Thinking Outside The Square

Game changers...some fund managers are willing to back their judgement rather than just track the sharemarket.

Fund managers have been criticised for running 'me too' funds that invest in a way that is not very different from the sharemarket index while taking hefty fees from investors for the privilege. However, a handful of fund managers is producing good returns by searching for undervalued companies and backing them.
They are boutique businesses where those running the money own the businesses. Senior investment staff tend to have equity in the business with 'skin' in the game, rather than just being employees.
Rather than worrying about what others are doing, they back their own judgments and are not afraid to be assessed on the results. They hold the stocks they believe in and run the risk of their fund's performance falling behind the market and peer funds.
Rather than hug or mirror the sharemarket index, they shrug off the constraints of most managers. The DWS Global Equity Thematic Fund takes a different approach to investing.
The fund manager picks key themes and trends around the globe. The fund is run by boutique manager Global Thematic Partners from New York, led by the portfolio manager Oliver Kratz. It has an alliance with Deutsche Asset Management.
An investment specialist at Deutsche Asset Management, Bill Barbour, says the trouble for investors in global share funds whose portfolios closely match the global sharemarket indices is that they can end up investing in countries or sharemarket bubbles at just the wrong time.
One of the most widely followed sharemarket indices - the MSCI World index - includes 26 countries but excludes China, India and Brazil and many other emerging economies.
'In 2000, Microsoft was the biggest company in the world and its weighting in the MSCI was bigger than Germany, which is the biggest industrial exporter on the planet,' Barbour says.
'This is a crazy way to construct a portfolio. But that is what most people do. We divide the world into themes that have an inevitability about them - not if but when.'
The fund can have up to a 30 per cent exposure to emerging markets and the fund is pushing against that limit now. The global agribusiness theme is one in which companies that are trying to solve the problem of feeding the world are identified for investment.
Food prices are likely to continue to rise because of population growth, the 'wealth' effect in emerging economies, increasing consumption of meat and dairy, limited agricultural land, global warming and rise in biofuel use.
'Kratz is a high-calibre commander who explores sweeping themes to construct portfolios,' investment researcher Morningstar says.
The researcher is of the opinion that the fund manager's qualities and distinct take on investing will bear fruit for many years to come.
GO ANYWHERE
The way Hunter Hall invests reflects the personal passions of its founder, Peter Hall. The manager has funds that invest in Australian-listed companies and companies listed on global markets.
The way it manages money is unusual in that the manager often takes big positions (up to 30 per cent) in unloved companies. Hall says the manager sometimes engages in 'corporate warfare' and acts like the owner of the business rather than as a passive investor. Sometimes it will take many years to turn businesses around, so Hunter Hall takes a long-term view.
The manager typically favours smaller companies whose shares are cheaply priced and not as frequently traded as the share of big companies. Hunter Hall also has an ethical screen and will not invest in companies associated with activities that are harmful to people, destructive to the environment or cruel to animals.
Morningstar says Hall is the 'heart and soul' of the business and is backed by an experienced team in London and Sydney.
From time to time, its funds will underperform the market. Hunter Hall's funds suffered in 2008 at the height of the GFC. However, that was to be expected, given the way the manager invests.
Once shareholders started selling their shares, it was always going to be the case that the share prices of companies whose shares were not frequently traded were going to be among the hardest hit.
Key holdings for the manager include Korean educational services company Woongjin Thinkbig and Indian bank Allahabad. More recently, Hunter Hall has become an investor in Catch the Wind, which is an American company that has developed a laser that sits on top of wind turbines and directs the turbine into the direction of the wind.
WORLD-CLASS
'There is every reason to own Platinum International and very few reasons to look the other way,' Morningstar says of the fund run by Sydney boutique manager Platinum Asset Management.
The fund invests in international shares and uses an 'eclectic, thematic stock-picking approach in their quest for what they consider undervalued stocks', Morningstar says.
Platinum was founded by Kerr Neilson in 1994 with four former Bankers Trust Australia colleagues. The global shares specialist has an impressive track record. Its flagship International Fund has had an average annual compound return of more than 13 per cent since its inception in April 1995. Platinum has other funds that invest in particular regions or countries or themes.
Neilson says the predominant concern for many managers is not to be too far away from the crowd. 'Platinum's portfolios will look very different to the index … and performances will diverge from the index performance, sometimes for some while,' he says.
Platinum is run as a meritocracy, with the performances of investment staff carefully measured and rewarded. It differs from other managers in that it can take very active views on currencies from an Australian perspective and can short-sell stocks, which, is a way of making money when a share's price falls.
Like most boutique managers, Platinum funds do not to have to remain fully invested. For example, if Platinum believes share prices are about to fall, it can increase the cash levels of its funds. Significant holdings of the International Fund include Shin-Etsu Chemical of Japan, Royal Dutch Shell, and Bangkok Bank.
CONTRARIAN
Global Value Investors is majority owned by Anton Tagliaferro's boutique fund manager Investors Mutual. Global Value Investors applies the same value-investing style to global equities that Tagliaferro applies to Australian shares.
The Global Value Investors Industrial Share Fund does have some holdings in Australian shares but is mostly invested in overseas-listed shares that are paying good dividends.
The head of investment at Global Value Investors, Roy Chen, says a prerequisite to be considered for investment is the quality of the company's balance sheet.
Chen says a mistake that many managers make is they tend to 'go with the flow' when markets are rising and invest not too differently from the market but when share prices tumble, their investors get hurt quite badly.
One of his bigger contrarian calls is Spanish telecommunications company Telefonica. Chen's team questioned the logic of buying shares in the company when the economic outlook for southern Europe was so poor.
However, he was attracted to the telco's sustainable 8 per cent yield on a low price-to-earnings multiple. And while the business faces challenges in Spain, it is doing well in the many other countries where it does business.
The investment team does not invest with a view to being invested in any one country but its stock-selection process gives the fund a high weighting to Germany, having invested in chemical companies. The fund favours liquid natural gas producers and holds shares in the ASX-listed Origin Energy.
Chen says commentators have been saying that supply of LNG had been increasing too quickly and LNG prices would be depressed but that did not change the team's view of it as a valuable commodity. Japan's nuclear power plant problems as a result of the earthquake and tsunami are likely to increase the demand for LNG.
NEXT GENERATION
Generation Investment Management was co-founded in 2004 by Al Gore and David Blood. Its Generation Global Share Fund is a 'sustainable' investment fund that is based on the idea that 'sustainability' factors - economic, environmental, social and governance - will drive a company's returns in the long term.
Colonial First State, the funds management arm of the Commonwealth Bank, is the distributor of the fund in Australia. The fund performed very well during the GFC. Morningstar says the key factors for the outperformance was the large exposure to the healthcare sector and an underweight to the financial-services sector, which was hammered during the crisis.
'We think Generation's long-term approach to global equities investing is one of the best around,' Morningstar says. 'We believe that Generation's strategy, focused on sustainability, is a measured approach that has sound investment merit.'
It is important to understand that this is not an 'ethical' fund, says the general manager of funding and alliances at Colonial First State, Graham Hand. The investment process starts with industry 'road maps', based on how the world is changing, and then finds companies that will benefit from those changes.
An example is Novo Nordisk, a Danish pharmaceuticals company that specialises in diabetes care and biopharmaceuticals. About 180 million people around the world suffer from diabetes and this figure is expected to rise to 330 million by 2025.
Novo Nordisk Novo is the market leader, with a global insulin market share of 52 per cent. The fund also invests in Cochlear, the Australian-listed hearing-device maker.
Words of caution
Fund managers that invest with conviction can often have portfolios that differ from the composition of the sharemarkets in which they invest, but it does not mean they throw caution to the wind, the co-head of fund research at Morningstar, Tim Murphy, says.
These managers have good risk controls but they invest without the usual constraints of most managers, making money any way they can.
This method of investing does, however, mean that from time to time the returns they produce are markedly different to the returns of the market in which they invest, Murphy says.
Almost all of these managers have gone through periods where they have significantly underperformed the market, he says. Platinum has had a poor last six months, Hunter Hall really struggled in 2008 and GVI Global Investors struggled in 2009.
But they are the sort of managers that tend to do better in the longer term, he says. Anyone contemplating investing in a fund that invests with few restraints needs to understand that the fund will experience times of underperformance, compared with funds that invest in a way that closely mirrors or matches the market.
Diversification among fund managers is the best way to mitigate against risks, Murphy says. Investors should not put too much of their money in any one fund.

PLN NOT Attracted to Nuclear Energy

Indonesian workers repair an electricity installation in Jakarta on July 7, 2010. The organization of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries, including Indonesia and Malaysia, have agreed since 1997 to cooperate in developing 11 cross-border transmission points allowing them to exchange power. The networks are expected to be online by 2015 a report said.

Indonesia’s State Electricity Company (PLN) was not interested in developing a nuclear power plant because it was not efficient, the company’s CEO said.
At the same time, Indonesia was rich in other alternative energy sources though they were not yet used optimally, PLN President Director Dahlan Iskan said here Wednesday.
"For now, we are not interested in using nuclear energy as there are many other energy sources which are cheaper," he said. According to him, it needed six years to build a nuclear power plant while the electricity costs Rp1,700.00 per kWh.
"We still have plenty of energy sources such as coal, water, geothermal, and natural gas," he said at a coordinative meeting with directors and officials of the State Enterprises Ministry and local authorities.
Those alternative energy sources were abundant in Indonesia, while other countries, such as Japan and South Korea, had different condition, Dahlan said adding that it was why the two countries offered nuclear energy development to Indonesia.
"I would agree if a nuclear plant were to be built here as long as there were no more energy sources that could be used," Dahlan said.
Dahlan then compared the cost of electricity generated by nuclear energy and other energy sources. Meanwhile, it needed around five years to build a geothermal power plant and two years for natural gas power plant which both set a value of Rp900,00 per kWh for electricity.
According to a Second Assistance of Regional Secretary Office of East Java administration, Hadi Prasetyo, there were 11 spots of geothermal sources in East Java region. Two of them had been bidden. On the occasion, he also offered geothermal source to PLN.

New Subaru Impreza

Subarus new look Impreza, which will be unveiled at the 2011 New York motor show.




Subaru has released the first official image of its new-look Impreza ahead of its full reveal at the New York motor show later this month.

The new Impreza will be making its debut just four years after the launch of the third-generation model but is understood to have been fast-tracked to address its predecessor's polarising styling and much-criticised interior quality.
The single profile shot suggests the new Impreza is staying relatively faithful to the Impreza concept shown at last November's LA motor show, though the production model is inevitably more conservative.
The proportions of the Japanese brand's small car are vastly improved, while the shape is clearly more curvaceous compared with the model it will replace. A more steeply raked windscreen rises into a swooping roofline, while the all-new sheetmetal brings a cleaner, crisper look to the body.
Flared wheelarches are also retained from last year's concept car and indicate even the regular models will carry muscular design cues usually reserved for the sportier Impreza variants - the WRX and STI. The new Impreza is expected to be slightly longer, wider and lower, and offer a more spacious cabin.
"Major gains in interior design and refinement" are promised by Subaru's related press release.
Subaru says a number of new advanced features will be included on the model, which should go on sale locally some time later this year. Optional features are likely to include the company's new EyeSight system that uses two cameras to alert the driver to a potential crash and even automatically stop the car to avoid an impact.
Engines will include a new version of the company's horizontally opposed 'boxer' four-cylinder, teamed for the first time in the Impreza with a continuously variable transmission.
Subaru has seemingly adopted the New York motor show as its unofficial home for Impreza unveilings. It revealed the current model there in 2007 and an STI sedan last year.

N Sumatra's Wood Exports Up Again

Destruction remains from tropical rainforest in Kuala Cenaku on October 3, 2010 in Riau Province, Sumatra, Indonesia. Norway entered a partnership with Indonesia to support Indonesias efforts to reduce emissions from deforestation and degradation of forests and peat lands. The business of pulp, palm oil and wood are causing the deforestation of Sumatra, the largest island owned by Indonesia, and is contributing global climate change to the extinction of many of the worlds rare species.

North Sumatra’s wood and wooden products had been increasingly restored and reached 26.977 million US dollars until February 2011.
"While the increase had been relatively small, only 3.26 percent compared the value of last year’s same period, and the foreign exchange revenue dropped," Head of the North Sumatra central bureau of statistics (BPS) Erwin Said said here Wednesday.
The exports have started to increase in 2010, with a total foreign exchange revenue of 194.281 million US dollars from only 181.171 million US dollars in 2009. He said last year’s rise in North Sumatra’s exports of wood and wooden products was not only triggered by an increase in their prices, but also in their volume.
This year, the trend was similar in which the exports increased 4.2 percent from January’s 13.770 million US dollars. Head of exports of farm and mining products of the foreign trade division of the North Sumatra industrial and trade agency, Fitra Kurnia, said that he had the information from the exporters that demand for wood and wooden products had been increasing already in 2010.
But the increased demand caused a problem as the exporters said they had problems in obtaining the raw material. He also said that since the issue on the environment broke out especially with regard to illegal wooden, North Sumatra’s exports of wood and wooden products had dropped because both the exporters and importers became afraid of making transactions.

US Hopes to Double Agricultural Exports to Indonesia

An aerial view of the Tanjung Priok container terminal in Jakarta August 12, 2010. Indonesias state port firm will start building a new container terminal in Jakarta this year to cope with overflowing volumes at the main shipment hub in Indonesias capital as trade grows.

The United States has hoped to double its exports of farm products to Indonesia making it the ninth-largest market, US Ambassador to Indonesia Scot Marciel said at the Indonesia Expo 2011 here Wednesday.
"Indonesia’s market-based economy is growing well and thus makes me hope that the farm product exports from my country can be maximized," Scot said.
He also said that the partnership between the US and Indonesia in raising the export of farm products was one of the points discussed by President Barack Obama and President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in the state visit of the US President to Indonesia last November.
Meanwhile, Michael Scuse, the USDA Acting Under Secretary, said that Indonesia would continue as an important US trade partner due to the fastest growing economy of Indonesia.
"In the past 15 years, agricultural trade between our countries has boomed, and Indonesia is one of Southeast Asia’s fastest growing economies with a vibrant business climate and upwardly mobile, expanding middle class, providing opportunities to expand exports of US food and agricultural goods and stimulate investment," Scuse said.
Through the comprehensive partnership between the US and Indonesia, Scuse said both countries were looking forward to expanding trade, investment and commercial relationships as well as creating great chances for the economy.
Food and Hotel Indonesia Expo 2011 was held for four days until Saturday and participated in by more than 1,000 companies from 29 countries, including Germany, the US, Turkey, Singapore, Korea, Brunei Darussalam, besides Indonesia.
In the opening remarks of the Indonesian Minister of Culture and Tourism which was conveyed by General Director of Tourism Destination Development Firmansyah, he said that the expo was a kind of effort in increasing the number of tourists to Indonesia which was scheduled to reach 7.7 million in 2011.
"If the target is achieved, we will try to increase the number of foreign tourists to Indonesia to 10 million by 2014. Therefore, food service companies and hotels play an important role in meeting the target," Jero said.

Gaddafi's Rambling Letter to Obama

Vehicles belonging to forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi explode after an air strike by coalition forces, along a road between Benghazi and Ajdabiyah March 20, 2011. It is a war that Barack Obama didnt want, David Cameron didnt need, Angela Merkel couldnt cope with and Silvio Berlusconi dreaded. Picture taken March 20, 2011.

Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi appealed directly to President Barack Obama on Wednesday to halt what the Libyan leader called "an unjust war" and wished Obama good luck in his bid for re-election next year.
In a rambling, three-page letter to Obama, Gaddafi implored Obama to stop the NATO-led air campaign, which he called an "unjust war against a small people of a developing country".
"You are a man who has enough courage to annul a wrong and mistaken action," Gaddafi wrote in the letter that was sent to the State Department and forwarded immediately to the White House, according to a US official who had seen the letter.
"I am sure that you are able to shoulder the responsibility for that.
"To serving world peace ... Friendship between our peoples ... and for the sake of economic, and security cooperation against terror, you are in a position to keep NATO off the Libyan affair for good," Gaddafi wrote.
White House press secretary Jay Carney confirmed that the White House received a letter from Gaddafi. As for Gaddafi's appeal for a ceasefire, Carney appeared to dismiss it for now.
"The conditions the president laid out are clear," Carney told reporters travelling with Obama to New York.
In the letter, sent on Wednesday, Gaddafi said his country had been hurt more morally than physically by the NATO campaign and that a democratic society could not be built through missiles and aircraft. He also repeated his claim that his foes are members of al-Qaeda.
Addressing Obama as "our dear son" and "Excellency," Gaddafi said his country had been hurt more "morally" than "physically" by the NATO campaign. The letter, in stilted and formal English, includes numerous spelling and grammatical errors.
"Our dear son, Excellency, Baraka Hussein Abu oumama, your intervention is the name of the USA is a must, so that Nato would withdraw finally from the Libyan affair," Gaddafi wrote. "Libya should be left to Libyans within the African union frame."
Gaddafi said his country had already been unfairly subjected in 1986 to "a direct military armed aggression" ordered by then-President Ronald Reagan, who famously called the leader the Mad Dog of the Middle East, as well as earlier rounds of US and international sanctions. Although he listed a litany of complaints, Gaddafi said he bears no ill will toward Obama.
"We have been hurt more morally [than] physically because of what had happened against us in both deeds and words by you," he wrote. "Despite all this you will always remain our son whatever happened. We still pray that you continue to be president of the USA. We Endeavour and hope that you will gain victory in the new election campaigne [sic]."
The letter, dated April 5, 2011 in Tripoli is signed by "Mu'aumer Qaddaffi, Leader of the Revolution".

BI Orders Citibank NOT to Increase Citigold Customers Yet

Visitors are reflected on a Citibank booth during the Jakarta Fair June 14, 2010.

Bank Indonesia has ordered Citibank to temporarily stop seeking new Citigold customers due to the case of embezzlement of Rp17 billion in customers’ accounts done by Citibank manager MD as reported recently.
"We have sent a letter asking the bank to settle the problem well without hurting the customers and improve internal control and for the time being stop seeking Citigold customers," Bank Indonesia governor Darmin Nasution said at a hearing with House Commission XI here on Wednesday.
The meeting was attended by Citibank regional representative Shariq Mukhtar and South Jakarta police resort chief Gatot Edy. Darmin said the ban was temporary and would be revoked after investigation by the police was finished.
"Customers could still conduct transactions but they could not add new customers," he said.
Darmin said if the results of the investigation were more serious we could increase the sanctions. Darmin stated the case occurred because internal control was not implemented as it had to be as shown by absence of supervision, rotation, dual control according to procedures and confirmation to customers.
Bank Indonesia deputy governor Halim Alamsyah meanwhile said the ban for Citibank to seek new Citigold credit card customers had been effective as of March 16 or two days after the bank reported about the case.
"On March 14 they reported the fraud and on March 16 we asked them to stop the activity until the problem was clear," he said.

Mariah Carey Poses for Nude Cover Shoot

Fit to burst: Mariah Carey proudly shows off her pregnant body as she waits to give birth to twin babies

Mariah Carey has posed for her fair share of portraits. But none has been as personal or emotional as the singing legend unveiling her baby bump - days away from giving birth to twins.
Eight months pregnant Mariah, 42, proudly showed off the bump in time-honoured celebrity fashion - in an exclusive cover shoot with a magazine. Bronzed, radiant, with her hair tumbling softly about her shoulders, the chart-topping singer looked relaxed as she awaits the arrival of her first children, a boy and a girl.
'I was feeling very vulnerable about taking pictures at all right now, but then I didn’t want to miss this opportunity to document this once-in-a-lifetime experience,' Carey told Life & Style magazine
'My ultimate goal was to share this incredibly personal moment with my true fans.'
Carey joins a number of pregnant stars who have posed nude while heavily pregnant. Demi Moore famously appeared naked on the cover of Vanity Fair in August 1991 while seven months pregnant with daughter Scout LaRue.
Many have copied that pose, including Christina Aguilera, who was pictured pregnant with son Max on the January 2008 cover of Marie Claire. Carey's twins - a boy and a girl - were clearly ready for their close-ups. She said: 'The babies were kicking almost the entire time; it was unbelievable.
'Especially the girl - clearly she’s a diva in training. We didn’t start shooting until 1:30am because I was in the hospital from the night before until the day of the shoot with contractions five minutes apart!'
Clearly, although Carey isn't due to give birth for a few weeks, the twins could be making their entrance sooner rather than later.
The We Belong together singer suffered a scare when she was admitted to hospital last month with early contractions. But for now, she and her husband Nick Cannon are enjoying their last few days as a household of two.
Cannon said he has never been more attracted to his wife. 'I thought I couldn’t love Mariah more,” he tells Life & Style.
'But I have a whole new appreciation and admiration for her.'
However, yesterday he admitted he may come to regret stripping off for a photo shoot with his heavily pregnant wife.
The TV and radio presenter, 30, has confessed that he is already regretting the artistic photos which are due to be displayed on the walls of their family home.
'My children are going to have to see these pictures. It's a little weird,' he said during his Rollin' with Nick Cannon radio show.
'It's a little nasty,' he continued. 'I mean, have you ever seen your parents naked?
'When they get older and their friends come over... they will see the pictures and say, "Your daddy's butt naked".'
Carey added: 'Now I have so much respect for mothers everywhere, especially those who’ve had difficult pregnancies or given birth to multiples. We need to have Mother’s Day once a week.'

To Confirm The Plant of Indonesian Origin

Yuan Shui, a member of the Register of Chinese Herbal Medicine (RCHM) prepares a prescription with Chinese herbal ingredients at the Yuan Clinic in London February 16, 2011. An EU directive passed in 2004 comes into effect from May 1, 2011 which requires that traditional herbal medicinal products must be licensed or prescribed by a registered herbal practitioner.

The Technology Research and Assessment Agency (BPPT) has begun a research on the DNA fingerprint of ginger (curcuma zanthorrhiza) to ascertain that the plant is of Indonesian origin, a BPPT official has said.
"There have been many countries claiming ginger as part of their national heritage and makes it their state icon just like Korea does with ginseng," BPPT Medical Pharmaceutical Technology Center director, Rifatul Widjhati said in a talk-show on herbal medicine, here, on Wednesday.
Widjhati said if Indonesia could not prove that the plant which is called temulawak in bahasa as an Indonesian indigenous plant, then there would be big economic loss in the future in particular with regard to herbal medicines and the jamu, the herb-based Indonesian traditional medicine.
"Take Korea as an example, despite the country produces only up to 30 percent of the world production of ginseng, but the iconic name is already linked to Korea. Thus, the world can only trust ginseng which is produced by Korea as the real one," she said.
Widjhati said that temulawak is one of the world’s most important ingredients for herbal medicines where up to 80 percent of the world’s traditional and herbal medicines contain temulawak.
The significance of temulawak, she said, lies with its active compounds contents and its property as immunity system for human body, a cure for hepatitis and menstruation for women.
Speaking in the same event, BPPT Bio-Technology Assessment Division Bambang Marwoto said the research done on temulawak at BPPT was started by stocktaking on the plant and characterizing it by its phenotive contents and through its genotyping.
"Knowledge on the genetic variability side is a precondition to study the evolutionary history of a species and on the enrichment program and genetic source conservation of the plant," Marwoto said, adding that this is the way to stockpile information for the database on temulawak properties.
By doing so, he stressed it will be Indonesia that in the possession of the unique information of the cultivar, or a cultivated variety of a plant that has been deliberately selected for its desirable haracteristics. This way would close the claims from other countries on the indigenousness of the plant.
"The DNA fingerprint is a kind of barcode for Indonesian local plants," he said. There are more than 30,000 species of tropical plants in Indonesia, of which some 7,000 species have their medicinal properties. However, Indonesia currently accounts only 0.2 percent of the world’s herbal medicines.

Fiji Seeking Indonesia's Support to be Observer in ASEAN

Indonesian First Lady Ani Yudhoyono (C) stands beside President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono as she takes photos of journalists prior to the arrival of Turkeys President Abdullah Gul, in Jakarta on April 5, 2011. The two leaders signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on trade and customs, presidential spokesman Teuku Faizasyah said.

The Republic of Fiji is seeking Indonesia’s support for its bid to obtain observer status in ASEAN according to Fijian Prime Minister Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama during a courtesy call on President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono here Wednesday. The Fijian prime minister is visiting Indonesia April 4-6 2011 ro strengthen his country’s relations with indonesia. .
After the 30 minutes meeting, Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Marty Natalegawa said that President Yudhoyono who acts as the 2011 ASEAN Chairman promised to convey the Fijian request to other ASEAN country members.
"They asked for Indonesian support to make Fiji an observer for ASEAN, and the president will convey it to other ASEAN member countries leaders," said Marty
Fijian Prime Minister in Indonesia is also to open his county’s representative office or Embassy to Indonesia. Previously Indonesia is listed be referring to Fijian representative office in Tokyo, Japan, but Indonesia has set its embassy in Fiji since 2002.
Marty said that Fijian Prime Minister and President Yudhoyono also discuss on the Republic of Fiji Islands interest to learn more on democracy in Indonesian because it is considered to be successfully applied.
"Experiences on democracy in Indonesia were discussed. The Foreign Affairs Ministry has been working with the Fijian government in facilitating to provide some sort of information from the General Election Commission (KPU) with the Fijian counter part on how to hold a democratic election," Marty said.
Marty said that Fiji is going through a democrat ion process in the upcoming election which planned to be held on 2014. Indonesia has also provided technical training to Fiji in the field of agriculture, fishery and diplomacy.
With the establishment of Fijian embassy in Indonesia, the two countries who have a diplomatic relation since 1974 will gain a stronger bond, where Indonesia also promised to provide more technical training courses to Fiji.

Wayne Rooney Axed as Face of Coca-Cola

Wayne Rooney in an advertising campaign for FIFA World Cup trophy tour sponsored by Coca-Cola. The drinks company today confirmed they would no longer be working with the Manchester United star

Wayne Rooney was axed as the face of Coca-Cola in the wake of a public furore over his foul-mouthed outburst on live television.
The Manchester United star, 25, was initially dropped from the soft drink company's ad campaign following allegations over his private life last year.
But today Coca-Cola confirmed that they would no longer be working with the footballer.
'We mutually agreed that we would not renew our relationship,' the company said in a statement. 'We wish Wayne well in his career.'
The news comes as Rooney waits to find out the result of his appeal against a two-match suspension for the use of offensive language during a match against West Ham at the weekend.
As it stands, he will miss Saturday's Premier League encounter with Fulham and an FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City on April 16. He will find out his fate tomorrow.
Rooney, who has endorsed Coke Zero since 2007, was initially dropped by Coca-Cola in September after he reportedly cheated on his then-pregnant wife Coleen with a prostitute.
At the time, the world's largest soft drink maker responded by saying it was not 'appropriate' to use the England international in promotions, but insisted that its 'relationship with Wayne Rooney is ongoing'.
The partnership, however, has now been permanently severed. Coca-Cola was today keen to stress that it was an amicable arrangement and part of a change of  strategy.
'Our marketing plans have evolved to focus on our sponsorship of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and the upcoming launch of our plans for the Olympic Torch Relay,' they said.
However, the timing of Coca-Cola's announcement raises fresh questions that the player's image is irrevocably tarnished.
His foul-mouthed outburst live on TV after scoring a penalty during the Saturday lunchtime match stunned thousands of viewers, many of whom were watching with their children.
The goal, which completed a hat-trick for him and a momentous turnaround for his title-chasing team, prompted a vile reaction from the young star.
After netting the spot-kick to make the score 3-2, Rooney ran to celebrate with the visiting fans but quickly turned his attention to the camera and screamed the F-word twice.
For this, he was charged with the use of offensive or insulting language by the Football Association.
Rooney apologised after the game, blaming his ‘inappropriate’ behaviour on a ‘heat-of-the-moment reaction’.
Ironically, Saturday was the first day of the Premier League's revival of its Respect campaign, which calls for better behaviour from football's highly paid stars.
The game was being broadcast live to millions of viewers worldwide on Sky Sports, and commentator Rob Hawthorne immediately apologised for any offence caused by Rooney’s abuse
His obscenities were later replayed by 4million viewers on BBC1’s Match Of The Day, although they were cut from a repeat of the programme yesterday morning.
Former shadow sports minister Lord Pendry, now president of the Football Foundation which supports grass-roots football, said: ‘It is disgusting for youngsters watching television to be subjected to this vile behaviour.
‘Even if the words cannot be heard clearly, it is not difficult to understand what is being said. Players should be banned.’
Director Sir Trevor Brooking said: ‘There will be a decision. It was a surprise, after scoring a hat-trick, to react that way.’
FA rules state that players should not use ‘indecent or insulting words or behaviour’.
Rooney verbally attacked England fans during last summer’s World Cup when he turned to a television camera and complained about them after a woeful performance in a goal-less draw with Algeria.
He said: ‘Nice to see your home fans booing you. That’s loyal supporters.’ Again, he later apologised for his comments.
Meanwhile former referee Graham Poll, writing in the Daily Mail, said that Wayne Rooney should be banned for three games.
He said the FA should use the incident to send out the message: ‘We won’t tolerate abusive language and inappropriate behaviour.’
He wrote: 'I have a friend who sat and watched West Ham versus Manchester United in his  living room with his six-year-old son, who asked: "Daddy, why has Wayne Rooney just said ‘f***’?".
'It was not what he expected at lunchtime on Saturday. Why should we  tolerate such an invasion and one that is likely to come without any punishment?'
And while Rooney's teammate Rio Ferdinand sought to defend him and wandered, via Twitter, whether stadiums have become 'no swearing zones', Mr Poll pointed out the difference in the Rooney incident.
'Football is a game where passions run high,' he wrote, 'but when a player seeks out a camera to ensure that his foul language can be seen and heard, action must follow.'

10 Warships for Indonesian Navy

Battleship USS Germantown visited Surabaya and docked at Dermaga Jamrud, Tanjung Perak on March 3, 2011. The warship arrived from San Diego to strengthen relations and continue to promote peace and stability in the region. Surabaya, Indonesia.

National ship-building company PT Palindo Marine Industri located in Batam, Riau Islands province, has received an order from the Navy for ten warships, a naval spokesman said.
"The ten warships will be operated in the Western and Eastern Fleets to patrol the country’s waters," Batam Naval base commander Col Iwan said here on Wednesday.
PT Palindo Marine Industri or PMI, according to him, had so far completed one of the ten warships, which which was expected to be handed to the Defense Ministry on April 25, 2011.
The warship type is the rapid ship missile (KCR) 40, equipped with modern weapons systems in the form of Sensor Weapon Control (Sewaco), cannon caliber of MM 30 with 6 pitches as a Close In Weapon System (CIWS) and guided missiles.
It was estimated that the warships were able to sail with a speed of 30 knots and can fire up the C-705 missiles to hundreds of meters. The warship with high technology specification is 44 meters long, 8 feet wide, 3.4 meters high and 5 leaves-fixed propeller, the spokesman said.
In the meantime, Defense Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro said that the construction of rapid ships missile (KCR) 40 fits to control the unitary state of Indonesian waters which are surrounded by small islands.

Amnesty Concerned at Indonesia Religious Attacks

Suspects and followers of Head of the Islamic Defenders Front, Murhali Barda (not pictured), sing an Islamic song before the judges verdict at acourt in Bekasi, West Java province on February 24, 2011. The leader of a violent Islamic vigilante group was sentenced to jail over an attack on Christian elders amid an outbreak of bloody religious violence in Indonesia.

Rights group Amnesty International on Wednesday criticised Indonesia for failing to protect the rights of religious minorities after another attack on followers of an Islamic sect.
In the latest of a string of attacks on the Ahmadiyah group, a mob hurled stones at at least five houses belonging to sect followers late Tuesday in Bogor district, West Java province, local media reported.
Separately, three men are on trial for damaging property and inciting violence in an October attack in another village in the same district. They were allegedly part of a mob which torched houses, schools and a mosque belonging to the Ahmadis, who unlike mainstream Muslims, do not believe Mohammed was the last prophet.
Amnesty’s Asia-Pacific director Saman Zia-Zarifi said the increasing attacks on religious minorities, particularly the Ahmadiyah, showed a “major deterioration of the situation”. “This is not the direction in which we had hoped to see Indonesia move.
This is Indonesia moving in the wrong direction,” he told reporters.
“The central government’s inability or lack of desire to address these issues is potentially catastrophic,” he said. Amnesty this week raised its concerns with the country’s religious leaders and police in “very open, frank and productive” meetings and urged Indonesia to be serious about handling the problem, Zia-Zarifi said.
“The Indonesian government needs to demonstrate that it is serious about dealing with this problem, that it will prevent any more serious cases of violence, and it will provide accountability for the violence that has already occurred,” he added.
Indonesian human rights group Imparsial said it had recorded 56 cases in West Java province in which soldiers allegedly forced Ahmadiyah followers to convert to mainstream Islam. Indonesia’s constitution guarantees freedom of religion but rights groups say violence against minorities including Christians and Ahmadis has been escalating since 2008.

Aston Martin Takes on Apple's iPhone

CPT002 Aston Martin Concept Phone

Aston Martin, the British brand behind supercars associated with the 007 films, has unveiled a mobile phone concept that could challenge the Apple iPhone as the world’s coolest communications handset.
The CPT002 Aston Martin Concept Phone has been produced under licence by Canadian luxury-phone maker Mobiado and features a transparent touchscreen made from solid sapphire crystal.
Platinum sides contain all the phone’s electronics, battery and SIM card, allowing the see-through section to display multiple Android icons, including apps for social networking sites.
Details of the phone’s capabilities are scarce, but US media report the mobile can theoretically unlock the doors to the owner’s Aston Martin and has also been designed to provide in-car wireless connectivity to sites such as Facebook and Twitter.
Mobiado says the concept phone is its vision for future mobile communications and is inspired by Aston’s design values that fuse “a strong heritage and traditional craftsmanship with modern technology”.
The phone is not expected to go into production but instead act as a promotional tool for a new range of Aston Martin-badged Mobiado mobile phones due to go on sale in May.

Gunmen Fire at Mine Giant's Vehicle in Indonesia

The U.S. mining giant Freeport says gunmen fired at a company van near the world's largest gold mine in a restive Indonesian province.
Company spokesman Ramdani Sirait said no injuries were reported in the ambush Wednesday and police were on the scene investigating. He declined to give further details but said the shooting will not affect Freeport productions and operations.
Police could not immediately be reached for comment. The mine run by Arizona-based Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold, Inc. has been a target of violence since production began in the 1970s. Underdeveloped Papua province is home to a low-level separatist movement and is thousands of miles (kilometers) from Indonesia's capital, Jakarta.

BI Orders Citibank to Stop Accepting New Private Banking Clients

Police escort Melinda Dee (C), a former Citibank relationship manager who dealt with wealthy customers, after a news conference at a police office in Jakarta in this April 4, 2011 picture. Citibank said on Tuesday it had identified suspicious transactions in its Indonesian operations and was committed to recovering the loss suffered by customers. Picture taken April 4, 2011.

Bank Indonesia has ordered Citibank not to accept new clients for its Citigold private banking services in the country after a staff member allegedly embezzled at least IDR17 billion ($2 million), said the central bank's governor Darmin Nasution.
Nasution said Tuesday in a hearing with a parliamentary committee that Bank Indonesia could impose more “severe sanctions“ against Citibank if it uncovers more wrongdoings.
The police recently detained Citibank's private banking officer Melinda Dee on allegation she has illegally transferred clients' money to her company's bank accounts. The police also seized several expensive cars in her possession, including a Ferrari, Hummer, and Mercedes Benz.
If the authorities find her guilty of the alleged embezzlement, Citibank has said that it will compensate all affected customers.

Malaysia Rearrests 58 Illegal Migrants after over 100 Escape

Malaysian police have arrested 58 alleged illegal immigrants, a senior official said on Wednesday after dozens fled a detention camp to escape difficult living conditions.
Police launched a major manhunt Tuesday after 109 inmates escaped from the Lenggeng immigration depot in Negeri Sembilan state, south of the capital Kuala Lumpur.
On Monday night the detainees, mainly from Myanmar, Bangladesh, Nepal, Iran, Thailand and Nigeria, burned down an accommodation block before fleeing.
Over 200 policemen, immigration officials and paramilitary volunteers are combing central Negeri Sembilan following the breakout. District police chief Saiful Azly said 58 inmates were arrested after being found in a nearby forest.
“The manhunt is continuing. I urge the remaining escapees to surrender,“ he said.
“Investigations showed that they were dissatisfied over cramped living conditions, the food and long detention periods,“ Abdul Manan Mohamad Hassan, state deputy police chief, was quoted as saying by the official Bernama news agency.
Abdul Manan said many had lost patience over the long process needed to resettle in third countries under the United Nations Refugee Agency program.
Home ministry officials admitted last August to poor standards at detention centres for illegal immigrants and trafficking victims, after a report labelled the facilities “ticking time bombs“.
With one of Asia's largest populations of foreign laborers, Malaysia relies on its 1.8 million immigrants to clean homes, care for children and work in plantations and factories. Malaysia is seen as a staging post for trafficking gangs moving people from Afghanistan and Myanmar to Indonesia and Australia.

Bank Indonesia Likely to Hold Rates Steady

Bank Indonesia is likely to again delay raising its policy interest rate when it meets Tuesday because of easing inflation in March. Fifteen of 16 regional economists polled by Dow Jones Newswires expect Bank Indonesia to keep its benchmark rate at 6.75%.
The official Statistics Agency reported Friday that inflation was 6.65% on year in March, easing from 6.84% in February. On month, March inflation was 0.32% less than in February, when it edged up 0.13% over January.
The agency said inflation eased somewhat because prices of basic food commodities fell during the harvest season, which usually runs from March to May.
March “inflation data apparently strengthens the case for BI to not hike its benchmark policy rate when they meet on Apr 12.“ Bank Danamon economist Helmi Arman said in a research note. Arman expects the central bank to lift the rate by 25 basis points in June or July after the harvest season ends.
Bank Indonesia Governor Darmin Nasution recently said the current harvest will keep inflation at “comfortable levels“ in April and May, suggesting the central bank won't rush to raise lending rates despite its statement last month that it is still open to such a measure should it become necessary.
Many analysts expect the central bank to deliver a 25-basis point hike later this year as inflation is expected to pick up again after the harvest season ends. Bank Indonesia last month kept its policy rate unchanged after a percentage-point rise in February.

Dumai Police Foils Illegal Dispatch of TKIs

Dumai police in Riau in the past week managed to foil the illegal dispatch of 11 Indonesian migrant workers by sea from Dumai to Malaysia.
Head of the Dumai police detective unit Ajunct Commissioner Devi Firmansyah said here Wednesday that the TKIs included four men and seven women aged 16 to 32. The men were Maulidin,32, Mardoni,28, Jamaluddin,20, and Agus Herianto 30.
The women were Mawarni, 35, Siti Syaroh, 16, Beta Ria Sonata, 18, Nurmaila, 19, Maya Puspita Wati, 23, and Siti Aisyah 27. They came from Kerinci, Jambi province, and caught while travelling by a L-300 bus on Bukit Timah highway, Bukit Timah village, Dumai Barat sub-district by the end of last week.
"This was the first attempt of illegal dispatch of TKIs from Dumai to Malaysia in the last three months," Devi said.
"Following arrest they were brought to the police station for questioning, saying that thet have paid Rp2.5 million to Rp3.5 million each to people who were still on the run," the police said.
After the questioning, the TKIs had been returned to their places because they were regarded innocent and became only victim of irresponsible people.
"Right now the police is still after the perpetrators in Dumai and Jambi with coordination of the Kerinci police station," Devi said.

Consumer Prices in Indonesia Could Fall Again

Consumer prices in Indonesia could fall again in April from the preceding month, because prices of basic food commodities are still declining due to the harvest season, the head of the official Statistics Agency Rusman Heriawan said Wednesday.
“The prices of rice, cooking oil are still on a declining trend,“ Heriawan told reporters.
The agency reported Friday that the consumer price index in March dropped 0.32% from a month earlier, after a 0.13% increase in February from January. The rate of increase in the CPI from a year earlier slowed to 6.65% from 6.84% in February.
He said that the rupiah's continued appreciation would also help rein in inflation. Rusman said that the expected on-month decline in prices will also act as a drag on inflation for the year. He, however, didn't give any figures.

Trans Babel Lane to Connect Sumatra and Kalimantan

Bangka-Belitung (Babel) Governor Eko Maulana Ali has proposed a Trans Babel Lane to connect the islands of Sumatra and Kalimantan, separated by Karimata strait.
"The Trans Babel Lane will function to connect the islands of Sumatra and Kalimantan," the governor said after opening provincial consultation on development planning here on Wednesday.
Eko Maulana said on the occasion that there were already seven trans links in Indonesia namely Trans Sumatra, Trans Java, Trans Bali, Trans Nusa Tenggara Barat- Nusa Tenggara Timur, Trans Kalimantan, Trans Sulawesi, and Trans Papua.
"Therefore, in Trans Babel a connecting line will be made through the sea from Palembang in South Sumatra to Ketapang in East Kalimantan," Governor Eko Maulana said.
According to him, the connecting line would go through the ferry ports of Palembang, Muntok in Bangka Bangka district, Sadai in Bangka Selatan district, Manggar in Belitung Timur district, Tanjungpandan in Belitung district, and Ketapang in East Kalimantan.
"We propose a road from Muntok ferry port to Tanjung Beriak in Bangka Tengah, and then cross the sea to Tanjung Batu port in Belitung, and from Belitung a road to Manggar port in Belitung Timur," he said.
He also proposed a 104-kilometer road from Muntok to Pangkalpinag, and then a 53-kilometer road from Pangkalpinang to Tanung Berikat.
"With Trans Babel, there will be a close relationship between the people in Sumatra and Kalimantan in addition to improving the economy of people in Babel province," he said.