricity.

The economy was moving slower but had still recorded a growing performance thanks to high consumption during the fasting month and Idul Fitri holidays, BPS chairman Rusman Setiawan said on Monday.

During the third quarter, he said, there had been declining growth in some countries, including the United States, Japan and the United Kingdom which had recorded 1.6, 0.7 and 1 percent growth, respectively. (ewd)

Source : www.thejakartapost.com

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The KT610: LG's QWERTY flip

Zatni Arbi , Contributor , Jakarta | Mon, 11/17/2008 10:55 AM | Sci-Tech

You must have seen the "Handy Smart" by LG. At least, you must have seen it in advertisements.

Yes, this all-black clamshell smartphone has been around for some time and its photos are everywhere: LG has been quite aggressive in promoting this nice model, which, as far as I can discern, has three "firsts".

The KT610 from LG is a 3G and HSDPA cell phone with a large internal QWERTY keypad that makes texting more comfortable. The absence of Wi-Fi, however, means users must rely on the cellular infrastructure for data communication. (JP/Zatni Arbi)

I believe the KT610 is the first smartphone from the Korean electronics giant to use Symbian S60 operating system. So, if you have become comfortable with the menus and the user interface of Nokia products -- which a lot of people have reportedly found the easiest to use -- you will surely feel at home when using the KT610. Given Nokia's dominance in the cell phone market, this was a smart decision.

Second, the KT610 was also the first flip smartphone from LG with a full QWERTY keypad. The two hinges are on the left side; when opened there is a full QWERTY keypad complete with the familiar menu button found on any Nokia product. More on this later.

Third, because it looks like Nokia's immensely popular Communicator series -- including the E90 -- people have called it the first Communicator wannabe. In fact, LG touts it as a communicator that is smaller than the Communicator. Nice try. Actually, several handset makers have come up with a clamshell QWERTY handset. Among the newest models is the Asus M930.

There are a couple of differences between LG's KT610 and the far more expensive Nokia E90, of course. The LG KT610 has a 2.4-inch primary screen, which is a much smaller screen than the one on the E90. No complaints about the quality of the QVGA, 262,000-color screen, though.

This smartphone is a 3G device (there is a front-facing camera for video calls), and it supports HSDPA with speeds of up to 3.6 Mbps. A feature that is sorely missing, however, is Wi-Fi. I still do not understand why LG did not include this feature and made us rely solely on the mobile network for data access.

The good thing is this extends the battery life, especially if you -- like me -- always forget to switch off Wi-Fi when not needed.

The external screen is very limited, unfortunately. While it is capable of displaying important information such as battery level, the operator's name and the selected profile, it does not provide the entire view that the camera can capture. Using the internal screen as a viewfinder is a possibility, but it takes a lot of getting used to; otherwise you will be taking pictures with the camera facing your belly.

But not everything is less than impressive about LG KT610. As is the case with the majority of products from LG Mobile that I have reviewed, this smartphone also shows excellent workmanship.

It feels very sturdy, although luxury is not its forte. I like the keypads -- both external and internal. The external keypad may look retro, but it's large and very convenient to use. The internal keypad is also large.

Too bad, though, the fine character imprints on the individual buttons, which you can use only by pressing the Chr key, may be too small for people with limited vision, like myself.

The navigation pad is great, and there is a dedicated camera button both inside and outside.

What else has LG thrown into the bag? With EDGE, GPRS, UMTS and HSDPA capabilities, it is Web- and Google-ready. It also has built-in GPS and a MicroSD slot.

Forget about music playing, as there are no dedicated playback and volume control buttons.

LG Mobile Indonesia told me that this Handy Smart was quite popular. I can see why -- it costs less than one third of the price of a Nokia E90.

It certainly cannot compete with the E90 in winning the hearts of discerning users, but in a market where showing off is important, it can be one of "the" handsets to have.

Grandma and Grandpa would be happy using it, as texting is made very easy. If only it had a feature that would read aloud the messages and every character being typed, I would not hesitate recommending it as a Christmas gift for them.

Source : www.thejakartapost.com

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YOUTH CRUISE

The Jakarta Post | Thu, 11/13/2008 8:05 AM | Headlines

Participants of the 35th Ship for Southeast Asian Youth Program disembark from the Nippon Maru, which arrived at Tanjung Priok port, Jakarta, from Brunei on Wednesday. Thirty-one young people from the ASEAN member countries and Japan are taking part in this year’s program. On Saturday, they will leave Jakarta for Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines before returning to Japan on Dec. 10. (JP/Ricky Yudhistira)

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Tsunami early warning siren all at once

Denpasar (ANTARA News) - The government to test a Tsunami early warning on November 11, 2008 all at once all over Indonesia on 4.00 pm WIB. Bali has six tsunami early sirens to be tested.

"We urge everybody on November 11 not to panic when the siren goes of, its only just a drill," said the Denpasar Meteorology and Geophysics Agency (BMG) information and data chief division Sutrisno, here Wednesday.

Sutrisno said the announcement in the tsunami early warning system socialization to all local government arrays held here.

He also said that the sirens will set off for one minute with "This is only a tsunami early warning test" announcement would be repeated three times.

"This socialization to prevent public panic," he said.

The Bali six early warning towers spreads over BTDC Nusa Dua. Seminyak, Kuta, Kedonganan, Tanjung Benoa and Sanur.

After the trial on November 11, trial test would be routinely conducted on the 26 of every month at 10.00 pm local times. This effort is to increases public awareness and to test the early warning siren device.

The alarm would sound on a steady note with three minutes or more duration.

If the sirens sets of, other warning instrument like `Kentongan` (drum made from bamboo which is struck to sound an alarm), `Bedug` (large drum suspended horizontally at mosque to summon to prayer)and Mosque`s public announcement systems and other instruments are expected.

Apart from siren warning, the BMG would also warns in five different applications such as Short messages service, and audio and text channels.

BMG itself would only need approximately less than five minutes from the earthquake occurrence whether its a tsunami potential or not.

"After the earthquake, our device would read and predicted it straight away for tsunami potential or not," sutrisno said.

Based on the history, Bali had experienced twice three meters high small tsunamis from Sumbawa tsunami on 1997 and Banyuwangi tsunami on 1994.

Source : www.antara.co.id

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BI regulates bigger forex purchases to steady rupiah

The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Thu, 11/13/2008 10:39 AM | Business

As the rupiah declines, the central bank will limit the purchase of foreign currencies above US$100,000 to those who can provide information to justify their transactions.

Through a new regulation to be effective starting Thursday, Bank Indonesia expects this policy to help balance demand and supply in the forex market, reduce extreme pressure on the rupiah and minimize forex purchases for speculative purposes, governor Boediono said in a statement Wednesday.

"The regulation is based on the free foreign exchange system that Indonesia now has, in which every citizen is free to own and use foreign currencies, as stipulated on the Law No. 24/1999 on foreign exchange flows and the exchange rate system," Boediono said.

"This is not a foreign exchange control policy or capital control mechanism that limits capital flows between countries,"

Individual customers and registered Indonesian and foreign companies are still allowed to freely purchase foreign currencies through spot, forward, or derivative transactions, BI said.

However, Indonesian citizens or firms wanting to purchase more than $100,000 in foreign currencies need to provide evidence of justifying transactions, such as invoices used to import goods or pay debts.

Meanwhile, foreign parties can only purchase amounts above $100,000 through spot transactions.

The regulation is expected to limit speculative purchases of currencies. With the regulation in place, BI expects that banks should be able to detect when customers purchase dollars for speculative purposes.

Analyst Farial Anwar has said that the fall of the rupiah was caused by the free foreign exchange system adopted by Indonesia.

With capital control, Farial said, the government could more easily manage the flow of short-term funds, or hot money, in and out of Indonesia.

"Hot money is harder to monitor and control and it enters only the financial sector, not the real sector. It makes us black and blue, while only 2 million people out of our 220 million population are engaging in the financial sector.

"If the rupiah stays at the current level for a long time, it will affect state financing and people will suffer," he said.

On Wednesday, the rupiah fell 1.6 percent to 11,485 per dollar as of 4:10 p.m. in Jakarta. At one point the currency reached 11,700 Wednesday, approaching the 11,900 it reached on Oct. 28, which was the lowest since 2001.

"Investors are switching from the capital market to the foreign exchange market to compensate for their losses, thus the dollar strengthens. Investors say it's a safe haven," Farial said.

According to Bloomberg, the rupiah has weakened by 14 percent in the past month, making it the worst performer among Asia's 10 most traded currencies.

-- Aditya Suharmoko

Source : www.thejakartapost.com

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