PIIGS: The new fiscal flu infecting Indonesia’s financial market

Andry Asmoro ,  Economist, PT Bahana Securities   |  Thu, 02/11/2010 12:02 PM  |  Business 

The performances of regional stock markets over the past few days have been volatile to say the least, impacted by the so-called European PIIGS (Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece and Spain) group, which caught the fiscal flu — as seen in their ballooning budget deficits (see table for details).

This is well above the recommended threshold level of 3 percent, and it is worth pointing out that the sub-prime problem in Europe started in Southern Europe, with Spain.

All financial markets’ eyes are now focused on the sovereign debt problems faced by the PIIGS group, particularly since the debt to GDP ratios of Greece and Italy have reached 113 percent and 115 percent.

Some analysts have argued that the GDP of these countries are small, with Greece at US$343 billion, smaller than Indonesia’s $500 billion. However, this situation should not be taken lightly, because European countries’ economies are interwoven in a single currency. Note that PIIGS countries’ GDP of $4,317 billion constitute around one-third of the Eurozone’s total economy.

Some have also argued that industrial production in the PIIGS group has shown a recovery, with November 2009 figures for Greece, Italy and Spain reaching -6 percent, -8 percent, and 4 percent. This was up from October’s -9 percent, -12 percent, and -13 percent.

However, because the improvement was a result of the government’s fiscal stimulus, unemployment rates in the PIIGS areas continued to deteriorate (see table for details), which is a cause of concern.

Now, the question would be the impact of this situation on Indonesia’s financial markets, which we believe would occur more through the global economic recovery story, adversely affecting commodity prices. Coupled with concerns about the China bubble (resulting in the Chinese government’s holding back spending) this could mean commodity prices remain unexciting for the next two to three months.

This is likely to weaken both Indonesia’s currency and equity markets in our view. As money is taken out of the Indonesian stock market, the Indonesian rupiah is likely to weaken. Thus far we have seen the currency depreciating more than 2 percent from around the Rp 9,150 level in the beginning of the year to Rp 9,400 at present. Going forward, on the back of the PIIGS group’s fiscal problems, we expect global risk premium, including Indonesia’s, to remain at elevated levels for awhile. And this is bad news for equity markets in general. In Indonesia, this coupled with the deteriorating political landscape could mean profit taking in the stock market in the short-term.

It is also worth highlighting that global Credit Default Swap (CDS) has risen in general. However, we expect minimal impact on the Indonesian bond market. While Indonesia’s CDS has risen from 193 to 216 at present, we expect continued foreign interest as our bond yields provide substantial spreads relative to the rest of the region.

Back to the local equity market, with 32 percent of the total Jakarta Composite Index market capitalization in commodity-related stocks, we expect both the equity and currency markets to be feeling under the weather in the short-term, impacted by the latest financial flu from PIGS.

Sumber:
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2010/02/11/piigs-the-new-fiscal-flu-infecting-indonesia%E2%80%99s-financial-market.html


Business English 2

City should set more efficient parking rates system: Groups

Indah Setiawati ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Thu, 02/11/2010 12:23 PM  |  City 

Damantoro of the Indonesian Transportation Society (MTI) said parking operators did not have clear reasons for setting overpriced fees.

“Why should parking fares hike?” he told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday. “Operators must reveal how they are increasing fares.”

Recently, many parking operators in dozens of locations in the city reportedly breached the 2004 gubernatorial decree regulating amounts.

They allegedly take illegal fees from the overpriced fares because the amount of retribution fees they pay is based on regulated prices.

Damantoro said parking areas in commercial buildings such as shopping centers were always crowded with vehicles, which should provide enough revenue for paying outsourced parking companies and receive profit.

He said providing a parking area in a commercial building was the building owner’s obligation. Investment on building the parking area, he said, was included in the rent fees paid by tenants. “Building owners cannot include investment in the parking fare,” he said.

The Indonesian Consumer Protection Foundation said the city should set standard guidance of parking fees by gathering public input.

Foundation chairwoman Husna Zahir said consumers were unfairly treated by the recent parking policy and fees set by parking operators.

“Some parking operators count a minute on the second hour as one hour, which is annoying for customers.”  She added that customers who regularly parked in buildings or malls suffered the most from the recent overpriced fees.

Husna said the city should not set high parking fares because the administration had not provided decent public transport.

“Using private vehicles is not a choice for people, but a force resulting from poor public transportation,” she said.

The City Council decided to invite the Association of Shopping Center Managers of Indonesia (APPBI) next week to explain the one-sided parking fee hike.

On Wednesday, councilors of Commission B overseeing economy met with parking operators who stated that they were forced to raise the fare because building owners demanded higher revenue from parking.

Toni, a representative official of Secure Parking, admitted that the price his company set breached the 2004 gubernatorial decree.

“We raised the fees on Feb. 1 because the building owners asked. The official parking fares cannot accommodate to the rising operational cost and annual increase of provincial wages,” he said.

He suggested that the city review the parking fee regulation once every two years.

A request to raise the parking fares, he said, was submitted in June to the administration to no avail.

Head of Commission B Selamat Nurdin blamed the city’s parking unit for not providing proper information to the public on the official parking fees, which made them unaware of the overpriced fares set by operators.

He said the revision on the bylaw on retribution would focus on improving the supervision matter. 

According to the regulation, a parking fee inside buildings and multi-story parking lots for cars and minibuses is Rp 2,000 (US 21 cents) for the first hour and Rp 1,000 for each following hour.

Fares for buses is Rp 2,000 for the first hour and Rp 2,000 for each following hour, while motorcycles are charged Rp 750.

Sumber: 

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2010/02/11/city-should-set-more-efficient-parking-rates-system-groups.html


Business English 2

Rural Economy Micro-credit scheme helps women’s businesses thrive in Aceh

The Jakarta Post ,  Nanggroe, Aceh Darussalam   |  Mon, 02/08/2010 11:39 AM  |  Business

Ernis, a 47-year-old homemaker, made a second business expansion earlier this month under a

scheme aiming to heighten economic activity in rural areas and targets businesses that have the

potential to grow.

The scheme is called the Women’s Savings and Loan (SPP) and is  provided by a government community empowerment program called the PNPM Mandiri.

Ernis applied for a loan, amounting to more than double the one she had for the first expansion, and added to her stock clothing for her store at the front of her house in the Koto hamlet of Kluet Tengah district, South Aceh.

“I mostly added T-shirts for boys to my stock,” she told The Jakarta Post.

“Many of my customers have been asking for T-shirts.”

She opened her store with Rp 2 million (US$215) in hand back in 2005.

It was then mostly filled with affordable batik dresses and earned her around Rp 100,000 in sales a day.

The business took a leap last year, when Ernis received a Rp 2 million loan under a scheme.

Soon, the outfitter was adding more expensive gamis — long Muslim dresses — to her collection.

Her daily earning has grown to around Rp 200,000 and Ernis said she could receive up to Rp 1 million in sales every market day once a week.

The mother of three also managed to put aside some of her income to buy two PlayStations
and computer games and is now renting them for Rp 2,000 an hour.

Early in January, she took another Rp 5 million SPP loan and traveled to Medan in North Sumatra for stock for her store.

She is one loan recipient in the district.

Under the SPP scheme, women in poverty-stricken villages in many places across the country can apply for loans to fund their businesses.

In Kluet Tengah, SPP was first implemented in 2007 and has so far reached 504 women in the district.

“There is no limit to the amount of money that the women can borrow.

“If we think that a business has the potential to grow, we are more than happy to lend Rp 20
million or more,” said Irwami, a facilitator of the PNPM program for Kluet Tengah.

At 12 percent a year, the interest rate for the loan is lower than the 14 to 22 percent charged by the government’s micro credit loan.

For many borrowers, especially those whose businesses are not as successful as Ernis’, paying the interest of that amount is a burden.

“We’ve been having a hard time repaying our loan every month,” Tamzalika, a merchant from Lawe Melang hamlet told the Post.

His wife applied for a Rp 2 million loan in 2008 to fund the family’s business selling pecan nuts and fuel.

Repayment of the SPP loan, however, has been running smoothly, according to Irwami.

He said residents in the district had seen an increase in their daily income to an average of Rp 40,000 currently from Rp 30,000 before the PNPM Mandiri programs were introduced in 2006.

The PNPM Mandiri mostly funds infrastructure projects and many SPP beneficiaries now have thriving businesses.

Adrawati, 49, lives one-hour’s drive from Ernis. The resident of Pulo Kambing hamlet in Kluet Utara district earns her money making bed covers, draperies and pillow cases.

She now earns Rp 500,000 to Rp 600,000 a month, up from Rp 100,000 to Rp 200,000 before she expanded her business through a Rp 2 million loan in 2007.

The loan gave her enough money to buy garments of better quality, making her able to set higher selling prices.

Adrawati has purchased two sewing machines and one embroidery machine since she began her business in the 2000s using only one old sewing machine, she said.

“I can now hire a worker to help me when I have many orders flowing in, or when a job needs to be done quickly,” Adrawati said, adding that she paid the worker Rp 20,000 for every set of bed covers produced.

She also said that she was looking forward to taking Rp 10 million of the SPP loan “to buy more and better garments”.

“I think my business can grow even bigger if I can take the amount of that loan,” she added. (adh)

Sumber:

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2010/02/08/rural-economy-microcredit-scheme-helps-women%E2%80%99s-businesses-thrive-aceh.html


Business English 2

New association aims for independent economy

Arghea Desafti Hapsari ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Tue, 02/09/2010 7:50 PM  |  Business 

A number of experts and scholars in economics and politics declared the foundation of the Indonesian Political Economy Association (AEPI) on Tuesday, aiming to help Indonesia move toward an independent economy.

Among the those involved were economists Hendri Saparini and Ichsanudin Noorsy, lecturer Samsul Hadi from the University of Indonesia, PLN labor union’s chairman Ahmad Daryoko and Henri Saragih, who is an international coordinator at an international peasant movement Via Campesina.

Another of the economists founding the association, Revrisond Baswir, said that the movement was born amidst the concern over the country’s economic and political condition, which he said was dominated by foreign forces.

Among AEPI’s resolutions is to analyze and give correction to Indonesia’s political economic policies to bring them in line with the constitution. The new association also resolves to come up with and spread ideas on the importance of independence in the country’s economy.

Sumber:
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2010/02/09/new-association-aims-independent-economy.html


Business English 2

Growth rate exceeds target, recovery may come sooner

Aditya Suharmoko ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Thu, 02/11/2010 9:55 AM  |  Headlines 

Indonesia’s economy grew at the fastest pace in three months to the end of December, last year, signaling that the recovery may come sooner than expected, officials say.

The economy grew by 5.4 percent in the fourth quarter from a year earlier after rising 4.2 percent in the third quarter, the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) reported Wednesday.

The agency said that the economy expanded 4.5 percent in 2009.

“The 4.5 percent growth was higher than the government’s projection of 4.3 percent,” Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said.

“This showed that in the fourth quarter there was a significant increase. This will be our basis and evaluation. It seems that the recovery of exports and imports will be sooner than expected.”

The government expects the economy to expand 5.5 percent this year, supported by higher export-import activities, with a remaining strong private consumption.

The Trade Ministry said export of non-oil-and-gas products might grow between 7 percent and 8.5 percent this year due to an expected increase in global demand.

Last year Indonesia exported US$97.47 billion of non-oil-and-gas products, down 9.7 percent from $107.89 billion booked in 2008.

The BPS said last year’s 4.5 percent growth was mainly supported by private consumption, which contributed 58.6 percent of the country’s GDP of Rp 5.6 trillion (US$600 billion).

Asian economies mostly grew faster than analysts’ estimates, but Indonesia fared better due to its high consumer spending and less reliance on exports.

The country’s relatively low interest rate significantly helped spur consumer spending, the main driver of economic growth.

Bank Indonesia lowered its benchmark interest rate by 3 percent between December, 2008, to August last year to protect the country’s economy from the slowdown in the global economy.

The benchmark rate has maintained itself at 6.5 percent.

The transportation and communication sector had the most increase at 15.5 percent, followed by electricity, gas and the clean water sector with a 13.8 percent increase, the BPS said.

But labor-intensive sectors did not see a substantial increase.

The agriculture sector saw a 4.1 percent growth, the manufacturing industry sector 2.1 percent and the trade, hotel and restaurant sector 1.1 percent.

Coordinating Economic Minister Hatta Rajasa said the government would strive to boost the real sector to absorb more labor.

“The real sector that absorbs labor and manufacturers should be pushed. We want to create new employment opportunities for the people to make business,” he said.

In August, 2009, the rate of open unemployment stood at 7.87 percent of Indonesia’s 114 million workers, the BPS said.

The figure declined from 8.39 percent in August 2008.

The number of people living in poverty reached 32.53 million in March 2009, or 14.15 percent of about 230 million in total population.

The National Development Planning Agency said the government planned to reduce the poverty rate to between 8 percent and 10 percent in 2014 by accelerating infrastructure projects to spur growth in the real sector.

Sumber: 

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2010/02/11/growth-rate-exceeds-target-recovery-may-come-sooner.html


Business English 2

Asian stocks gain on Greece support plan

The Associated Press ,  Mumbai, India   |  Fri, 02/12/2010 1:38 PM  |  Business

Asian markets were mostly higher Friday on optimism Europe's pledge to help debt-laden Greece would stave off a broader crisis among the 16 countries that use the euro.

Adding to positive sentiment were better-than-expected economic reports from the U.S. and China, which raised hopes of a strengthening recovery.

But Asia's gains were modest, held in check by unanswered questions about the shape of Europe's assistance to Greece and ongoing worries about the health of Japan's economy.

Tokyo's market, closed Thursday for a public holiday, led the region's gains. Oil slipped after jumping above $75 a barrel overnight while the euro continued its slide against the dollar.

"We've had a fairly sharp sell-off particularly in Asia for a few weeks, and we're seeing a rebound based on that," said Lorraine Tan, director of equities research at Standard & Poor's in Singapore. "There has been good news. That helps provide some confidence to the market."

On Thursday, Europe pledged to help Greece with its debt crisis. Despite offering few details of how a bailout might work, the move raised confidence that instability would not spread to countries like Portugal and Spain.

"It's more of a confidence thing at this point in time," said Tan. "I think a fair chunk of the bad news is reflected, but people are worried about the unknowns, that you could get a freeze-up in the financial system again. That's a valid concern."

A tame report Thursday on Chinese inflation also raised hopes that Beijing would not move aggressively to slow the economy and cool demand for natural resources.

The U.S. Labor Department, meanwhile, said first-time claims for jobless benefits fell more than expected last week, which economists hope will signal a lasting recovery.

That good news brought some investors back to the market. Trading activity has been subdued the past few days ahead of holidays next week for the Lunar New Year in China, Hong Kong and elsewhere.

Japan's Nikkei 225 stock average rose 87.28 points, 0.9 percent, to 10,051.3 and the Shanghai Composite index was up 24.47, or 0.8 percent,to 3,009.97. Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 67.1, or 0.3 percent, to 20,357.79.

Elsewhere, South Korea's Kopsi dropped 7.95, or 0.5 percent, to 1,589.89. Australia's benchmark was flat while markets in Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia rose. Indian markets were closed Friday for a public holiday.

In Sydny trade, shares in resource companies rose with BHP Billiton up 1.1 percent and Rio Tinto up 3.2 percent, on hopes of continuing strong Chinese demand for ore and other minerals.

Toyota Motor Corp. shares rose 2.1 percent in Tokyo after the company said its top executive will visit the U.S. in early March to meet with government officials an reassure rattled car owners after the automaker's massive recalls.

In the U.S. on Thursday, the Dow rose 105.81, or 1.1 percent, to 10,144.19, its highest close in more than a week. The S&P 500 index rose 10.34, or 1 percent, to 1,078.47. The Nasdaq composite index rose 29.54, or 1.4 percent, to 2,177.41.

Oil prices were lower in Asia, with benchmark crude for March delivery off 41 cents at $74.87. The day before it jumped 76 cents to settle at $75.28.

In currencies, the dollar fell to 89.69 yen from 89.74 late Thursday in New York. The euro fell to $1.3668 from $1.3693.

Sumber: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2010/02/12/asian-stocks-gain-greece-support-plan.html


Business English 2

RI, Germany to strengthen cooperation in clean energy

Sat, 02/13/2010 1:04 PM  |  National 

JAKARTA: German Ambassador to Indonesia Dr. Norbest Baas met with People's Consultative Assembly Speaker Taufik Kiemas Friday to discuss the potential of strengthening investment and other cooperation between the two countries. 

"Our focus is to attract more German businesses to invest in Indonesia," the ambassador said after the visit, citing Indonesia's promising current economic performance. 

He said the clean energy sector would be the ultimate target for investment because Indonesia had great potential for developing non-fossil fuel energy, such as geothermal, wind and solar energy. 

During his visit, the ambassador told Taufik that the German economic minister would visit the country soon, together with representatives of the German business community, to explore the potential. 

Regarding possibly expanding economic ties, Taufik said Indonesia would also send delegates to Germany to strengthen cooperation between businessmen from the two countries. - JP

Sumber: 

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2010/02/13/ri-germany-strengthen-cooperation-clean-energy.html


Business English 2 

Improve bank regulations to avoid crisis, Soros says

Aditya Suharmoko ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Thu, 02/11/2010 11:57 AM  |  Business

Billionaire financier George Soros, upon his visit to Jakarta on Wednesday, again stressed the need to improve global bank regulations to avoid another economic crisis.

Soros has repeatedly said that regulators have for years conducted hands-off policies that have allowed banks and other big companies to take risks that could endanger the financial system.

“The whole banking system has become globalized, but it has been operating on a false principle that the system can regulate itself,” he told reporters in Jakarta after meeting Vice President Boediono at the Vice President’s Palace.

“There is a globalization of market, but there is no globalization of regulation.”

Soros said that Indonesia had managed to pass through a difficult period with relatively little damage, comparing the amount of money spent by the country to protect the financial system in comparison to that spent by the US.

The government, through the Deposit Insurance Corporation, spent Rp 6.76 trillion (US$716 million) to bail out Bank Century, which almost collapsed in November 2008. The US provided $700 billion as part of the Treasury’s Troubled Asset Relief Program.

“My visit to the Vice President is really just more to inform myself about the economic and financial conditions in Indonesia because as an ex-central banker I thought that he would be the person who could give me a good overall picture,” he said.

Soros declined to comment further on the Century bailout, which has entered the political arena after lawmakers formed an inquiry committee to scrutinize the bailout decision and key decision makers involved.

He said that regulators could have avoided bailing out the banks if they had managed to regulate banks appropriately.

In Indonesia Soros reviewed the performance of the Tifa Foundation, which he partly finances.

“I think the foundation is doing a very good work and I hope it will actually expand its activities because Indonesia is a vibrant democracy where a foundation devoted to the principle of an open society can in fact make some worthwhile contributions,” he said.

Sumber: 

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2010/02/11/improve-bank-regulations-avoid-crisis-soros-says.html


Business English 2

Vietnam, RI competing to attract foreign investment

Lilian Budianto ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Fri, 02/12/2010 10:40 AM  |  World 

Political stability and cheap labor have contributed to a healthy economy in Vietnam, rivaling Indonesia’s economic growth within the Southeast Asian region, says a senior Indonesian diplomat.

Indonesian Ambassador to Vietnam Pitono Purnomo said Hanoi grew by more than 6 percent last year, surpassing Indonesia, the largest economy in Southeast Asia, because the one-party state provided better security and offered cheaper labor.

Indonesia’s economic growth stood at 4.5 percent in 2009.

“Demonstrations are rare in Vietnam as the government imposes strict security rules. From an economic perspective, this is an advantage when it comes to attracting foreign investment,” he said.

The ambassador said Indonesia had better wage standards and working conditions compared to Vietnam, but this had also discouraged foreign investment.

“Living standards are lower in Vietnam and that’s why they can suppress wages,” he said.

Indonesia’s foreign investment stood at US$10.82 billion in 2009 with  Singapore as the biggest investor, followed by the Netherlands and Japan.

Vietnam’s foreign investment reached $9.8 billion in 2009. The United States made up the bulk of the investment, followed by the Cayman Islands.

Indonesia, with its fledgling democracy, has seen many street protests, including labor strikes, that observers say often interrupt productivity. Businesspeople have also recently protested over the ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement, saying that flows of Chinese products will harm local businesses.

Pitono said that he had not heard of similar concerns in Vietnam.

“They have not complained because they have long established trade relations. China is Vietnam’s main trading partner and China has invested a lot in Vietnam,” he said.

“Chinese products have long existed in Vietnam and vice versa. Vietnamese products, especially in agriculture and mining, also dominate China as both are close neighbors. Vietnam has seen China’s large population of 1.3 billion as an opportunity, not a threat.”

Pitono, however, said that Indonesia could compete as Indonesia had better skilled workers than Vietnam.

“We are also looking into the possibility of a working agreement because we produce similar products.
We can complement each other, for example, if Vietnam imports some materials from Indonesia to be made in Vietnam,” he said.

Pitono said bilateral relations between Indonesia and Vietnam were “healthy and robust”, with two-way trade totaling $2.1 billion in 2009 in favor of Indonesia.

Indonesia exports chemical products, spare parts and steel to Vietnam, while Indonesia imports rubber and agricultural products from Vietnam.

Sumber: 

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2010/02/12/vietnam-ri-competing-attract-foreign-investment.html


Business English 2

Entrepreneurship: More than just self-employment

Entrepreneurship: More than just self-employment
Sandiaga Uno

Wed, 01/07/2009 4:04 PM

Four years ago I wrote an article, ?Wealth is a mindset, so is entrepreneurship?, which was published at The Jakarta Post. The gist of that piece was that an authentic and effective entrepreneur was not someone who just had a talent and ran with it. Neither was entrepreneurship about what you do or for whom. It stems from what you think of yourself.

We make assumptions about wealth. For instance, pursuing it means accumulating its symbols, such as money or assets. That?s a confi ning assumption. Being a wealthy person is actually about knowing what we can do and getting the most out of that capacity. When we think of wealth this way, we look for the most in ourselves and from ourselves and, like as not, end up achieving beyond what we thought was possible.

Now, four years on, entrepreneurship has become a viral idea, spreading to everyone it touches. But I am seeing some fundamental misunderstandings abut it, especially among young people. Mistakes happen when any fad spreads rapidly, so misunderstandings are, well, understandable. But addressing these misunderstandings is still a priority.

First, I want to set the record straight and warn the younger generation. All you newly employed college graduates, we don?t become entrepreneurs simply by leaving our current jobs or, for that matter, our present bosses. We can still behave entrepreneurially as a professional, even if we work for the government. In that setting entrepreneurship means contributing innovatively and creatively to the organizations we work for. Vision does not depend on the work place, it depends on care, hard work and positive thinking. I learned most of what I know now from the companies, both the small and the big, that hired me when I was fi rst out in the work force.

Second, many young people get inspired by legendary (and exceptional!) entrepreneurs who made it with little academic background. But instead of learning why these entrepreneurs are successful, we too often mistakenly focus on what they did not have, a good education.

The exception doesn?t make the rule, so education, when we can get a good one, is still the most important factor. Legendary entrepreneurs, such as Richard Branson or our own Pak Bob Sadino, say the same. Even though they didn?t hop through the schooling hoops, they were no less prepared than those with degrees, because they ? this is crucial ? never stopped learning. By the same token those who get the chance to study at top universities who are there just to get that piece of paper, not for the learning, are starving their own potential. Good education is a function of positive learning mindset and attitude, and schooling is the easiest toolkit for any budding entrepreneur to employ.

Next, entrepreneurship is not about earning to meet our needs; we do not live solely for ourselves. We live and work for the people we love and those who love us. I often see friends quit their jobs because they get tired of working for somebody else, and they lose the vision and purpose to give more and better for their family. That is selfish, unwise, and not what entrepreneurship is all about.

Entrepreneurship requires wisdom, not just blind intuition. It is not about being a richer man or woman but about becoming a better person, a better human being.

Lastly, entrepreneurship is the polar opposite of luck. You know luck, it?s the excuse that let?s us wait for our ship to come in, and the waiting makes us all the poorer. I like the old saying: ?Luck happens to those who are most prepared when opportunity strikes?.

In the end, entrepreneurship is more about doing than about talking about doing. I want to share one take-away from my own experience as en entrepreneur: ?If we aren?t having fun, we aren?t doing it right?.

Sandiaga Uno

Enterprise Asia dubbed Sandiaga Uno Entrepreneur of the Year for 2008. Together with business owner Edwin Soeryadjaya, he founded the investment company Saratoga Capital, which offers investment advice in mining, telecommunications, forestry and other sectors. He has chaired the Indonesian Young Entrepreneurs Association since 2005.

Source: The Jakarta Post
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/01/07/ entrepreneurship-more-just-selfemployment.html 

Sumber: http://beritapendidikan.com/mod.php?mod=publisher&op=viewarticle&cid=14&artid=1367

Tugas Bahasa Inggris

Students hold arts festival to celebrate difference, learn respect for other

Fri, 01/23/2009 4:22 PM 

Several students of Diponegoro School perform a recital with angklung (a traditional musical instrument) at an arts festival in Rawamangun, East Jakarta, to commemorate World Peace Day, which fell on Jan. 1.

The festival - One World, One Dream for Peace Through Culture - aims to raise awareness among the students that peace can be obtained through cultural exchange, tolerance and understanding.

Besides the angklung recital and a gamelan recital by students from Central Java, there was a showcase of traditional dances from different areas across the archipelago.

The Saman dance from Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam, the Piring from Padang, West Sumatra, and the Rampak Gendang from West Java were among the dances performed by students at the two-hour event.

Difference should not be a reason for war or conflict, Mazarina, a student, told The Jakarta Post.

Instead people should learn from each other's views.

But, she said, the principles of tolerance was easier said than done.

Even in my everyday life, I find it difficult to practise such a noble principle, she said.

As humans, we all have our own emotions and sentiments.

Personally, I find it hard to like Israel after what their military has done to Palestine, she said, referring to the Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip.

I know that not all Israelis are bad, but it is hard for me to like them after the attacks, she said.

Prior to the event, the students held a mass prayer for Palestinian victims. They also raised funds totaling Rp 50 million, to be donated to the victims through a humanitarian organization, Mer-C.

Although my heart is with Palestine, I hope that both the Israeli and Palestinians leaders can put aside their differences, said another student. After all, they were brothers and sisters for thousands of years before the land dispute of the 1960s.

Diponegoro School counselor Arief Rachman said the festival was held annually.

Last year, we held a Wayang, or shadow puppet show, to commemorate World Peace Day, said Arief, who is known as an outspoken observer on education issues.

Hopefully, the students will learn how to respect each other.

The more we know about other cultures, the better we can understand and relate to each other. --- The Jakarta Post/hdt

Source: The Jakarta Post
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/01/23/students-hold-arts-festival-celebrate-difference-learn-respect-other.html

Sumber: 
http://beritapendidikan.com/mod.php?mod=publisher&op=viewarticle&cid=14&artid=1365