Two INVESTORS interested in TAKING OVER the MANDALA Airlines

At least two investors are preparing to take over PT Mandala Airlines which is currently experiencing a financial crisis. They are PT LCNC which is a lessor of aircraft and also PT Manunggal Sejati Group Sinarmas Group.

Director General of Civil Aviation Ministry of Transportation, Herry Bhakti said to date only two prospective investors have expressed readiness to become Mandala Airlines investors. "There are offers from several companies but only two were serious," said Herry.

According to Herry Bhakti, PT LCNC is a joint venture between foreign and local. They have quite a lot of aircraft for lease. So if they take over Mandala Airlines, the operationalization of the airline could be expedited.

In the meantime, if up to 45 days from the closing operation, the Mandala Airlines is not also get the investors, then the route permit will be revoked. Permission it could actually be revoked after 30 days, but Ministry of Transportation has provided an extension to 15 days.

Herry Bhakti said Mandala Airlines is still negotiating. Finalization is expected to be done next week. Meanwhile, one of the shareholders of Mandala Airlines, Indigo Partners that is likely to release its shares. "The government only to facilitate, this problem of business to business, we can not interfere," said Herry.

Jusman Syafii Djamal, aviation practitioners say what needs to be done by Mandala Airlines greeted positively. Mandala Airlines also still has the potential to be developed. He said more than 51% of airlines in the United States became the major airlines after a corporate restructuring effort. "For example, Delta Airlines and Continental Airlines are now successfully become a big airline," said Jusman.

Djamal said the Mandala Airlines should be able to take advantage of a 45-day period provided by the commercial court to seek investors. If not capable, then the Mandala Airlines will be declared bankrupt.

But Jusman assess existing bright point of the rescue effort airline. It was seen from the investors who are interested and also a meeting with the creditors. If you've got investors, Mandala Airlines can return to the old strategy by working on medium aviation market by choosing routes fat. If not, Mandala should really pure aviation low cost carrier (LCC) in order to compete with other LCC airlines.

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Indonesian CPO Exports value reached US$ 16.4 Billion in 2010

Throughout 2010, export value of Indonesia crude palm oil and palm oil derivative products reached US$ 16.4 billion, up 50% over 2009, which amounted to US$ 10 billion. This increase was due to the high international price of CPO. This was conveyed by the Executive Director of the Indonesian Palm Oil Association (Gapki), Fadhil Hasan.

"In the first quarter, CPO export value of U.S. $ 2.66 billion was subsequently increased to US$ 3.04 billion in the second quarter. Next in the third quarter, the export value of US$ 4.46 billion, which jumped more sharply to around US$ 6.32 billion in the fourth quarter, "said Fadhil.

Based on Gapki’s data, during January-December 2010 Indonesia's CPO export volume rose slightly by 127,498 tones or be 15,656,349 tons, compared to the previous year which amounted to 15,528,851 tons.

National CPO export growth driven increase in the number of purchases by the three major consumer namely India, China, and the European Union. "In 2010, total exports of CPO and its derivatives to India as much as 5,793,077 tons, which increased from 2009 amounted to 5,630,199 tons," said Fadhil.

India to import more palm oil up to 4,498,365 tons, followed by as much as 861,944 tonnes of RBD Olein, Crude Olein totaled 135,002 tons, Palm Fatty Acid Distillate (PFAD) amounted to 95,631 tonnes, RBD Palm Oil (PO) amounted to 63,012 tons, 74,120 tons of RBD Stearin and amounted to 11,000 tonnes of Crude Stearin.

Meanwhile, European Union countries to increase the amount of the purchase of CPO and its derivatives from Indonesia amounted to 3,728,677 tons. Same with India, the European Union buying more palm oil as much as 2,537,431 tons, 426,673 tons of RBD Stearin, RBD PO totaled 314,364 tons, amounting to 293,437 tons of RBD Olein, PFAD totaled 148,069 tons, Crude Olein as much as 8,000 tons and 700 tons of Crude Stearin.

"China is importing crude palm oil and its derivatives from Indonesia amounted to 2,410,337 tons, in which the largest import of RBD Olein products amounted to 1,491,948 tons. Furthermore, amounting to 632,312 tons of RBD Stearin, crude palm oil amounted to 231,617 tons, PFAD reached 46,458 tons, and as many as RBD PO 8,000 tons, "said Fadhil.

Then, Bangladesh buying palm oil and derived products from Indonesia amounted to 629,529 tons, USA import 172,167 tons of CPO and its derivatives from Indonesia.

While Pakistan imported 87,379 tons of CPO and its derivatives are down dramatically from last year, because of delays in completion of Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) Indonesia-Pakistan. There is also, exports of Indonesian palm oil and derived products to other countries amounted to 2,889,182 tons.

For information, the total exports of 15.6 million tons was still dominated exports of Crude Palm Oil (CPO), which reached 8,779,940 tons (56.2%) and the remaining derivative products amounted to 6,876,405 tons (43.8%).

"Based on these data, Gapki noted that world demand is still focused on crude palm oil products rather than the derivatives. This can be seen from India and the EU demand that the CPO world's largest market," said Fadhil.

From the export volumes of derivative products, the amount of exports are more RBD Olein form which amounted to 3,565,096 tons (51.8%), followed by RBD Stearin totaled 1,435,145 tons (20.8%), RBD Palm Oil, amounted to 884,726 tons (12 , 8%), Crude Olein as much as 587,778 tons (8.5%), amounting to 382,459 tons PFAD (5.5%) and amounted to 21,201 tons of crude stearin (0.6%).

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The LARGEST and BUSIEST port in Indonesia,Tanjung Priok is OVERLOAD

The capacity of Port of Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta, is considered no longer adequate to accommodate the amount of goods entering.

"As a result, there is accumulation of goods and this resulted in losses to hundreds of millions of dollars per day," said Vice Chairman of Indonesian Chamber of Commerce (Kadin) Transportation sector, Syafrizal.

Syafrizal said the number of incoming flows of goods, particularly containers each day increases. If calculated per year, the increase reached 13% to 15%. Medium capacity of accommodating of the largest and busiest port in Indonesia, now no longer sufficient entry of goods.

According Syafrizal, ideally the load of each container must not be equal to the area. Stacking goods overloaded by more than 100%. Supposedly, the accumulation of goods is only 70% or at most 80%. But now the number has more, even up to 140, said Sayfizal.

As a result, the accumulation of goods out of control. Even container crane was difficult to work and often suffered damage because of excessive usage.

"We must also shift the accumulation of these containers of goods to another place. It means there was a shift takes place and it costs more," he said.

According Syafrizal, to shift one container, then the costs that range from IDR 1 million to IDR 2 million. While the containers are moved each day totaling more than 300 units. Syafrizal said the accumulation of goods will increasingly be seen at the time of holidays or other big day. For that it hoped the government to reform infrastructure.

At least it took five years to fix Tanjung Priok port infrastructure and a maximum of about 10 years. But, now it needs is extremely urgent. So should be done immediately, he said.

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BATAVIA air maiden flight Jakarta to MERAUKE

Batavia Air has launch a maiden flights from Jakarta to Merauke via Makassar and Jayapura (return), on Sunday (01/16/2011), with Boeing 737-300 aircraft numbered Y6-837 flight.

The aircraft departed from Jakarta at 22:45 pm (Western Indonesia Standard Time) and landed at Mopah Airport in Merauke at 08:55 (Easter Indonesia Standard Time) after a transit in Makassar and Jayapura. While flights from Merauke to Jakarta, leaving at 9:30 (Eastern Indonesia Standard Time) and arrive in Jakarta at 15.30 pm (Western Indonesia Standard Time). Flight routes from Jakarta to Merauke (return) will be operated every day.

"We see great development in eastern Indonesia in the field of economy. With supported by adequate transportation, we hope this development will continue to affect progress in other sectors. With the entry into Merauke, Batavia Air have connecting ranging from Sabang (Banda Aceh) to Merauke, "said President of Batavia Air Yudiawan Tansari.

Maiden flight to Merauke led by Batavia Air Operations Director Capt. Noer Effendi by bringing a group from Batavia Air. The delegation was greeted by government officials in the Merauke district.

Batavia Air currently operates more than 170 flights per day and serving 41 destinations in Indonesia and 6 international destinations, namely Jeddah and Riyadh (Saudi Arabia), Guangzhou (China), Kuching (Malaysia), Singapore, and the latest Dili (Timor - Leste). Batavia Air has a fleet of 37 aircraft consisting of Boeing 737-300, Boeing 737-400, Airbus A-319, Airbus A-320, and Airbus A330.

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MEDAN become one of the AirAsia HUB airport in INDONESIA

Indonesia AirAsia Airlines has announced the inauguration of Medan as one of the hub airport in Indonesia. The inauguration was marked by the maiden flight numbered QZ 8084 from Polonia Airport, Medan to Suvarnabhumi Airport, Bangkok.

'We saw Medan as a fast growing city. Medan are also a potential market for our airlines, especially in terms of number of passengers and flights that can be developed, both domestically and internationally", said Dharmadi, President Director of Indonesia AirAsia.

With the introduction of Medan as one of the hubs, then the hub airport of Indonesia AirAsia to five. Four others hub port are Cengkareng (Jakarta), Bandung (West Java), Denpasar (Bali), and Surabaya.

In fact, the flight of Indonesia AirAsia in Medan since August 24, 2004, and is now serving six routes, domestic and international, such as Medan (MES)-Bandung (BDO), Medan (MES) - Surabaya (SUB), Medan (MES) - Kuala Lumpur (KL), Medan (MES) - Penang (PEN), Medan (MES) - Bangkok (BKK), and Medan (MES) - Hong Kong (HKG).

With the status of a hub airport, said Communications Manager of Indonesia AirAsia, Audrey Progastama, the airline will prepare a special spare parts and technicians. From Medan, will also added domestic flights and international flight of Indonesia AirAsia.

According to Mulyana, Hub Station Manager in Medan, they already had 78 AirAsia staff that is ready to provide the best support. "We're committed to provide better service for passengers and our passengers, especially in Medan city, can experience an unforgettable experience when flying with our airline," said Mulyana.

On Saturday (Jan 15, 2010), Indonesia AirAsia fly the maiden flight from Medan to Bangkok using Airbus A320s. Planes depart from Medan at 15:05 pm and is scheduled to arrive in Bangkok at 17:15 local time. Meanwhile, Medan - Hong Kong's inaugural flight is scheduled to take place January 16, 2011 at 14.30 and arrive at 19:35 pm Hong Kong time.

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SHANGHAI become the world's busiest container port in 2010

SHANGHAI said it overtook Singapore for the first time in 2010 to become the world's busiest container port, as the global economic recovery boosted cargo traffic through China's business centre.

Shanghai's port handled 29.05 million 20-foot equivalent units, or TEUs, in 2010 - 500,000 TEUs more than Singapore, the Shanghai government said in a statement.

Officials credited the economic recovery and Shanghai's six-month long World Expo with boosting the container and cargo traffic travelling through the port, the statement said.

Shanghai's cargo throughput rose to about 650 million tonnes in 2010, remaining the world's largest, up from 590 million tonnes in 2009, the statement said.

Shanghai will continue, and possibly expand, an export-tax refund pilot project and press on with expanding infrastructure, the statement said.

The city has charged ahead through the financial crisis with work to more than double its port capacity. China's cabinet has declared it wants Shanghai to move up the value chain and become a full-service world-class shipping centre by 2020, with shipping financing, reinsurance and arbitration services.

source: straitstimes.com / picture: google.com

Sky Aviation purchase of 10 FOKKER 50 aircrafts

In the year 2011, PT Sky Aviation airline is targeting to purchase of 10 Fokker 50 aircraft types. Commissioner Joseph Ardhi told Sky Aviation Fokker 50 was chosen because, besides match with the runway network, also proven safe and reliable.

Five of the ten Fokker aircraft with a capacity of 50 seats it had ascertained realized. Three units from five aircraft will be sent in early February to serve remote areas in Sumatra and Banyuwangi. While the other two units will arrive in June.

By opening of the short routes, according to Sky Aviation Marketing Manager Sutito Zainuddin, travel time will be shortened. Compared to sea transport, which took two-three days, Fokker only takes 45 minutes.

Early last year, new Sky Aviation management has scheduled a regional route from Surabaya – Banyuwangi - Denpasar with a Cessna Grand Caravan aircraft. Besides that, Sky Aviation also provide aircraft charter service for excursions in the area of eastern Indonesia, such as the island of Komodo, Ende, and Sumbawa, with two Cirrus aircraft types.

The Fokker 50 will serve Banyuwangi - Surabaya, Banyuwangi - Denpasar, and Banyuwangi – East/West Nusa Tenggara routes, which will accommodate the growth of the national energy sector. Meanwhile, the Grand Caravan will open a new route Banyuwangi - Sumenep and Bawean.

For aircraft maintenance, Sky Aviation took Fokker Services Asia based in Singapore. This company has been working with other airlines in Indonesia, such as the Indonesian Air Force, the Indonesian Police, Merpati Airlines, Pelita Airlines, and Trans Nusa Airlines and Riau Airlines.

Director Air Transport Directorate General of Civil Aviation Ministry of Transportation, Edward A. Silooy, told Sky Aviation has been qualified to operate air transport aircraft through a small airfield. "This foresight businessman working on areas that have not been touched," he said.

Vice Governor of East Java Saifullah Yusuf welcomed the entry of Sky Aviation airlines in flight path of East Java because it would boost the growth of tourism industry.

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2011, targeted Coffee Exports Increase 5%

Ministry of Trade, Republic of Indonesia is targeting for increasing the coffee export by five percent this year. International prices predicted relatively well this year.

Coffee production for this year is estimated to increase to 570 thousand tons from 540 thousand tons in 2010. "In addition, market penetration into China as well as new markets improved," said Trade Minister Mari Elka Pangestu, the Ministry of Trade, Jakarta, Wednesday (05/01/2011).

Furthermore, Mari said, it also targets exports of footwear increased by 20 percent next year. Because the development of non-traditional markets, especially in Central Asia and Eastern Europe namely Russia, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan has begun to recover. In addition, the increase in exports was also motivated by the commencement of production by some manufacturers who do relocate to Indonesia and also lower costs for state employees compared to competitors.

Mari explain, automobile exports is also targeted to increase 10 percent this year. It would improve the promotion and expansion of automotive export markets to the FTA partner countries and other countries. "Meanwhile, increased investment in this sector is also increasingly driven," says Mari.

As for the export of crude palm oil sector, said Mari, also targeted to increase by 16 percent this year. The reason, she said, in addition to the primary purpose of export markets namely China, European Union, and India, several other markets in the Middle East and Eastern Europe are also considered to potentially large.

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