Falling out

Indonesian Government Asks for Virus Not to be Abused by WHO

2008-03-04T23:25:00.001+07:00

The Indonesian government has received a guarantee that the 15 bird flu virus (H5N1) samples that have been sent to the World Health Organization (WHO) were only to be examined for risk assessment, as to whether the virus is resistant to oseltamivir or not.

“Before the virus was sent, we already had the risk assessment guarantee letter,” said Siti Fadilah Supari, Health Minister, at her residence, Jalan Denpasar, Kuningan, Jakarta, two days ago (1/3).

According to Minister Siti, the bird flu virus samples were sent along with the material transfer agreement (MTA) that the government proposed be signed by the WHO.

If the WHO is willing to sign it, then the government will send more virus samples.

“Otherwise, the government will struggle again,” said Minister Siti.
According to her, the dispatch was a test as to whether the WHO will approve the MTA or not.

In December 2006, the government stopped sending bird flu virus samples.

This policy was taken to prevent multinational companies from using Indonesian virus samples to develop vaccines with a high sales price.

Minister Siti said that with the MTA, the bird flu virus sample dispatch mechanism is more transparent and fair in terms of responsibility towards the virus sending country.

The government's desire to change the mechanism, according to her, is not only useful for bird flu cases but also other diseases.

Under the old mechanism, virus samples were prone to be misused and
could therefore spread again in Indonesia and cause a new cases.

This is because the bird flu virus spread in Indonesia is inappropriate with epidemiology.

“This needs a great deal of attention,” said Minister Siti.

With the new mechanism, she said, the government has tried to overcome the large number of bird flu case in Indonesia.

“With transparency, what ever the virus is used for can be known,” said Minister Siti.

C.A. Nidom, Head of the Avian Influenza Tropical Disease Center Laboratory at Airlangga University, supported the government's measure to start sending bird flu virus samples.

According to him, the government needs to prioritize the bird flu handling in the country instead of fighting for the right in the MTA process at the WHO.

“What we're facing are human lives and the world's community,” said Nidom when contacted yesterday (2/3).

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source :
Margahayu Land
http://margahayuland.blogspot.com/2008/03/indonesian-government-asks-for-virus.html

Abu Dujana Admits Keeping Weapons

2008-03-04T23:24:00.000+07:00

Abu Dujana, the defendant in the alleged terrorism case, admitted keeping weapons and explosives. According to him, the weapons were the remains of the conflict in Ambon, Maluku. “There was an M-16 and a few broken pistols,” said Abu Dujana, answering Wahjono, the chairman of the panel of judges at the South Jakarta District Court, yesterday (3/3).

Despite admitting possessing weapons, none were bought by him. The agenda of the trial yesterday was hearing defendant Abu Dujana's statement.

Abu Dujana was charged by terrorism as possessing, keeping and distributing firearms and explosives. Abu, arrested on June 9, 2007 in Banyumas, Central Java, was charged with Article 9 of the Anti-terrorism Decree. In addition, he was charged with Article 17 of the Anti-terrorism Decree regarding his involvement in terrorism cooperation.

At the trial Abu Dujana a.k.a. Ainul Bahri, denied some of the investigation results in the deposition. According to Abu, his health at that time very much affected his statement he gave to the investigators. A gunshot wound in his left thigh, he said, made him so that he could not concentrate. “The wound on my leg made me tired, dizzy and nauseous,” he said.

Abu also recounted having participated in war training between 1999-2000 in the Philippines, then in Afganistan in 1989. He also acknowledged being acquainted with Noor Din M. Top, the most wanted terrorist fugitive. However, he said, how he knew Noor Din was not like what is written in the deposition, as if they were solidly cooperating in a terror

After hearing the defendant's statement, the trial was resumed by the agenda by reading the charge. The panel of judges' chairman, Wahjono, asked the prosecutor to prepare the charge against Abu Dujana in the trial in the next two weeks.

After the trial, the public prosecutor Narendra Jatna, said Abu Dujana's explanation in the trial this time was his right as a defendant. According to Narendra, the defendant also has the right of objection. However, Narendra believed Abu Dujana only denied certain matters that did not influence his charge of terrorism . “For instance, admitting to keeping firearms and explosives and meeting Noor Din M. Top,” said Narendra.

Asludin Hatjani, a member of Abu Dujana's legal team, did not comment much. She said she would just wait for the charge announcement.

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source :
Margahayu Land
http://margahayuland.blogspot.com/2008/03/abu-dujana-admits-keeping-weapons.html

Energy Minister Questions CSR Restriction

2007-07-25T12:53:00.000+07:00

Purnomo Yusgiantoro, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister, has said that corporate social responsibility (CSR) should not only be the obligation of natural resources companies.

“CSR should be implemented by all companies without exception,” he said after the launching of the Biofuel Expedition Vehicles Road Show to the Manado-Jakarta route, in Jakarta, on Monday (23/7).

Purnomo stressed that CSR was a company’s activities to build the community’s support around projects.

“Any project,” he said.

According to him, companies in the oil, gas and mining sectors have already applied CSR prior to the Company Decree being passed last week.

“Even without the decree, we have already applied this,” he said.

The State Decree regarding Limited Companies states in article 74 a company is obliged to carry out CSR, or else sanctions will be imposed in accordance with the law.

Companies that must apply CSR are those whose business is related to natural resources.

As regards companies that are not involved in natural resources at all may apply CSR voluntarily.

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tempo

Australia's Warning Hits Tourism

2007-07-10T17:12:00.000+07:00

Several Indonesian tourism entrepreneurs acknowledged they are very much affected by Australia's travel warning. It is predicted that the warning will cause a number of tourists coming to Indonesia go down drastically as Australia is the second highest foreign tourist contributor after Japan.

“Our condition becomes worse,” said Mety Robot, an adviser of the Indonesian Travel Association for Jakarta, yesterday (9/7).

According to Head of the Indonesian Travel Association for Bali, Al Purwa, Australia's travel warning has terrorized businesspeople and future tourists. There is not in fact any cancellation of travel and hotel reservations. However, “We're worried and frightened by the warning,” he said.

The kangaroo country's government warned its citizens on Sunday (8/7) not to visit Indonesia especially Ambon, Maluku and Central Sulawesi. The reason is, there was a terrorism threat. Earlier, Australia issued travel warnings when bombs exploded in Bali in October 2002 and 2005.

This warning of Australia is the second blow for Indonesian tourism business this month. on 28 June, the European Union prohibited Indonesian aircraft from entering Europe.

The measure was followed by several European insurance companies not willing to guarantee their clients' claim for flying on Indonesian aircraft. Travel agents also warned European citizens in Bali to use buses, trains or ships for traveling to other Indonesian regions.

Meity explained that travel agents have already tried to influence European tourists. “They're very insurance-minded, rather than finding problems, it's better to look for other countries in Southeast Asia.”

Kodhyat, tourism observer from Indonesian Travel Study institution, asked all sides not to be panic about the warning. The travel warning, he said, will not be effective. Despite the fact it has been issued several times, Australians still are visiting tourism spots in Indonesia especially Bali. “For Australians, Bali is already like a second home,” he said.

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tempo

Bakrie Telecom to raise $145m syndicated loan for expansion

2007-06-28T08:32:00.000+07:00

Publicly listed telecommunications firm PT Bakrie Telecom Tbk will raise US$145 million in the form of a syndicated loan from a consortium of overseas financial institutions.

President director Anindya Novyan Bakrie said Tuesday that the company would use $95 million of the loan to partly finance network expansion and the remainder to refinance debt worth Rp 450 billion (US$50 million).

The loan will mature in five years, including a two-year grace period, and will carry an interest rate of around nine percent, or four percent above the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) -- the world benchmark for short-term interest rates.

The loan agreement was signed recently by the company and the consortium, with Credit Suisse acting as the lead arranger.

This year, Bakrie Telecom will expand its network to 17 big cities around the country, including Semarang, Yogyakarta, Surabaya, Medan and Padang. At present, the CDMA operator only serves Jakarta, and West Java and Banten provinces.

"These 17 cities are prospective markets for our business as we have discovered that most of their residents suit our customer profiles in the sense that they are value-oriented," Anindya said, adding that the company was running a major television advertising campaign for its cellular brand, Esia.

"By the end of this year, we will have covered 34 cities around the country."

The company will spend $220 million on capital investment this year.

It expects to double the number of its subscribers by the end of this year to 3.6 million, comprising 3.1 million in Greater Jakarta, and West Java and Banten provinces, and the remaining 500,000 in the new coverage areas. As of the end of the first quarter, the company had around 1.8 million subscribers.

By way of comparison, Bakrie Telecom's competitors PT Telkom and Mobile-8 have five million and two million subscribers, respectively.

Besides its Esia brand, Bakrie also operates its Wifone wireless fixed service, Wimode wireless internet service and the Esia-tel chain of telephone kiosks.

To raise more fresh capital, the company also plans to issue bonds worth Rp 500 billion in the third quarter of this year.

In the first quarter, its net profit surged 134 percent to Rp 16.25 billion from Rp 120 million in the corresponding period last year.

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jakarta post

Media Nusantara Citra’s Shares Officially Listed in Stock Exchange

2007-06-24T12:26:00.000+07:00

From today (22/9), the shares of PT Media Nusantara Citra . (MNC) are officially for trading at the Jakarta Stock Exchange (JSX). As many as 13.75 billion shares of several television station companies’ are offered with the initial price of Rp900 per share.

MNC’s President Director, Hary Tanoesodibjo, said the release of the company’s initial shares was over-subscribed. From foreign investors which are mostly banks, the request is seven times of the given price range. “From local investors, there is nine times surplus,” he told reporters in Jakarta, Friday (22/9).

MNC release its 30 percent shares to the public with the offer of around 4.125 billion shares. Those that act as issuer guarantor is PT Bhakti Sekuritas and PT Danareksa Sekuritas.

Hary explained, 13 percent of the Initial Public Offering (IPO) funds will be allocated for RCTI bonds debt repayment amounting to Rp385 billion. The remaining 76 percent is for the development of the media, broadcasting and developing programs and also capital expenditure.

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tempo

US Companies Promise 2 Billion $ Investment In Indonesia

2007-06-18T15:22:00.000+07:00

American companies this week made a commitment to invest more in Indonesia provided that the government can guarantee legal certainty and security.

During a meeting with President Megawati Soekarnoputri 10 American companies, mainly oil and gas enterprises, made a commitment for new investment totaling US$2 billion, according to presidential economic adviser Frans Seda. Seda, however, declined to elaborate.

Nonetheless, executives of Conoco Oil and Freeport Mc Moran, both with strong interests in Indonesia, expressed their intention to increase their investment in the country.

Conoco senior vice president J. Michael Stinson said that his company, with interests in the West Natuna gas field in Riau, intended to join the bidding for 17 new oil and gas blocks offered by the government during the meeting.

Freeport chairman and chief executive officer James R. Moffet, said that the company had invested a total of $6 billion in its giant copper and gold mines in Irian Jaya alone and was prepared to invest more in Indonesia´s eastern-most province.

Both Stinson and Moffet, however, spoke about the importance of the Indonesian government having stable and predictable regulations.

They mentioned the complications involved in the implementation of the new autonomy law, tax regulations as well as labor laws and regulations.

"Indonesia will be one of the best places (for companies) to put money if you have a stable and predictable tax environment, law respecting human resources and workers. Then it will be conducive for foreign investment," said Stinson.

The government, Stinson added, had also to make sure that all bureaucratic processes were rational and if possible they be pooled under one roof to make it more convenient for investors to do business in the country.

"We have to have all those things. Otherwise, investors will be reluctant to come to the country," he remarked.

James R. Moffet also spoke about regional autonomy, especially the special autonomy bill for Irian Jaya currently being deliberated.

Moffet, nevertheless, expressed Freeport´s readiness to work under the planned special autonomy law, that would give much of the revenue from mineral exploitation to the province.

"The regional autonomy law is like other laws. We will work with it," Moffet said.

Meanwhile, Texaco Inc. chairman Glenn F. Tilton, who also attended the meeting with the President, brought up the importance of bringing uniformity in investment regulations that seemed to be negated by the autonomy law.

He suggested that the current drafting of the new investment bill focus on creating uniformity in investment, especially to deal with possible confusion in the implementation of the autonomy law.

"We appreciate the efforts of the Indonesian government to bring uniformity for investment opportunity in Indonesia ... We will avail of what Indonesia has to offer," Tilton said after the meeting.

ExxonMobil Oil Corp. executive vice president Harry J. Longwell highlighted the importance of security being guaranteed, especially in restive areas such as Aceh, its center of operations in Indonesia.

He noted that ExxonMobil suspended its operation for four months due to security reasons and it would take some time to resume full operations in Aceh.

"We have secured the operation at this time and we have an ongoing understanding that security is the responsibility of the government and they are handling it," Longwell said after meeting Megawati.

Speaking at the opening of the Houston Energy Dialog on Sunday, Megawati stressed once again the government´s commitment to protect foreign investment and at the same time underlined the importance of the need for companies to work with local people to improve their welfare.

Megawati invited oil and gas companies to invest in Indonesia, promising a more stable and conducive investment climate under her administration.

She noted that the House of Representatives had just passed the oil and gas bill into law, giving more room to private investors to play a greater role.

"I am not here to make empty promises. But I can assure you of my determination ... What I can promise you is very modest: Do come to Indonesia and we will warmly welcome you," she ended her speech.

(source : www.indonesian-observer.com)
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indoexchange

DPR Asked to Evaluate Tangguh Gas Price

2007-06-15T11:17:00.000+07:00

The House of representatives (DPR) has been asked to form a special team to investigate the liquefied natural gas (LNG) sales contract from Tangguh gas field in Papua.

The price of Tangguh gas overseas is regarded as cheaper compared to that of domestic gas sales.

Effendi Situmorang, an oil industry observer, said that the team was aimed at researching and probing the contract and sales price of Tangguh gas.

The special team, he said, comprises DPR members, government officials and the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK).

“The purpose of forming the team is to take responsibility as regards whether the 20-year gas sales contract will result in benefit or loss for the state,” he told Tempo yesterday (13/6).

According to Effendi, the Tangguh gas sales price, US$3.5 per mmBtu on average, is the lowest price in the history of Indonesia's LNG sales.

“LNG price from Tangguh is lower than gas price in domestic market, which is above US$4 per mmBtu on average,” said the former Pertamina's Director of Production Sharing Management (now the Upstream Oil and Gas Executing Body or BPH Migas).

He explained that now the State Electricity Company's (PLN) power plants buy gas at prices above US$4 per mmBtu on average.

Moreover, Tangguh gas sales price can cause price discrimination in LNG from Arun gas field in Aceh and Badak gas field in East Kalimantan.

“Up to now Japan buys LNG from Indonesia at between US$7 and US$8 per mmBtu on average,” said Effendi.

Purnomo Yusgiantoro, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister, disagreed that Tangguh gas sales price was too cheap.

His reason was that the US$3.5 per mmBtu price is the export price (free on board).

“When the goods reach the destination, the price can reach US$7 to US$9,” he told Nieke Indrietta from Tempo.

Purnomo went on to say that around 50 percent of Tangguh's LNG for Sempra is also transferred to other contract to gain a better price.

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source

Humpuss To Issue US$400 Million In Bonds

2007-06-15T11:16:00.000+07:00

PT Humpuss Intermoda Transportasi Tbk. plans to issue bonds worth US$400 million to purchase five ships this year. Earlier, this company that runs a sea transportation business planned to obtain a banking loan to fund its expansion.

Agus Darjanto, President Director of Humpuss Intermoda, said that based on analysis the company has carried out, it had been decided not to obtain a banking loan.

“If we borrow from banks, there is little ‘room to move,’ despite us needing a large amount,” he said after holding a press conference following Annual and Extraordinary General Meetings of Shareholders in Jakarta yesterday (13/6).

Agus said the bonds that will be issued comprise of senior debt amounting to US$350 million with eight year period and junior debt of US$50 million with five year period.

The funds will be the sources of the company's expenditure up until to 2010.

He went on to say that after purchasing the new ships, the company plans to continue securing the company's assets in order to look for new loans.

The funds, said Agus, will be used for refinancing all the company's debts, including bond obligations.
Humpuss has allocated US$159.6 million (around Rp1.4 trillion) to purchase five new ships.

According to Agus, the five ships consist of Panamax ships and chemical tank ships.

As regards Panamax, those we are aiming at are that like the ships of Malaysia, Thailand, Japan and Korea,” he said.
In terms of chemical tank ships, the targets are 13,000 dead weight tons (DWT) ships.

The purpose is to meet the international market segment.

Earlier, Sapto Basuki, Humpuss Intermoda's Corporate Secretary, said that some of the funds for purchasing will be gained from the sales of two oil tank ships whose contract terms have ended and are worth US$36 million (Rp316 billion).

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source

European Commission and Japan Grant US$15 Million for Bird Flu

2007-06-13T18:59:00.002+07:00

The European Union and the Japanese government have given grants amounting to US$10 million and US$5 million respectively for handling the bird flu virus in Indonesia.

The grants were announced during a meeting between the Indonesian government and the donor countries at the “ HPAI in Indonesia: Latest Situation and Future Steps to Control H5N1 Virus” as the theme, at the Gran Melia Hotel, Jakarta, today (13/6).

“The spread of bird flu virus in Indonesia is sporadic and doesn't show any certain pattern. The war against this virus must be applied in all directions, especially as regards animals as the source of infection,” said Bayu Krisnamurthi, Head of the National Team for Bird Flu Handling and Readiness to Face Pandemic Influenza (Komnas FBPI).

It is planned that the grants will be used for supporting activities such as vaccine quality, socialization of fowl vaccination, vaccination officer training, access to vaccine storage and vaccine procurement.

The grants will be divided, for the Agriculture Department US$9.56 million and the remainder for the Komnas FBPI for many activities.

The time to use the grants is between July, 2007 and July, 2009.

Many activities to handle bird flu on animals have been prepared.

However, Musny Suatmojo, Director of Animal Health at the Agriculture Department, refused to give the details.

“Now it's being discussed in the meeting. Tomorrow there'll be certainties as regards the activity details,” he said.

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source

Newmont's Lawsuit Against New York Times Postponed

2007-06-13T18:59:00.001+07:00

The panel of judges at the Central Jakarta District Court postponed the civil claim of PT Newmont Minahasa Raya's President Director, Richard Bruce Ness, against The New York Times newspaper, yesterday (11/6).

The reason is, during the trial headed by judge Heru Pramono, only Newmont's legal adviser, Arief Surowidjojo, was present. As from The New York Times, the side was absent. “The trial is adjouned for a week,” said Heru, closing the trial.

In the lawsuit, Ness regarded The New York Times as having contained the article that defamed his reputation and assassinated his character. The articles were written by the reporter Jane Perlez and were published three times: September 9, 2004; September 24, 2004 and October 7, 2004.

Ness, in his lawsuit, says that the news of The New York Times and several other media of its subsidiaries such as the International Herald Tribune and The Boston Globe, has caused Newmont to suffer loss as what was printed was not true.

The New York Times along with reporter Jane Perlez, contained articles with such headings as, “Spurred by Illness, Indonesians Lash Out at U.S. Mining Giant” on September 9, 2004 and “Gold Mining Company to Pay Indonesia $30 million” on February 17, 2006.

Ness wanted the recovery of his reputation and apology to be published as a first-page story in the newspapers and all media subsidiaries of The New York Times and www.nytimes.com website. He also asked The New York Times to pay immaterial compensation amounting to US$63.930 million.

Richard Bruce Ness was acquitted by the Manado District Court on April 26, 2007. As PT Newmont's President Director, Ness was found not guilty in environmental pollution in the Buyat Bay area.
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source

BI Rate Down by 25 Base Points

2007-06-08T12:27:00.001+07:00

At a meeting of the Bank Indonesia (BI) Governors Board on Thursday (7/6), it was decided to lower the BI rate once again, this time by 25 base points to 8.50 percent from the previous 8.75 percent.

Budi Mulya, BI's Director of Strategic Planning and Public Relations, said that the lowering of the BI rate was based on consideration of the prospects of this year's inflation target of six plus-minus one percent and next year's five plus-minus one percent.

“The decrease was also following our in depth study of the latest economic and financial developments,” he said in Jakarta.

He went on to say that in general, the economy will still continue with a more balanced pattern.

This is reflected in the economic growth target of 5.7 percent, higher than BI's initial projection.

In addition, the Rupiah exchange rate in May also strengthened from an average Rp9.093 against the US dollar in April to Rp8.838 against the US dollar in May, 2007.

“May's inflation was also still maintained.”

Core inflation was recorded at 5.62 percent year on year, the lowest rate in the last six years.

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source

Sarwono Awaits Constitutional Court's Decision

2007-06-08T12:26:00.001+07:00

Jakarta Gubernatorial candidate, Sarwono Kusumaatmadja, acknowledged he could not register as gubernatorial candidate because he was not supported by a political party.

“I can't register anymore,” said Sarwono after attending the material review trial of the Regional Governance Decree at the Constitutional Court, today (7/6).

Now he is waiting for the decision of the Constitutional Court which is still in the middle of its Regional Governance Decree judicial review.

“Because I chose the independent lane,” said Sarwono.

The former Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister acknowledged the experts' statement during the Regional Governance Decree judicial review that there should be an opportunity for independent candidates to become regional leaders.

“A non-party lane is in fact needed,” said Sarwono.
He then made an analogy of his candidacy as the Regional Representatives Assembly (DPD) member.

At that time Sarwono did not need to have support from any political party in order to become a DPD member.

“I was elected by the people without going through any political lane,” he said.

The Jakarta Governor Election entered the last day today for the registration of gubernatorial candidates and the deputies at the Regional Election Commission (KPUD) Jakarta.

However, so far there has not been any candidate pairing who have registered at the KPUD.

As already reported, the pair of Sarwono and Jeffry who was previously put forth by the National Mandate Party (PAN) and the National Awakening Party (PKB) have canceled their participation in the Jakarta Governor Election because they did not have 15 percent of the votes of the Provincial Legislative Council (DPRD).
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source

Former Rose Team Commander Wants Judicial Review of Human Rights Court Law

2007-06-07T16:31:00.001+07:00

Former “Rose Team” Commander, Major (retired) Bambang Kristiono, filed a proposal for s judicial review of the Human Rights Court Decree at the Constitutional Court, yesterday (5/6).

Bambang, via his attorney Mahendradatta, asked the Court to correct Article 43 Point 2 of the Decree No. 26/2006.

“Bambang is worried because the articles can lead him being scrutinized again by the ad hoc Human Rights Court,” said Mahendradatta at the Constitutional Court, yesterday.

Bambang is a former Army Infantry Major who was Battalion 42 Commander Group 4 of Special Force Command (Kopassus) and concurrently “Rose Team” commander.

“Rose Team”was the team involved in kidnapping and making activists disappear by force cases of in 1997-1998.

Bambang was sentenced to 20 months imprisonment by the Supreme Military Court in 2000 and was also dismissed from the Army because of the case.

Mahendratta said Article 43 Point 2 of the law states that the ad hoc Human Rights Court was formed based on the House of Representatives' (DPR) suggestion with the President's decision.

The article's explanation states that the ad hoc Human Rights Court was formed after the House deemed there had been a severe human rights violation during a certain event in a certain time and place prior to the Human Rights Decree being effective.

According to him Mahendratta in the activists kidnapping case, the Human Rights National Commission sent a letter to the House on December 27, 2006, and Bambang's name is in the letter.

The letter states that Bambang can be asked for statement as regards activists kidnapping cases.

“The nebis in idem principle may not be valid for our client,” said Mahendratta.

The trial began with preliminary questioning by the panel of judges led by judge H.A.S. Natabaya.

Constitutional judge Natabaya asked the applicant which constitutional right of him that was infringed due to the decree.

He asked the applicant to strengthen the legal standing of the judicial review.

“The constitutional loss suffered by the applicant is not clear,” he said.

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source

Tax Directorate General Oversees Indosat Tax Problem

2007-06-07T16:30:00.000+07:00

The Tax Directorate General has acknowledged that there has been a decrease in the tax deposits from PT Indosat Tbk.'s revenues during the last couple of years.

However, tax officials have not yet carried out an investigation as there are not any indications of tax manipulations by Indosat, in which Singapore Technologies (ST) Telemedia owns the majority shares.

“We've collected the dossiers but they are insufficient as there must be indications of (tax) manipulation,” said Darmin Nasution, Tax Director General, Jakarta yesterday (5/6).

Signals of the state's losses due to Indosat's tax income and dividend shortfalls amounting to around Rp323 billion were brought up by Dradjad H. Wibowo, a member of the House's Banking and Finance Commission.

According to him, the potential income tax losses are Rp196 billion, the potential loss of revenue from dividends Rp65 billion and the potential loss of income tax from dividends Rp62 billion.

The losses were due to Indosat's mismanagement in carrying out derivative transactions.

Darmin asked that Indosat's tax manipulation allegation not to be taken for granted as it must be proved first.

“It's really a loss or a manipulation. Those must be differed. If it's a loss, we (Tax Directorate Genera) can't do anything. But the Capital Market Supervisory Board (Bapepam) might,” he said.

Wong Heang Tuck, PT Indosat Tbk.'s Finance Director, stated he was ready to be checked by Bapepam regarding Indosat's loss and tax deposit potential loss due to derivative transactions.

However, he denied that the losses were because of mismanagement or foreign currency speculation activities.

“Moreover, derivative transactions are not against tax rules,” he said after the nnual General Shareholders' Meeting (AGM) in Jakarta yesterday.

According to him, Indosat's derivative transactions were included in the financial statement submitted to Bapepam and the United States Security and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Indosat will continue carrying out derivative transactions until the end of Indosat's Dollar bonds I and II issuing terms.

“Indosat has the obligation of hedging at least 50 percent of the total long-term debt obligation.”

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source

Government Prepares CPO Export Duty Increase

2007-06-06T15:29:00.002+07:00

The government will monitor the development of cooking oil price before increasing the export duty on crude palm oil (CPO) export duty.

CPO and cooking oil producers are regarded as not yet having been optimum in terms of market operations.

“If (the ideal cooking oil price) isn't reached, we'll certainly implement (the export duty increase0” said Boediono, Coordinating Minister for the Economy, in Jakarta yesterday (5/6).

Earlier, the government had threatened that it would the raise export duty, which has been 1.5 percent up until now.

This is stated in an agreement between the government and producers that if by June 1, 2007, cooking oil prices have not reached an ideal price of between Rp6,500 and Rp6,800 per kilogram.

However, the price stabilization program, which has been carried out since March, has not yet been successful in decreasing cooking oil prices.

Currently, cooking oil prices are still between Rp8,000 and Rp9,000 per kilogram.

The government planned to implement the domestic market obligation (DMO) policy if cooking oil prices remain high.

According to Boediono, CPO producers are not yet optimum in carrying out market operations (procuring the product in markets).

This is seen from the high CPO export volume, uncontrolled domestic supply and high cooking oil prices.
“Due to increasing CPO prices abroad, we want the players in the business to hold more effective market operations,” he said.

CPO producers circle stated they are ready to procure 150,000 tons for cooking oil price stabilization program this June.

“We're ready to procure 150,000 tons. All producers are committed that the price stabilization program in June will lower prices,” said Akmaludin Hasibuan, General Chairman of the Indonesian Palm Oil Businesspeople Association, when contacted in Jakarta yesterday.

Benny Wahyudi, Director General of Agriculture and Chemical at the Industry Department, said the government will increase export duty and implement DMO policy in July, after the price stabilization program evaluation in June.

Unsuccessful price stabilization program in May was because a lot of suppliers didn't fulfill the procurement commitment,” he said.

Out of the commitment to procure 97,000 tons of CPO, around 35,000 tons had not been realized.

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source

Foreign Languages on Radio to be Regulated

2007-06-06T15:29:00.001+07:00

The Indonesian Broadcasting Commission (KPI) will regulate the use of foreign languages in radio programs.

This is because up to now no such regulation has yet been made.

Currently, the government only regulates the use of foreign languages on television.

M. Izzul Muslimin, a KPI member, said that there were possibilities that the use of foreign languages in radio programs will be the same as for television, that is 30 percent.

“However, perhaps there will be special criteria for radio stations that broadcast programs in foreign languages, for instance Indonesian radio programs specially broadcasted,” said Izzul yesterday (5/6).

It is expected that the regulation will be completed soon and that it does not deviate from the material in the Broadcasting Decree.

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source

Entrepreneurs Push for Fuel Oil Tax to be Abolished

2007-06-05T09:30:00.003+07:00

Industry players hope that the government is serious in responding the proposal to abolish the industry fuel oil value-added tax (VAT) of 10 percent per liter.

The proposal for the fuel oil tax abolition was in response to the possibility of fuel oil price hikes in line with the increase of the Mid Oil Platts Singapore (MOPS) rate.

“Fuel oil price hikes would clearly put pressure on the industry's position. Therefore, we need policy alternatives to help smoothen the industry's cash flow,” said Thomas Darmawan, Head of Food and Beverages Businesspeople Association Chairman, yesterday (3/6).
On June 1, 2007 Pertamina increased fuel prices.

Diesel is up five percent from the previous level of Rp5.522 per liter to Rp5.797 per liter.

Pertamina increased the price in accordance to the price standard in Singapore of between 2.9 and 12.0 percent compared to the previous period.

The abolition of industry fuel oil tax, said Thomas, would not lower the state's revenues.

The reason for this is that 10 percent VAT will be imposed on ready-goods products.

“With production being smoother, the amount of production goods and the government's VAT will also increase,” said Thomas.

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New Economic Policy Package Being Prepared

2007-06-05T09:30:00.001+07:00

The government will cut the time it takes to issue a business license to 30 days from the previous 197 days.

This decision is one of the policies included in a new economic package that will be launched in a few days’ time.

This package is a development of the economic package that was issued last year.

Boediono, Coordinating Minister for the Economy, explained there are four important points in the package.

These are: investment climate improvement, infrastructure development, financial sector repair and small- and medium-scale enterprise (SME) development.

“In terms of investment climate, there is a reduction in the time involved in processing business licenses,” said Boediono during the Investor Forum II in Jakarta yesterday (30/5).

The Gadjah Mada University (UGM) Economy Faculty Professor emphasized that this economic package was better compared to the previous one, especially in terms of regulations, license processing and taxes.

Financial and non-bank sectors, such as capital market and insurance, will also be improved.

Unlike the previous package, the new one will also discuss SMEs.

M. Ikhsan, a special member of staff of the Coordinating Minister for the Economy, said that previously SME development was discussed in separate package.

However, this time the government will discuss it in one package.

M. S. Hidayat, Head of the Indonesian Chamber of Trade and Industry (Kadin), said he hoped that the new economic package would be more concrete and could be realistically implemented.

“If the government has issued policies, it must be ready to realize them,” Hidayat when contacted by Tempo yesterday.

He also he hoped that the economic package was not like the previous one, which was only a concept.

On the occasion, Boediono also focused on the flow of funds in the capital market.

According to him, flow of funds in the capital market must not always be separated from the real sector.

He cited the State Debt Securities (SUN) and Bank Indonesia Certificate (SBI) trade transactions.

Funds withdrawn by the government from these bonds trades were used for infrastructure development.

Boediono also said there was no need to worry about the capital market's fund flow reversal trend.

The reason for this was because Indonesia's current economic system was already more prepared compared to the time of the economic crisis in 1997.

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Crude Palm Oil Policy to be Effective from June 1

2007-05-30T16:33:00.003+07:00

Crude palm oil (CPO) producers are to be obligated to set aside some of their products for domestic needs.

The domestic market obligation (DPO) policy will come into effect as from June 1, 2007.

“The DPO implementation is a mandate of the State Decree on Plantations,” said Anton Apriyantono, Agriculture Minister, after accepting bird flu vaccine aid from Chinese government at the Agriculture Department building, Jakarta, yesterday (29/5).

“(The implementation provision) is the Agriculture Minister Decision for a start,” he said

Anton explained that for the time being, the DMO policy was being implemented in order to fulfil domestic cooking oil needs because cooking oil is one of the nine staple household goods.

Therefore, CPO stocks are prioritized for domestic needs.

“It's unfortunate (for producers) if the price abroad is high, but we limit it here,” said Anton.

On the other side, in order to secure domestic stocks, the government cannot determine the price.

“We still leave the price to the market mechanism,” said Anton.

Regarding the CPO quota per producer, he went on to say it will be determined later with the Industry and Trade Departments.

“It can't be set by us alone,” said Anton

What is certain is the minimum limit being calculated based on the company's tax payment and amount shipped abroad.

Anton said that the DMO policy is effective even for companies associated with Malaysia.

Fahmi Idris, the Industry Minister, instead stated that the DMO policy for fulfilling domestic palm oil need will be effective by the end of the month.

He explained domestic CPO needs reach 4.5 million tons per year.

“So the obligation (DMO) amount is between 4.5 million to 5 million tons per year,” he said, on Monday (28/5) at the Vice President's office, Jakarta.

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Prosecutor Rejects Australian Expert Witness’ Statement

2007-05-30T16:33:00.001+07:00

The public prosecutor in the review trial of the illegal drugs case involving Australian citizens--Tan Duc Tan Nguyen, Si Yi Chen and Matthew James Norman—has rejected an expert witness from Australia.

According to prosecutor Olopan Nainggolan at the Denpasar District Court, yesterday (29/5), the statement of Professor James R.P. Ogloff from Monash University was considered not to be relevant with the trial materials.

In his statement, Oglof said that during the last 30 years the number of countries which still implement death penalty continues to decrease.

The prosecutor also objected to the statement because the permit from the Australian Justice Minister for Ogloff was only sent by e-mail the print-out of which was not submitted during the trial.

The convicts' lawyer, Erwin Siregar, stated he brought a copy of Australian Supreme Court's statement that explained about Ogloff's whereabouts.

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MoU Must be Reviewed, Indonesian Workers in Malaysia Suffering Losses

2007-05-29T10:17:00.001+07:00

A number of Indonesian migrant workers activists have asked the government to review the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Malaysia signed in Bali in 2006.

The agreement is regarded as being detrimental to Indonesian citizens working as migrant labors.

Miftah, Chairperson of the Indonesian Migrant Workers Association, said that under the MoU, employers were allowed to seize employees’ passports.

This was despite passports being individual identities which cannot be held by anybody except police and immigration officers.

“But the government easily gives permission that passport is submitted to employers or agents in Malaysia,” Miftah told Tempo yesterday (27/5).

The policy that allows employers to hold passports, said Miftah, actually triggered the large number of trafficking cases.

It is not surprising therefore that the rights of Indonesian workers in that country are often violated.

For example, torture, unpaid salary, prohibition to marry at work place and impediments to meet family members.

“All are human rights violations,” said Miftah.
Anis Hidayah, Executive Director of Migrant Care, questioned the deportation policy carried out by Malaysia.

According to Anis, a lot of Indonesian workers are to be deported due to the wrong recruitment system in Indonesia.

“Indonesia should have been able to struggle to remove the deportation option, and fight for legalization. The documents are legalized because the laborers there actually already have jobs.”

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Tangguh Field's Gas for America Can Be Transferred to Other Buyer

2007-05-29T10:16:00.000+07:00

The sales of some liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Tangguh gas field, Papua, to Sempra, United States, can be transferred to another buyer.

The transfer will be carried out if the LNG sales price is higher than that of Sempra’s.

Eddy Purwanto, Deputy of Marketing and Finance at the Upstream Oil and Natural Gas Business Executing Body, emphasized that the gas transfer from Sempra can be done to any other buyer.

“As long as the sales price is better than Sempra’s,” he told Tempo last weekend.

Based on information received by Tempo, gas sold to Sempra will be transferred to a buyer from Japan.
The reason is, Sempra's LNG facility was built quicker than first planned, in mid 2008.

Sempra signed Tangguh's 20 year gas purchase contract for a volume of 3.7 million tons at the price of US$5.94 per mmBtu.

Eddy went on to say, that the transfer of gas that was bought by Sempra to another buyer has compensations.

“Sempra will obtain certain compensations,” he said.

However, when asked whether the compensation was a penalty that the government must pay, Eddy did not give any answer.

Kurtubi, an oil and gas observer, said that the Tangguh gas sales price, which is under the average gas sales price from Badak refinery in East Kalimantan, will not result in any revenues for the state.

This is because, he said, with investment totaling US$6.5 million and the revenues totaling only US$8.5 billion for 25 years, all revenues are only sufficient to cover the investment costs.

“So what does the state obtain?” he said to Tempo.

Currently, the gas sales contract amounts to 2.6 million tons to Fujian, China for 25 years, with an average price of US$3.35 per mmBtu.

The contract with SK Power Korea amounts to 0.55 million tons for 20 years with US$3.5 per mmBtu sales price.

The contract with Posco Korea 0.55 million tons for 20 years with US$3.36 per mmBtu sales price and Sempra (West Coast, US) 3.7 million tons for 20 years with US$5.94 per mmBtu sales price.

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World Health Assembly Grants Indonesia's Demand

2007-05-25T13:05:00.001+07:00

The World Health Assembly, during the 60th meeting in Geneva, Swiss, granted Indonesia's request for a more transparent mechanism as regards sending bird flu virus samples.

Because of this, developed countries will no longer be able to take advantage of poor countries attacked by bird flu.

“The resolution will bind all members of the World Health Organization (WHO),” wrote I Nyoman Kandun, Director General of Disease Control and Environmental Improvement at the Health Department, in a short message to Tempo yesterday (23/5).

Earlier, Indonesia refused to send H5N1 virus samples to the WHO's collaboration laboratory.

The reason for this is the virus, that must be given freely by infected countries, will later be used for research, including for producing bird flu vaccines.

The problem is, the vaccine made by developed countries will then be sold at an expensive price to the infected countries.

“Bird flu virus is provided free from developing countries, but medicinal companies take on a patent on the vaccines and sell it at an expensive price,” said Health Minister Siti Fadilah Supari.

According to Kandun, in the future the resolution will be followed up with cooperation among governments and among divisions.

The cooperation is aimed at revising the term of reference and documents on virus shipping.

“Virus shipping must be done transparently, responsibly and beneficially for all sides in maintaining the world's health,” he said.

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Supreme Court Annuls Mystic Programs Provision

2007-05-25T13:04:00.001+07:00

The Supreme Court has passed the judicial review proposed by the Association of Indonesian Private Television Stations (ATVSI) against the Indonesian Broadcasting Commission's (KPI) decision on the broadcasting performance guide and broadcasting program standard.

KPI must revoke the provisions, including mystic and pornographic television programs.

ATVSI Chairperson Karni Ilyas acknowledged having received the Supreme Court's decision recently.

“It was already sent to the Association's office this afternoon (yesterday). It was only the summary, the details will follow,” she said when contacted by Tempo yesterday (23/5).

In the decision, the Supreme Court gives three month time for KPI to revoke the letter no. 009/SK/KPI/8/2004.

If within three months the letter is not revoked, the provision will not have any legal force.

According to Karni, actually from the aspect of content, the association agrees with KPI provision.

“We agree that programs with mystic and porn nuance must in fact be limited,” he said.

According to him, the association's claim is more because KPI made the provision earlier than the government.

“In addition, KPI regulates the sanctions. Through the sanction is already regulated in the Broadcasting Decree,” he said.

In article 57 of the decision, for example, factual programs with occult, paranormal and black magic themes may only be broadcasted between 10pm and 3am.

The sanctions stated in article 77 are the forms of written notice, program temporary halt, duration
limitation, fines, freezing television program, turning down license extension up to television station's license revocation.

These sanctions are what the association considered as too heavy.

KPI acknowledged it will study the Supreme Court's decision.

According to KPI member, Don Bosco Selamun, the provision they made for all television stations including TVRI (state-owned television station), is normal.

“Because KPI is given the job in the Broadcasting Decree to protect the society from violence, pornography, sadism and mysticism,” he said.

According to Don Bosco, this KPI provision is different from ATVSI's code of ethics.

“ATVSI's code of ethics are valid for the internal, KPI's decision is general,” he said.
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Indonesia: Market for China's Export Product Remainders

2007-05-24T12:21:00.000+07:00

Indonesian domestic product industries are losing the competition against China's imported goods in the domestic market.

The goods from China which enter Indonesia are export remainders.

Cyrillus Harinowo, BCA's Independent Commissioner, said most of China's goods in Indonesia are export goods remainders.

“So the prices are much cheaper,” he said during the “Dragons at Your Door: China's Position in the World Trade Course and How Indonesian Entrepreneurs Response China's Excellence” discussion yesterday (21/5).

Almost all of Chinese exports to Indonesia are export product remainders sold at a very low price.

It is estimated that Chinese products that enter Indonesia amount to 10 percent of China's total exports.

Cyrillus asked that domestic producers make goods which can compete with China-made products.

This is because tariff and non-tariff impediments for restraining the export goods remainders are also not effective.

“It's difficult to face such goods,” said Cyrillus.
Imposing a 100 percent import duty, he said, would not influence the abundance of Chinese products.

The reason for this is that Chinese products will still be cheaper than the normal prices on the international market.

Cyrillus suggested that producers group together to produce medium quality products in order to face the invasion of Chinese products.

This is because Indonesia can export more natural resources products especially energy source and agriculture products that China does not have.

The University of Indonesia's Chinese Study Center Head, Ignasius Wibowo, said that productivity of workers in China is very high, so China can produce cheap products.

“No bureaucracy impediments and production costs are much cheaper. China has managed to build industrial centers,” he said.

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World Bank Supports Freedom of Information Bill

2007-05-24T12:19:00.000+07:00

The public being ably to access easily information from governmental institutions is considered as one of the important factors in advancing corruption eradication.
This was conveyed by World Bank communication officer, Ahmad Sukarsono.

“Indonesia already has good instruments for corruption eradication, but without public open access, i believe corruption eradication will be more difficult,” said Ahmad during the Workshop of Access to Obtain Information and Good Governance in Indonesia at Le Meridien Hotel, Jakarta, Tuesday (22/5).

According to Ahmad, the Freedom to Obtain Public Information (KMIP) Bill which is being discussed by the House of Representatives (DPR) will be the oxygen for corruption cases in Indonesia.

World Bank as a financial organization which often provides loans, supports this KMIP Bill being passed.

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Medicine Prices in Indonesia Extremely High

2007-05-23T10:21:00.001+07:00

The public buys medicine with a price that is actually higher than the standard price. This fact is rarely realized because the medicines are needed and the consumers are not given an option to use other medicines.

“Patients are often deceived,” said the Head of Indonesian Health Consumers Empowerment Foundation, Marius Widjajarta, in Jakarta yesterday (21/5).

According to Marius, the foundation he is leading has carried out a survey in 25 hospitals in Indonesia. The result is the costs expended by patients for medical devices and medicines reach 60 to 70 percent of the total cost. “This isn't natural. Patients should only spend 30 percent of the total cost for buying medicines,” he said.

Marius assumed that the ruse against patients is practiced by pharmaceutical companies and doctors who give the prescription. Pharmaceutical companies set a high price for medicines they produce. “The difference can be 200 percent of the generic medicines price,” he said.

It is very rare that patients refuse a prescription given by a doctor. In the meantime, doctors have a motive that patients buy the medicines they recommend. “Pharmaceutical companies give commissions to doctors. The commission is a reward as the doctors prescribe the medicines they produce,” said Marius.

This sham actually does not have to happen if the government's role in monitoring the labeling of medicines runs well. The government must also issue a regulation to determine the price of branded medicines.

Director General of Pharmaceutical Service and Medical Device Improvement at the Health Department, Richard Panjaitan, said that the government does not have the authority to determine the prices of branded medicines.

The government is only authorized to determine the prices of generic medicines to be consumed by the public. “For determining medicine’s price, a law is necessary. Now the draft is being composed by us,” he said.

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AGO Reopens BPPC Case

2007-05-23T10:20:00.000+07:00

The Attorney General's Office (AGO) will once again investigate the alleged corruption of the Coordination Body and Clove Marketing (BPPC) which involved Hutomo Mandala Putra a.k.a. Tommy Suharto. The investigation is the AGO's priority as it is considered as the case with the fastest verification process compared to the other Tommy's cases.

“The order to begin investigation was issued on May 7,” said Director of Criminal Act Investigation, Muhammad Salim, yesterday (21/5).

Salim explained that the indications of corruption in the BPPC case are strong. He said these include the requirement that BPPC did not carry out as regulated by the Presidential Instruction No. 1/1992. However, he did not explain it further.

Salim also stressed he will examine all sides related to BPPC, including the former Main Village Unit Cooperative Chairman, Nurdin Khalid. The AGO team, he said, is formulating the role of the main cooperative chairman.

AGO's Civil Director, Yoseph Suardi Sabda, said the alleged corruption in BPPC can be made as a means of disbursing Tommy Suharto's money in Banque Nationale de Paris (BNP) Paribas of the Guernsey branch by the Indonesian government. If the investigation states Tommy's money must be seized, Yoseph believes that the money in Guernsey can be used to pay the compensation. The disbursement can be done through the civil and criminal procedure.

Tommy's lawyer, O.C. Kaligis, is of the opinion that AGO's measure is only a manipulation and seems to be forced. “The main purpose is only the verification of the Guernsey trial,” said Kaligis when contacted by Tempo.

A member of the Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW) working body, Adnan Topan, is optimistic about the AGO's scenario. “The case hasn't expired. AGO can even name Tommy as a suspect,” he said.

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“England Must Oversee Origins of Oil Palm”

2007-05-21T17:00:00.000+07:00

England, as the biggest palm oil importer in the world after the Netherlands, must set up tight regulations on the origins of palm oil, which is to be a bio-fuel base commodity. This is because the development of a palm oil estate is closely related to deforestation and the orangutan slaughtering.

“We hope that the palm oil plantation will not destroy forests or habitats,” said Director of the Centre for Orangutan Protection (COP), Hardi Baktiantoro, during a rally in front of the British Embassy, Wednesday (16/5). In the rally, four COP activists wore the uniform of plantation officers and carried orangutan puppets, also fuel jerry cans.

Throughout 2006, said Hardi, the rescue team from the Forestry Department and the Nyarumenteng Orangutan Reintroduction Center, Central Kalimantan, managed to save 368 orangutans from a number of palm oil plantations. The plantation workers generally consider orangutans as pests as they eat palm oil leaves. They also chase orangutans from palm oil plantations. As a result, orangutans lose its habitats, water and food sources.

“This cruelty is a violation against the Decree No. 5/1990 on Natural Resources and Ecosystem Conservation. The perpetrators could face five year imprisonment or Rp100 million fine,” he said.

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Producers Lower CPO Sales Price

2007-05-18T08:38:00.000+07:00

The producers of crude palm oil (CPO) lowered the sales price at the factory level to Rp6,100 per kilogram starting yesterday (14/5). On Friday (11/5), the CPO sales price was Rp6,500 per kilogram.

By the decrease of the CPO sales price at factory level, it is expected that the price of cooking oil can decline to between Rp6,500 and Rp6,800 per kilogram, as expected by the government. The national average retail price of cooking oil is still Rp7,900 per kilogram.

This was an agreement between the government and CPO and cooking oil producers during the cooking oil price evaluation meeting at the Trade Department yesterday.

In the agreement in early May with the producers, the Trade Department threatened it will impose sanctions in the form of a hike in CPO export levies if producers could not lower the cooking oil price to Rp6,500-Rp6,800 on June 1.

Industry Minister, Fahmi Idris, said that producers were ready to supply between 100,000 and 150,000 tons of CPO to Java and outside Java. “As much as 80 percent goes to Java,” said Fahmi after the meeting.

Director General of Agriculture Products Marketing and Processing at the Agriculture Department, Djoko Said Damardjati, said yesterday that producers who are not in the Indonesian Palm Oil Entrepreneurs Association were also willing to provide 10,000 tons of additional CPO, which only awaits the approval of company leaders in Malaysia.

The price of cooking oil up to last weekend in several regions was still high.

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Some State Officials Do Not Pay Tax

2007-05-18T08:37:00.000+07:00

The Tax Directorate General revealed several names of state officials who have not paid tax or submitted the Yearly Information (SPT) of Tax. “They also don't have a personal tax number (NPWP),” Tax Director General Darmin Nasution told reporters in Jakarta, yesterday (14/5).

Although he has pocketed the names, he refused to explain the identities of state officials who did not pay tax. He was also reluctant to give the details of institutions or departments of the officials who did not report their tax obligation by the Tax SPT because he will first report the cases to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Regarding the names of civil officials of echelon IV up to I who neither have NPWP nor submitted Tax SPT, they will be reported to the respective ministry or state institutions. “This is a part of tax intensification to optimize the state revenue,” he said.

A House member, Andi Rahmat, said that the signals of state officials not paying tax have already been there a long time and this could happen. However, there is a possibility that the officials did not intend to break the law or avoid the obligation to pay tax.

The State officials generally have NPWPs. The problem is, he said, they are not accustomd to filling out Tax SPT. “Perhaps many ministers don't know how to fill out Tax SPT,” he said while mentioning that he already filled out his Tax SPT.

Therefore, he said that the Tax Directorate General must intensify the campaign of self assessment of tax much more. “Everybody must have an NPWP, especially those whose income exceeds the income that is tax-free,” he said.

He was sorry that Indonesia does not have a solid system yet like European countries which already implemented NPWP ownership. “In Europe, even people who want to make a call must show his or her NPWP, so they comply with the tax system,” he said.

He still supports the publication of the tax embezzlers. “The Tax Directorate General's findings must be revealed soon so that people feel the obligation to pay tax.”

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Tax Officials to Hunt Down Sukanto Tanoto

2007-05-18T08:36:00.000+07:00

The Tax Directorate General at the Finance Department will concentrate on hunting down the main players in the Asian Agri Group tax embezzlement case, including the company's owner Sukanto Tanoto and the other shareholders.

Mochamad Tjiptardjo, Director of Tax Intelligence and Investigation at the Finance Department's Tax Directorate General, did not deny the possibility that the Asian Agri's owner could be legally charged.

”If there is proof, then why not? This is already classified as a criminal case,” said Tjiptardjo in Jakarta yesterday (15/5).

“The numbers of the suspects and the amount of the state's losses may increase,” he said

When asked the same question, whether or not the Tax Directorate General would also hunt down Sukanto Tanoto, on a separate occasion, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said, “We'll see how the Tax Directorate General handles the case. But clearly, the government will chase after payment of all the tax debts plus the fines.”

On Monday (14/5), the Tax Directorate General already stated that five Asian Agri Group directors were suspects of tax embezzlement. The five persons' initials are LA, WT, ST, TNK and AN.

Asian Agri is the second biggest holding company in the Grup Raja Garuda Mas – a company owned by Sukanto Tanoto, Indonesia's richest person in 2006 according to Forbes magazine.

According to Tjiptardjo, 18 members of the Tax Directorate General investigation team are working domestically and abroad to search for new findings in the case.

The legal base being used to charge the embezzlers, including those who asked for the manipulation to be carried out, he said, was Decree No. 16/2000 on Tax General Provisions and Procedures.

So far, according to him, the case development was only as far as the involvement of the five Asian Agri directors.

Signs regard new suspects have not yet been reached at this level of the investigation.

It is so far estimated that the state's losses amount to Rp786.3 billion, or around 30 percent from the total funds marked-up by the company which reached Rp2.62 trillion, but this amount could rise.

According to M. Salim, Director of the Attorney General's Office Investigators, the AGO is still analyzing public complaints about Asian Agri’s alleged corruption and tax embezzlement practices.

“We just received the reports last week,” said Salim.
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Asia Worries Economic Crisis is Returning

2007-05-12T08:42:00.000+07:00

All finance ministers in Asia are concerned over the monetary crisis recurring in this region because recently economic conditions were similar to those before the crisis in 1997. The main indicator is a large-scale capital inflow from the world is entering the Asian region.

According to Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati this was disclosed during the fortieth Asian Development Bank Annual Meeting in Kyoto on 4-8 May. During the meeting, the matter under discussion was the Asian market 10 years after the crisis and how Asia's future is.

The phenomenon, she said, was seen from the high capital inflow to the Asian region due to the abundant funds of the global market. Several countries are experiencing pressure of the capital inflow so the currencies are strengthening sharply such as Thailand’s and India’s.

“Thailand's Baht and India's Rupee are experiencing a very sharp appreciation despite the fact they are both major countries,” said Sri Mulyani in Jakarta yesterday. According to Sri Mulyani, Indonesia must learn from the crisis experience 10 years ago.

Head of the Fiscal Policy Agency, Anggito Abimanyu, said although there is such a risk, the potential of a crisis occuring now is different than in 1996. In that year, the crisis occurred because after the capital inflow, there was capital outflow from Indonesia on a large scale.

“The difference is, now there is no information that isn't monitored by the government,” Anggito emphasized.
Standard Chartered Bank's economist, Fauzi Ichsan, is of the opinion that the concern over the second monetary crisis in Indonesia need no response. The reason is the main indicator that is able to produce such condition is not happening now. “The foreign exchange reserves are already above the amount of hot money in circulation, either at Bank Indonesia Certificate (SBI) or other bond institutions,” Fauzi told Tempo. Hot money is a term for money being invested for the short term in Indonesia.

Prior to the first monetary crisis, according to him, Indonesia's foreign reserves was below the hot money amount. Currently, the foreign exchange reserves is already around US$50 billion, or below the hot money that amounts to below US$50 billion.
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11 Japan Loan Bank Projects Delayed

2007-05-11T13:53:00.000+07:00

The National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) has discovered that the realization of 11 infrastructure projects funded with loans from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation has been delayed.

“The delayed projects belong to the Public Works Department, the Transportation Department, Cipta Karya and Bina Marga,” Benedictus Benny Setiawan, Director of Development Funding Monitoring and Evaluation told Tempo at his office, Jakarta, yesterday (9/5).

Benny explained that the projects were delayed because of land acquisition and project procurement.

Four projects were delayed because of land acquisition problem, Batanghari Irrigation; North Java Corridor Flyover, Tanjung Priok Access Road and Double Double-Track.

The projects which were delayed by procurement are Lower Solo River Improvement, Komering Irrigation Project, PTSL for Water Resources Development and the Railway Electrification and Double Double-Track.

The projects' procurement was hampered due to land acquisition.

The Dumai Port project was delayed by the Indonesian Military (TNI) Navy’s quay demolition.

The problem was settled in the end of 2006, but the process must be accelerated because it is likely to not to be completed on schedule.

The Maritime Education and Training Improvement project is also not in accordance with schedule due to design alterations.

The constraints resulted in the absorption of loans being low.

Benny said that not all of the loans from the Japan Bank were absorbed.

The US$5.95 billion in loans from the Japan Bank is equivalent to 40.8 percent of the total foreign loans for infrastructure projects.

Funds from Japan Bank are allocated for 51 projects.
The delay in projects and fund absorption did not make the government pay commitment fee to Japan Bank.

However, infrastructure facilities cannot be enjoyed soon by the general public and economic costs have occurred.
“Roads were ruined due to high transportation cost,s so goods' prices are also high,” said Benny.
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Minimum 10 Percent Investment Growth Required

2007-05-10T08:12:00.000+07:00

The government needs investment growth to be 10 percent in order to catch up with the targeted non-oil and gas export growth of 14.5 percent.

Last year, investment growth was only three percent.
Mari Elka Pangestu, Trade Minister, said that investment growth was required in order to increase export growth.

“This year investment growth must be 10 percent, up from last year's three percent,” she said, on Monday (7/5).

She went on to say that the competitiveness of export products in the world market no longer faces the matter of lowest production cost anymore.

“But how to deliver goods quickly and at a low distribution cost,” said Mari.

In order to support investment and export growth, she said the government will prioritize the state budget for building infrastructure.

“Inefficient transportation and logistics are problems that must be solved,” she said Mari.

Muhammad S. Hidayat, Chairman if the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin), acknowledged he was pessimistic about the target set by the government last week.

At that time, the Coordinating Minister for the Economy said that investment amounting to Rp1,180 trillion was needed to reach the economic growth target of 6.8 percent by 2008.

It is expected that most of the investment will come from the private sector because the government can only provide around Rp141 trillion.

“With such target, we can no longer do business as usual. The government must do concrete policies in order to improve investment climate,” Hidayat told Tempo.

According to him, without concrete policies, such as government regulations, presidential regulations,
ministerial regulations or other regulations which separate the authority between central and regional governments, the investment target will not be met.

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Banks Compelled to Implement International Standard Financial Statement

2007-05-09T17:01:00.000+07:00

Bank Indonesia (BI) will oblige banks to implement the International Financial Reporting Standards/IFRC) by 2010. The implementation of this international-scale international financial reporting standard will be carried out gradually starting next year. “The implementation is gradual, but in 2010 all banks must utilize it,” said Deputy BI Governor Siti Fadrijah in Jakarta yesterday (7/5).

The standard international financial statement are the accounting and reporting standards which are valid internationally. The financial standard accounting statement used by the Indonesian Accountants Association (IAI) is also based on the international provision.

The implementation of the standard international financial statement will influence the evaluation of companies’ or banks’ assets and liability. This affects both profit and loss. If the net difference is negative, the profit decreases automatically. Thus, he said, Bank Indonesia will analyze any concepts or components which will be included in the international standard financial statement analysis.

According to him, BI and IAI are also analyzing accounting standards which are to be included in the international financial statement component. “This (IFRS implementation) must be analyzed carefully so that it doesn't cause an upheaval.”

PT Bank Mandiri 's Director, Pahala N. Mansyuri, said that consistent IFRS implementation will benefit banks in the long term.

However, he is of the opinion that IFRS will face impediments if the international accounting standard component (IAS) 39 is included.

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tempo

Court Concedes that Suciwati Wins

2007-05-07T11:47:00.001+07:00

The Central Jakarta District Court granted some of the civil claims proposed by Suciwati, the widow of late Munir yesterday (3/5), against PT Garuda Indonesia. The judges' panel led by Andriani Nurdin, stated that the accused, PT Garuda Indonesia as the accused 1; former Garuda Managing Director Indra Setiawan (the accused 2) and Captain Pilot Pantun Matondang (the accused 9), have committed actions against the law.

Judge Andriani stated that the accused are guilty for being negligent about the cause of human rights activist Munir's death, , on September 2004 on the GA-974 flight from Jakarta to Amsterdam. According to the judge, when passengers are under emergency measures, pilots should consult doctors or nurses or senior flight attendant to cancel the flight and land at the nearest airport.

The judges' panel used Article 17 of the Warsaw Convention on international flights as consideration in deciding. The Article states that international flights should obey the Convention.

The judges’ panel also used Decree No. 15/1992 on Flights, which regulates the definition of an accident. According to an expert's statement during the trial, murder is not categorized as an accident so Garuda was thought to take responsibility.

However, the judges' panel widened the definition of an accident and regarded the event of Munir's death as an accident. “The principle of absolute responsibility was effective. Garuda must be responsible,” said the judge. The death of Munir, according to the judge, showed that Garuda violated the principles of caution and prudence.

In addition to being found to have broken the law, the judges also obliged Garuda and the other accused to pay compensation jointly amounting to Rp664,209,900.

In response to the verdict, Suciwati said the judges missed an important matter in the prosecution, that Garuda should have carried out an internal investigation into abuse and irregularity. “It's a form of responsibility to the public,” she said.

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tempo

Government Delays Importing Rice

2007-05-04T08:29:00.000+07:00

The government has decided to delay the second phase of 500,000 rice imports as it is now near the grand harvest.

“It is delayed until the end of June, 2007,” said Bayu Krisnamurthi, Deputy Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Agriculture and Maritime Affairs Division, after attending the rice coordination meeting in Jakarta yesterday (2/5).

He explained that the government's plan to import rice will not change.

During the planting season 2006-2007, the government decided to import 1.5 million tons of rice.

The first phase of rice imports amounting to 500,000 tons was realized between last February and March.
The second phase is delayed and the plan for the third phase of another 500,000 tons is only optional.

This means the import will be carried out only if the Indonesia government needs it.

In addition, the government's decision whether or not to take the remaining rice (outstanding) depends on the national rice procurement and domestic price progress.

What is clear, is thato far the government has not decided to take the third rice import phase.

“The outstanding import (500,000 tons), hopefully, would not necessarily be realized,” said the man who was sometimes called Yayok.

According to him, the government will continue monitoring the progress until this June.

Based on the prognosis, the farmers' rice can be absorbed by the government until May or June.

The State Logistic Company (Bulog) can already absorb the farmers' rice 400,000 tons of the 900,000 tons target until May.

“We will catch up the remaining between May and June,” he said.

Mustafa Abubakar, Bulog Managing Director, said up to April, of the one million tons of the first and second phase import plan, 520,000 tons have been realized.

“We'll see the progress after May. In June, we'll see the domestic absorption number,” he said in Jakarta yesterday.

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tempo

Hilton Hotel Case: Seven Years’ Imprisonment Demanded for Pontjo and Ali Mazi

2007-05-03T11:46:00.000+07:00

The public prosecutors, led by Ali Mukartono, are demanding that the defendants Pontjo Wutowo and Ali Mazi in the Hilton Hotel case each receive seven years in prison.

The prosecutors viewed that the former President Director of PT Indobuildco – Hilton Hotel's management – and former Indobuildco's legal advisor were found to have committed corruption in the case of Hiton's building rights extension.

“The two defendants enriched themselves or the corporation so that the state's finance bore losses,” said prosecutor Ali when reading out the prosecution’s charges at the Central Jakarta District Court, yesterday (1/5).

According to the prosecutor, the two defendants broke the Decree of Corruption Criminal Acts Eradication for extending the Hilton's building rights without permission from Bung Karno Sports Center as the owner of Senayan area land management.

However, said the prosecutor, the status of the land where Hilton (now The Sultan) was erected has changed to be the land managed by the state.

“The defendants should have first obtained the appointment in the form of land use agreement from the management,” said the prosecutor.

In addition to seven year prison term, the prosecutor is demanding a fine to each defendant if Rp500 million or replacement penalty of six month detention.

The prosecutor also demanded the revocation of Indobuildco’s building rights.

In response to the prosecutors' charges, the two defendants did not comment.

After the trial, they kept silent.

However, the defendants' lawyers O.C. Kaligis (Ali Mazi's lawyers) and Frans Winata (Pontjo's lawyer) said they were disappointed.

Frans said he did not understand the prosecutors' charge that his client's action regarding extension request was categorized as corruption case.

“The legal scope is at the state administration or civil,” he said after the trial.

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tempo

Distances between Hypermarkets and Traditional Markets to be Regulated

2007-05-02T10:50:00.000+07:00

The government has confirmed that it will strictly regulate the minimum distance between hypermarkets and traditional markets.

Ardiansyah, Director General of Domestic Trade at the Trade Department, emphasized that the regulation will be included in the President Regulation on Modern Markets, which is now still being discussed.

This regulation, according to him, will provide guidelines for determining the distance between a hypermarket and a traditional market and also the formula for the amount of modern markets to serve how many people.

Ardiansyah acknowledged that the regulation was in fact one of the government’s measures to accommodate the demands of traditional markets’ traders.

“Traditional market traders don’t want to confront the hypermarkets, not modern markets in general,” he said in Jakarta last weekend.

Although the distances will be regulated, Ardiansyah said a more detailed zoning will be included in the Zone Planning and Municipal Detailed Zone Planning, which is covered by regional governments’ regulations.

He explained that under the current Jakarta regulations, these matters were already regulated.

“But what’s the realization like?” said Ardiansyah.

Muhammad Iqbal, Head of the Business Competition Oversight Commission (KPPU), supported the restriction for modern markets to be located only in the suburban areas, like in France.

The problem is how this is to be implemented and monitored.

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tempo

PLN Urged to Collaborate with Qatar and Bahrain

2007-05-01T19:06:00.000+07:00

The government is putting out efforts to create a contract between the State Electricity Company (PLN) with electric generator investors from Qatar and Bahrain.

“We’re working hard in order to reach agreement and contract with PLN so that construction can begin,” the President’s special envoy for the Middle East, Alwi Shihab, told reporters in the Vice President’s Office, Monday (30/4).

The investors from Qatar and Bahrain, he said, have already signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a national private company to build a 150 megawatt electricity generator in Riau with an investment of US$600 million. Investment was also aimed at building a electricity generator in Kalimantan for the amount of US$700 million.

Alwi said if construction by the investment from Qatar and Bahrain goes smoothly, there will be many other Middle Eastern investors who join. He cited property companies from the United Arab Emirates and Dubai World have already been offered to build tourism destinations in Klungkung and Nusa Penida, Bali.

Dubai World will also build the highest skyscraper building in Indonesia. Alwi said it is planned that the building will be built in the middle of Jakarta, between Kuningan and Jalan Sudirman.

Construction, he said, needs land with a minimum width of five hectares. “We’re looking for the land, either from Jakarta (provincial government) or others,” he said.

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tempo

Wi-Fi (Wireless Fidelity) - Description

2007-04-30T09:02:00.000+07:00

Wi-fi is a wireless data networking protocol, which allows for PCs and laptops to access the internet, within a given area or "hotspot", via a high frequency wireless local area network (WLAN). The term Wi-Fi was coined by the Wireless Ethernet Compatibility Alliance (WECA) as another name for IEEE 802.11b networking standard. WECA is still involved in certifying new wireless modems in order to verify that they are fully compatible with the standard.

Anticipating Customer Behavior With Analytics

2007-04-28T12:50:00.000+07:00

“Know your customers and give them what they want” is the fundamental principle of marketing.
This principle is simple in theory, but increasingly challenging to put into practice. Short of being a mind reader or having a crystal ball, it’s difficult for marketers to know what’s on a customer’s mind today, or anticipate what the customer may need or want tomorrow.
The challenge doesn’t stem from lack of customer data. The fact is, customers and prospects are giving us information about themselves all the time. Through every response, customer contact, event, transaction and Web site hit, they reveal something about themselves.

Databases are chock full of these useful tidbits, and call centers and other customer management systems are overflowing with details about customers and contacts. The challenge is that raw data does not have value per se; it needs to be turned into useful information.
That is where analytical technology comes into play. A philosopher once wrote that finding the patterns in the randomness of life is the way we create beauty and make art. A similar statement could be made about analytics, which find patterns in the randomness of data so that you can discover valuable information and gain insight.
An array of analytical products is available for desktop and enterprise systems and for pros and novices alike.
Generally, analytics fall into four categories:
1. Statistical analysis
2. On-line analytical processing (OLAP)
3. Data mining
4. Text mining
Statistical analysis refers to a collection of methods used to process large amounts of data to uncover key facts, patterns and trends.
Numerous statistical analysis procedures can be applied, but the two most commonly used by direct marketers are classification and segmentation. Classification uses predictor fields to predict a categorical target field, such as which groups of people will respond to a mailing. Segmentation divides subjects, objects or variables into various relatively homogeneous groups (e.g., segmenting customers into usage-pattern groups).
Popular statistical software can handle the entire analytical process—planning, data collection, data access, data management and preparation, data analysis, reporting and deployment.
For example, Rural Cellular Corporation (RCC), which provides wireless service to subscribers in 14 states covering a population of 5.9 million, uses statistical analysis for market research. This research includes customer satisfaction and branding studies to determine positioning for its products and service features. Before investing money in any new feature, RCC surveys its customers to determine exactly what features they want, what they want each of the features to do and how much they are willing to pay for them.
Online Analytical Processing enables users to easily and selectively extract data and then view it from different perspectives. For example, a user can request that data be analyzed and presented in a format that shows all of a company’s widgets sold in Wyoming in the month of August, compares revenue figures with those for the same products in October, and then compares other product sales in Wyoming for the same time period.
To facilitate this kind of analysis, OLAP data is stored in a multidimensional database, which considers each data attribute (such as product, geographic sales region and time period) as a separate “dimension.” This management tool allows marketers to quickly review history and trends to take advantage of emerging opportunities, and take corrective action on developing problems.
For example, Johnsonville Sausage Inc., a manufacturer and marketer of fresh, smoked and cooked sausage products, uses OLAP to access operational and financial data. Johnsonville can compare sales by customer, region and brand. With this information, it develops more accurate sales forecasts for production and manufacturing scheduling.
Data mining discovers the meaningful patterns and relationships in data—separating signals from noise—and provides decision-making information about the future. Data mining procedures include the following:
• Association: looking for patterns where one event is connected to another event
• Sequence or path analysis: looking for patterns where one event leads to a later event
• Classification: looking for new patterns
• Clustering: finding and visually documenting groups of facts not previously known
• Forecasting: discovering patterns in data that can lead to reasonable predictions about the future
Data mining provides a clear picture of what is going to happen—in time to change it—such as which customers might be most valuable, which customers are likely to defect, or, if the right data is gathered, which carry the risk of adverse reactions to marketing offers.
For example, Standard Life, a global mutual financial services company, needed to expand its share of the increasingly competitive mortgage market. A major part of its efforts was to develop models that could identify customer characteristics relevant to any mortgage product. Data mining enabled Standard Life to better understand the characteristics of its mortgage customers so that it could more accurately search for potential new clients. As a result, the company achieved a nine-times greater response to offers and has secured approximately $50 million worth of mortgage application revenue.
Text mining analyzes unstructured textual data by finding and discovering the patterns and relationships within thousands of documents, such as emails, call reports, Web sites and other information sources.
Text mining extracts terms and phrases and then classifies the terms into related groups, such as products, organizations or people, using the meaning and context of the text. This distilled information can be combined with other data sources and used with traditional data mining techniques such as clustering, classification and predictive modeling.
Questions to explore include… Which concepts occur together? What else are they linked to? What do they predict? With answers to such questions, the marketer is better able to identify potential customer defection, head it off and then maximize consumer satisfaction.
For example, a major online retailer combines data mining with text mining to analyze customer calls, emails, Web surveys and other customer communications to better understand what offers and recommendations are appropriate for each customer. As a result, the retailer has tripled its profits from the previous year.
With the massive amounts of customer data being generated every moment of every day, and the absolute necessity of carefully managing the customer relationship, analytics are no longer a nice thing to have; they are essential. The backlash against spam marketing, and new privacy legislation put into place as a result of this backlash, is forcing a more scientific approach to the art of marketing.
It will no longer be a matter of just throwing out a hook and seeing who bites; it will be about taking the time and using the right tools to truly understand customers, satisfy their needs and wants, and anticipate what they may want tomorrow.

Amazon dot com

2007-04-28T12:09:00.000+07:00

Amazon.com, Inc. is an American electronic commerce company based in Seattle, Washington. It was one of the first major companies to sell goods over the Internet and was one of the iconic stocks of the late 1990s dot-com bubble. After the bubble burst Amazon faced skepticism about its business model, but it made its first annual profit in 2003.

Founded by Jeff Bezos in 1994, and launched in 1995, Amazon.com began as an online bookstore, though it soon diversified its product lines, adding DVDs, music CDs, computer software, video games, electronics, apparel, furniture, food, toys and more.

Amazon has established separate websites in Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, Austria, France, China, and Japan. It ships globally on selected products.

History and Business Model

Amazon was founded in 1994, spurred by what Bezos refers to as his "regret minimization framework," i.e. his effort to fend off late-in-life regret for not staking a claim in the Internet gold rush. It is common lore that Bezos wrote its business plan while he and his wife drove a 1988 Chevrolet Blazer from Fort Worth, Texas to Bellevue, Washington.

The company began operating as an online bookstore under the name Cadabra.com (as in abracadabra), a name that Bezos quickly abandoned due to its sounding like cadaver.While the largest brick-and-mortar bookstores and mail-order catalogs for books might offer 200,000 titles, an online bookstore could offer many times more. Bezos renamed his company "Amazon" after the world's most voluminous river. The company was incorporated in 1994 in the state of Washington, began service in July 1995, and was reincorporated in 1996 in Delaware. Amazon.com had its initial public offering on May 15, 1997, trading on the NASDAQ stock exchange under the symbol AMZN at an IPO price of $18.00 per share (equivalent to $1.50 after three stock splits during the late 1990s).

Amazon's initial business plan was unusual: the company did not expect to turn a profit for four to five years. In retrospect, the strategy was effective. Amazon grew at a steady pace in the late 1990s while many other Internet companies grew at a blindingly fast pace. Amazon's "slow" growth caused a number of its stockholders to complain, saying that the company was not reaching profitability fast enough. When the Dot-com bubble burst and many e-companies went out of business, Amazon persevered and finally turned its first profit in the fourth quarter of 2002: a meager $5 million, just 1 cent per share, on revenues of over $1 billion, but it was important symbolically. The firm has since remained profitable: net income was $35.3 million in 2003, $588.5 million in 2004, $359 million in 2005, and $190 million in 2006 (including a $662 million charge on R&D in 2006). Nevertheless, the firm's cumulative profits remain negative, since the positive performance of recent years is not yet sufficient to wipe out the losses of the past, as of 2005 the accumulated deficit stood at $2.03 billion.

Revenue continued to grow thanks to product diversification and international presence: $3.9 billion in 2002, $5.3 billion in 2003, $6.9 billion in 2004, $8.5 billion in 2005, and $10.7 billion in 2006. On November 21, 2005, Amazon entered the S&P 500 index, replacing the venerable AT&T after it merged with SBC Communications.

Time Magazine named Bezos its 1999 Man of the Year in recognition of the company's success in popularizing online shopping.

12 Laws of Customer Loyalty

2007-04-28T11:59:00.000+07:00

by Jill Griffin
May 11, 2004
1. Build staff loyalty
It’s a fact: firms with high levels of customer loyalty have also earned high levels of staff loyalty. It’s darn near impossible to build strong customer loyalty with a staff that is in constant turnover.
Why? Because customers buy relationships and familiarity. They want to buy from people who know them and their preferences. Key rule of loyalty: serve your employees first so that they, in turn, can serve your customer.

2. Practice the 80/20 rule
In building customer loyalty, the 80/20 rule is alive and well. Roughly speaking, 80% of your revenue is being generated by 20% of your customers.
All customers are not created equal. Some represent more long-term value to your firm than others. A smart company segments customers by value and monitors activities closely to ensure high-value customers get their fair share of special offers and promotions. Unlike many firms that simply measure overall redemption, these savvy loyalty builders pay close attention to who redeems.
3. Know your loyalty stages and ensure that your customers are moving through them
Customers become loyal to a company and its products and service one step at a time. By understanding the customer’s current loyalty stage, you can better determine what’s necessary to move that customer to the next level of loyalty. There are six stages of customer loyalty: suspect, prospect, first-time customer, repeat customer, client and advocate.
If your customer relationship processes and programs aren’t moving customers forward, rethink them.
4. Serve first, sell second
Today’s customers are smarter, better informed and more intolerant of “being sold” than ever before. They expect doing business with you to be as hassle-free and gratifying for them as possible.
When they experience good service elsewhere, they bring a if-they-can-do-it-why-can’t–you attitude to their next transaction with you. They believe that you earn their business with service that is pleasant, productive and personalized; and if you don’t deliver, they’ll leave.
5. Aggressively seek out customer complaints
For most companies, only 10% of complaints get articulated by customers. The other 90% are unarticulated and manifest themselves in many negative ways: unpaid invoices, lack of courtesy to your frontline service reps and, above all, negative word of mouth.
With the Internet, an unhappy customer can now reach thousands of your would-be customers in a few keystrokes. Head off bad press before it happens. Make it easy for customers to complain, and treat complaints seriously. Establish firm guidelines regarding customer response time, reporting and trend analysis. Make employee complaint monitoring a key tool for executive decision making.
6. Stay responsive
Research shows that responsiveness is closely tied to a customer’s perception of good service. The advent of the Internet has changed the customer’s perception of responsiveness. More and more, customers are coming to expect round-the-clock customer service.
Moreover, customers now arrive at Web sites time-starved and eager to locate answers. Technology tools such as customer self-service, email management and live chat/Web callback are proving increasingly critical for companies as they address the demanding customer’s responsiveness needs.
7. Know your customer’s definition of value
The loyalty password is “value.” Knowing how your customers experience value and then delivering on those terms is critical to building strong customer loyalty.
But knowing your customer’s true definition of value is not easy, because your customers’ value definitions are constantly changing. Invest in customer loyalty research that enables you to understand, through the eyes of the customer, how well you deliver value.
8. Win back lost customers
Research shows that a business is twice as likely to successfully sell to a lost customer as to a new prospect. Yet, winning back lost customers is frequently the most overlooked source for incremental revenue in many firms.
Why? Because most firms consider a lost customer a lost cause. With the average company losing 20-40% of its customers every year, it’s imperative that firms create hard-working strategies not only for acquisition and retention but also for win-back. Since no customer retention program can be 100% foolproof, it follows that every company needs a process for recapturing those high-value customers who depart. Think of it as loyalty insurance.
9. Use multiple channels to serve the same customers well
Research suggests that customers who engage with a firm through multiple channels exhibit deeper loyalty than single-channel customers. But take note: this finding assumes that customers get the same consistent service whether coming into the store, logging on the Web site or calling the service center.
To achieve consistency, your firm must internally coordinate sales and service across multiple channels so that customer preferences are accessible no matter how the customer chooses to interact. Today’s customers expect to hop from channel to channel, and they expect good service to follow.
10. Give your frontline the skills to perform
Increasingly, for many companies, the employee “frontline” is a call center where agents interact with customers. These agents will be the “loyalty warriors” of the future. Converged call centers that bring together multi-channel access points (phone, fax, email, Web) are on the rise.
Gartner Group estimates that 70% of North America’s call centers will migrate to multi-channel contact centers by 2005. This means that those agents need to be as equipped to write a well-written email reply and navigate the company Web site as they are in being helpful and friendly on a phone call.
11. Collaborate with your channel partners
In today’s complex marketplace, a firm is often dependent on many suppliers to help serve its customers. Embracing these supply chain relationships for the greater good of the ultimate customer creates customer value that is hard for competitors to match.
For example, a European auto manufacturer converted its customer data base program into a system that could be shared by all channel partners. By refusing to hoard the information, the manufacturer helped create a blended channel strategy that built greater customer loyalty throughout the distribution chain.
12. Store your data in a centralized database
Most firms lack a 360-degree view of their customer because they have no centralized database. Billing departments, sales divisions and customer service centers might all have their own databases, with no effective means for creating a complete customer-information composite.
To effectively implement a sound customer loyalty strategy, data from all customer touchpoints must be combined into a centralized customer database. Without it, the firm is greatly handicapped in its efforts to serve the customer.

Metrodata Targets 13 Percent Revenue Increase

2007-04-25T17:29:00.000+07:00

PT Metrodata Electronics has targeted an increase in this year's revenues of 13 percent.

According to President Director of Metrodata Lesan Lemanardja, last year the company's revenues reached US$175 million.

“This year, at least it will reach US$200 million,” said Lesan yesterday (04/24) in Jakarta.

Lesan is optimistic about the target because, according to International Data Center, Indonesia's expenditure on information technology in 2006 reached US$1.8 billion.

“This year, it is predicted to rise by 15 percent,” he said.

Lesan also explained that half of Metrodata's revenues were obtained through its role as the distributor of information technology products such as Dell, Epson, Fujitsu, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Lenovo and Huawei-3Com.

Yesterday (04/24), through its subsidiary PT Metrodata e Business, Metrodata was appointed a distributor for the products of Emerson Network Power.

Emerson is a US-based company that provides information technology solutions such as power instruments, as well as connectivity and cooling solutions for computer systems.

According to President of Asia Pacific Emerson Ajeet Singh, the selling of Emerson products last year amounted to US$1 billion with 5.1 percent growth.

He said he hoped that market in Indonesia would contribute much for the turnover of Emerson products.

Emerson will aim at small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

“SMEs in Indonesia have more rapid development in their information technology penetration compared to medium- and large-sized enterprises,” said Lesan.

Banjir Pasti Berlalu

2007-02-12T11:24:00.000+07:00

"Nya eta kitu Mad, hujan ayeuna mah teu bisa diajak ... duduluran. Turunna teh sakadaekna. Tapi kan bisa dipalakiahan supaya eureun, saperti dongeng mahasiswa UPI yang kesiangan kuliah tea?"

lucu dan menggelikan ceritanya

Makna Sebuah Persahabatan

2007-02-12T11:22:00.000+07:00

"SEORANG sahabat adalah orang yang menanyakan kabar kita dan kemudian menunggu untuk mendengarkan jawabannya" (Ed Cunningham).

penasaran ..??baca disini biar enak

Sebelum Meninggal, Anna Nicole Jatuh di Kamar Mandi

2007-02-12T11:20:00.000+07:00

Anna tewas dengan meninggalkan banyak kasus hukum yang belum rampung. Selain Daniel, lima bulan silam Anna juga melahirkan seorang bayi perempuan bernama Dannielynn yang saat ini status ayahnya masih diproses di pengadilan.

ga percaya, baca ajah disini

Slank Galang Dana Untuk Korban Banjir

2007-02-12T11:19:00.000+07:00

Bencana banjir yang melanda kota metropolitan Jakarta banyak mengundang rasa prihatin. Bencana yang telah menghancurkan harta benda, bahkan tercatat sekitar 80 orang kehilangan nyawanya, menimbulkan keperihan dan kesedihan yang mendalam. 

Beranjak dari rasa prihatin tersebut, grup band Slank bersama grup band yang lainnya, antara lain Katabatic, Steven & Coconutreez, Izzy, Meteor, Baim, Anda, Dea Ananda, Shanty dan Seurieus Band mencoba menggalang dana yang bertajuk 'JAKARTA S.O.S'.

_____
source

Tips Saat Berada di Daerah Hotspot

2007-01-30T10:59:00.000+07:00

jika anda ingin main internet gratis-an. ada baiknya anda membaca dulu tips-tips saat anda berada di daerah hotspot.

baca reviewnya disini :Tips Saat Berada di Daerah Hotspot

Meningkatkan Ranking Website melalui Meta Tag

2007-01-30T10:54:00.000+07:00

Ada banyak cara search engine mengenali sebuah situs yang didaftarkan. Tapi, dari sekian banyak dan yang sering digunakan antara lain Meta tag. Sayangnya tidak semua search engine menggunakan teknik ini. Meski begitu, hampir semua menggunakan pembacaan Meta tag sebagai bagian dari formula index.

baca reviewnya disini :Meningkatkan Ranking Website melalui Meta Tag

Indosiar Tower

2007-01-30T08:55:00.000+07:00

Menara dengan ketinggian 395 meter tersebut merupakan menara tertinggi di Asia Tenggara (Jika dibandingkan dengan struktur menara pemancar lainnya).
Inilah menara pemancar yang pertama kali dilakukan di dunia dengan menggunakan Hybrid Tower design.

baca selengkapnya di :Indosiar Tower

Cara Mudah Mendapatkan Dokumen PDF di Google

2007-01-25T09:40:00.000+07:00

trik ini sangat bagus buat seorang pemula. yang ingin mendownload file pdf di internet.

silahkan simak reviewnya disini :Cara Mudah Mendapatkan Dokumen PDF di Google

"World of Warcraft" online game expansion released

2007-01-25T09:29:00.000+07:00

Vivendi's Blizzard Entertainment on Tuesday started selling "World of Warcraft: Burning Crusade," the first expansion to the largest multiplayer online game, which has 8 million players worldwide.

Analysts expect Blizzard will sell easily millions of units at $20 each. The company, which does not detail game sales, gets revenue from unit sales and subscriptions, which cost about $15 per month in the United States.

Unlike traditional video games that have set plots a player navigates, massive online games operate in a so-called open world, where players can wage battle against each other. Companies that operate such online games often charge monthly subscriptions and for start-up software as well.

dikutip dari :"World of Warcraft" online game expansion released

Intel® Dual-Core Processors

2007-01-25T09:27:00.000+07:00

pengen ngerasain rasanya punya prosessor dua inti ..?? baca reviewnya di sini :Intel® Dual-Core Processors

Lebaran telah tiba

2006-10-19T11:36:00.000+07:00

dan ga kerasa lagi nich, lebara udah didepan mata.
maafkan atas kesalahan saya diwaktu dulu.
yang disengaja ataupun tidak.
yang besar maupun tidak.

Minal Aidin Wal Fa Idzin
Mohon Maaf Lahir dan Bathin

Selamat Idul Fitri 1 Syawal 1427 H

Cancer

2006-08-08T11:32:00.000+07:00

Cancer is a class of diseases or disorders characterized by uncontrolled division of cells and the ability of these cells to invade other tissues, either by direct growth into adjacent tissue through invasion or by implantation into distant sites by metastasis. Metastasis is defined as the stage in which cancer cells are transported through the bloodstream or lymphatic system. Cancer may affect people at all ages, but risk tends to increase with age, due to the fact that DNA damage becomes more apparent in aging DNA. It is one of the leading causes of death in developed countries.

There are many types of cancer. Severity of symptoms depends on the site and character of the malignancy and whether there is metastasis. A definitive diagnosis usually requires the histologic examination of tissue by a pathologist. This tissue is obtained by biopsy or surgery. Most cancers can be treated and some cured, depending on the specific type, location, and stage. Once diagnosed, cancer is usually treated with a combination of surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy. As research develops, treatments are becoming more specific for the type of cancer pathology. Drugs that target specific cancers already exist for several cancers. If untreated, cancers may eventually cause illness and death, though this is not always the case.

The unregulated growth that characterizes cancer is caused by damage to DNA, resulting in mutations to genes that encode for proteins controlling cell division. Many mutation events may be required to transform a normal cell into a malignant cell. These mutations can be caused by chemicals or physical agents called carcinogens, by close exposure to radioactive materials, or by certain viruses that can insert their DNA into the human genome. Mutations occur spontaneously, or are passed down generations as a result of germ line mutations.

Many forms of cancer are associated with exposure to environmental factors such as tobacco smoke, radiation, alcohol and certain viruses. While some of these can be avoided, there is no known way to entirely avoid the disease, and public health and vaccination programs are also important on a global scale.

History

Today, carcinoma is the medical term for a malignant tumor derived from epithelial cells. It is Celsus who translated carcinos into the Latin cancer, also meaning crab. Galen used "oncos" to describe all tumours, the root for the modern word oncology.

Hippocrates described several kinds of cancers. He called benign tumours oncos, Greek for swelling, and malignant tumours carcinos, Greek for crab or crayfish. This strange choice of name probably comes from the appearance of the cut surface of a solid malignant tumour, with a roundish hard center surrounded by pointy projections, vaguely resembling the silhouette of a crab. He later added the suffix -oma, Greek for swelling, giving the name carcinoma. Since it was against Greek tradition to open the body, Hippocrates only described and made drawings of outwardly visible tumors on the skin, nose, and breasts. Treatment was based on the humor theory of four bodily fluids (black and yellow bile, blood, and phlegm). According to the patient's humor, treatment consisted of diet, blood-letting, and/or laxatives. Through the centuries it was discovered that cancer could occur anywhere in the body, but humor-theory based treatment remained popular until the 19th century with the discovery of cells.

Though treatment remained the same, in the 16th and 17th centuries it became more acceptable for doctors to dissect bodies to discover the cause of death. The German professor Wilhelm Fabry believed that breast cancer was caused by a milk clot in a mammary duct. The Dutch professor Francois de la Boe Sylvius, a follower of Descartes, believed that all disease was the outcome of chemical processes, and that acidic lymph fluid was the cause of cancer. His contemporary Nicolaes Tulp believed that cancer was a poison that slowly spreads, and concluded that it was contagious.^{[citation needed]}

With the widespread use of the microscope in the 18th century, it was discovered that the 'cancer poison' spread from the primary tumor through the lymph nodes to other sites ("metastasis"). The use of surgery to treat cancer had poor results due to problems with hygiene. The renowned Scottish surgeon Alexander Monro (1697-1767) saw only 2 breast tumor patients out of 60 surviving surgery for two years. In the 19th century, asepsis improved surgical hygiene and as the survival statistics went up, surgical removal of the tumor became the primary treatment for cancer. With the exception of William Coley who in the late 1800's felt that the rate of cure after surgery had been higher before asepsis (and who injected bacteria into tumors with mixed results), cancer treatment became dependent on the individual art of the surgeon at removing a tumor. During the same period, the idea that the body was made up of various tissues, that in turn were made up of millions of cells, laid rest the humor-theories about chemical imbalances in the body. The age of cellular pathology was born.

When Marie Curie and Pierre Curie discovered radiation at the end of the 19th century, they stumbled upon the first effective non-surgical cancer treatment. With radiation came also the first signs of multi-disciplinary approaches to cancer treatment. The surgeon was no longer operating as an island, but worked together with hospital radiologists to help patients. The complications in communication this brought, along with the necessity of the patient's treatment in a hospital facility rather than at home, also created a parallel process of compiling patient data into hospital files, which in turn led to the first statistical patient studies.

Cancer patient treatment and studies were restricted to individual physician's practises until WWII, when medical research centers discovered that there were large international differences in disease incidence. This insight drove national public health bodies to make it possible to compile health data across practises and hospitals, a process that many countries do today. The Japanese medical community observed that the bone marrow of Hiroshima and Nagasaki victims was completely destroyed. They concluded that diseased bone marrow could also be destroyed with radiation, and this led to the discovery of bone marrow transplants for leukemia. Since WWII, trends in cancer treatment are to improve on a micro-level the existing treatment methods, standardize them, and globalize them as a way to find cures through epidemiology and international partnerships.

Nomenclature and classification

The following closely related terms may be used to designate abnormal growths:

Neoplasia and neoplasm are the accurate, scientific names for this group of diseases as defined in the first paragraph above. This group contains a large number of different diseases; the usual classification is listed below. Neoplasms can be benign or malignant.
Cancer is a widely used word that is usually understood as synonymous with malignant neoplasm. Occasionally, it is used instead of carcinoma, a sub-group of malignant neoplasms. Because of its overwhelming popularity relative to 'neoplasia', it is used frequently instead of 'neoplasia', even by scientists and physicians, especially when discussing neoplastic diseases as a group.
Tumor in medical language simply means swelling or lump, either neoplastic, inflammatory or other. In common language, however, it is synonymous with 'neoplasm', either benign or malignant. This is inaccurate since some neoplasms usually do not form tumors, for example leukemia or carcinoma in situ.

Cancers are classified by the type of cell that resembles the tumor and, therefore, the tissue presumed to be the origin of the tumor. The following general categories are usually accepted:

Carcinoma: malignant tumors derived from epithelial cells. This group represent the most common cancers, including the common forms of breast, prostate, lung and colon cancer.
Lymphoma and Leukemia: malignant tumors derived from blood and bone marrow cells
Sarcoma: malignant tumors derived from connective tissue, or mesenchymal cells
Mesothelioma: tumors derived from the mesothelial cells lining the peritoneum and the pleura.
Glioma: tumors derived from glia, the most common type of brain cell
germ cell tumours: tumors derived from germ cells, normally found in the testicle and ovary
Choriocarcinoma: malignant tumors derived from the placenta

Malignant tumors are usually named using the Latin or Greek root of the organ as a prefix and the above category name as the suffix. For instance, a malignant tumor of liver cells is called hepatocarcinoma; a malignant tumor of the fat cells is called liposarcoma. For common cancers, the English organ name is used. For instance, the most common type of breast cancer is called ductal carcinoma of the breast or mammary ductal carcinoma. Here, the adjective ductal refers to the appearance of the cancer under the microscope, resembling normal breast ducts.

Benign tumors are named using -oma as a suffix. For instance, a benign tumor of the smooth muscle of the uterus is called leiomyoma (the common name of this frequent tumor is fibroid). This nomenclature is however somewhat inconsistent, since several "malignant" tumor growths also have this suffix in their names, e.g. neuroblastoma, lymphoma and melanoma.

Prevention

Cancer prevention is defined as active measures to decrease the incidence of cancer. This can be accomplished by avoiding carcinogens or altering their metabolism, pursuing a lifestyle or diet that modifies cancer-causing factors and/or medical intervention (chemoprevention, treatment of pre-malignant lesions).

Much of the promise for cancer prevention comes from observational epidemiologic studies that show associations between modifiable life style factors or environmental exposures and specific cancers. Evidence is now emerging from randomized controlled trials designed to test whether interventions suggested by the epidemiologic studies, as well as leads based on laboratory research, actually result in reduced cancer incidence and mortality.

Examples of modifiable cancer risk include alcohol consumption (associated with increased risk of oral, esophageal, breast, and other cancers), smoking (although 20% of women with lung cancer have never smoked, versus 10% of men), physical inactivity (associated with increased risk of colon, breast, and possibly other cancers), and being overweight (associated with colon, breast, endometrial, and possibly other cancers). Based on epidemiologic evidence, it is now thought that avoiding excessive alcohol consumption, being physically active, and maintaining recommended body weight may all contribute to reductions in risk of certain cancers; however, compared with tobacco exposure, the magnitude of effect is modest or small and the strength of evidence is often weaker. Other lifestyle and environmental factors known to affect cancer risk (either beneficially or detrimentally) include certain sexual and reproductive practices, the use of exogenous hormones, exposure to ionizing radiation and ultraviolet radiation, certain occupational and chemical exposures, and infectious agents.

Diet and cancer

The consensus on diet and cancer is that obesity increases the risk of developing cancer. Particular dietary practices often explain differences in cancer incidence in different countries (e.g. gastric cancer is more common in Japan, while colon cancer is more common in the United States). Studies have shown that immigrants develop the risk of their new country, suggesting a link between diet and cancer rather than a genetic basis.

Despite frequent reports of particular substances (including foods) having a beneficial or detrimental effect on cancer risk, few of these have an established link to cancer. These reports are often based on studies in cultured cell media or animals. Public health recommendations cannot be made on the basis of these studies until they have been validated in an observational (or occasionally a prospective interventional) trial in humans.

The case of beta-carotene provides an example of the necessity of randomized clinical trials. Epidemiologists studying both diet and serum levels observed that high levels of beta-carotene, a precursor to vitamin A, were associated with a protective effect, reducing the risk of cancer. This effect was particularly strong in lung cancer. This hypothesis led to a series of large randomized trials conducted in both Finland and the United States (CARET study) during the 1980s and 1990s. This study provided about 80,000 smokers or former smokers with daily supplements of beta-carotene or placebos. Contrary to expectation, these tests found no benefit of beta-carotene supplementation in reducing lung cancer incidence and mortality. In fact, the risk of lung cancer was slightly, but not significantly, increased by beta-carotene, leading to an early termination of the study.

Other chemoprevention agents

Daily use of tamoxifen, a selective estrogen receptor modulator, typically for 5 years, has been demonstrated to reduce the risk of developing breast cancer in high-risk women by about 50%. Cis-retinoic acid also has been shown to reduce risk of second primary tumors among patients with primary head and neck cancer. Finasteride, a 5-alpha reductase inhibitor, has been shown to lower the risk of prostate cancer. Other examples of drugs that show promise for chemoprevention include COX-2 inhibitors (which inhibit a cyclooxygenase enzyme involved in the synthesis of proinflammatory prostaglandins).

Genetic testing

Genetic testing for high-risk individuals, with enhanced surveillance, chemoprevention, or risk-reducing surgery for those who test positive, is already available for certain cancer-related genetic mutations.

Diagnosing cancer

Most cancers are initially recognized either because signs or symptoms appear or through screening. Neither of these lead to a definitive diagnosis, which usually requires the opinion of a pathologist.

Signs and symptoms

Roughly, cancer symptoms can be divided into three groups:

Local symptoms: unusual lumps or swelling (tumor), hemorrhage (bleeding), pain and/or ulceration. Compression of surrounding tissues may cause symptoms such as jaundice.
Symptoms of metastasis (spreading): enlarged lymph nodes, cough and hemoptysis, hepatomegaly (enlarged liver), bone pain, fracture of affected bones and neurological symptoms. Although advanced cancer may cause pain, it is often not the first symptom.
Systemic symptoms: weight loss, poor appetite and cachexia (wasting), excessive sweating (night sweats), anemia and specific paraneoplastic phenomena, i.e. specific conditions that are due to an active cancer, such as thrombosis or hormonal changes.

Every single item in the above list can be caused by a variety of conditions (a list of which is referred to as the differential diagnosis). Cancer may be a common or uncommon cause of each item.

Biopsy

A cancer may be suspected for a variety of reasons, but the definitive diagnosis of most malignancies must be confirmed by histological examination of the cancerous cells by a pathologist. Tissue can be obtained from a biopsy or surgery. Many biopsies (such as those of the skin, breast or liver) can be done in a doctor's office. Biopsies of other organs are performed under anesthesia and require surgery in an operating room.

The tissue diagnosis indicates the type of cell that is proliferating, its histological grade and other features of the tumor. Together, this information is useful to evaluate the prognosis of this patient and choose the best treatment. Cytogenetics and immunohistochemistry may provide information about future behavior of the cancer (prognosis) and best treatment.