BOOMING INDONESIA

(JG Photos/Safir Makki) Pipes, Drums, Kilts and Cabers: How to Bring A Wee Slice of Bonnie Scotland to West Java

If CIA-linked terrorists thought they could keep Indonesia under US control, they were wrong.

In 2003, Jim Castle, a Michigan-born consultant, was having lunch at Jakarta's Marriott hotel. (Indonesia in BRIC Bid‎)

A bomb went off, killing 12 people and injuring 150.

Castle walked away unhurt.

Indonesia aims to modernise its infrastructure.

In 2009, Jim Castle was hosting a breakfast meeting at Jakarta's Marriott hotel.

A bomb went off. (aangirfan: JAKARTA HOTEL BOMBS, THE MILITARY AND THE CIA)

Castle survived and continues to do business.

The bombs have not prevented Indonesia from making progress

Indonesian fishermen.

Indonesia is the world's fourth-most populous country.

And it is having 'a consumer and resources-driven boom'.

According to Hugh Young of Aberdeen asset Management:

"Indonesia's potential is dramatic. It is resource- rich, has lots of people and some of its companies are as good as any you will find in Asia." (Indonesia Shows Greece There's Life After Austerity in BRIC Bid)‎

Indonesia's economy will grow at 6 percent in 2010.

That puts Indonesia in the same league as China and India.

Indonesian

Indonesia is the world's No. 1 exporter of coal used in power stations and contains the largest gold mine and the single largest recoverable copper reserve. (Indonesia in BRIC Bid)‎

It's also the biggest supplier of palm oil and the third- biggest exporter of natural gas.


Indonesian

Both the USA and China take a strong interest in Indonesia.

Both Obama and China's premier, Wen Jiabao, are due to visit Indonesia in June 2010.

Trade between Indonesia and China amounted to $25.5 billion in 2009.

U.S.-Indonesia trade was $18 billion in 2009.

Mosque and family. Jakarta's main mosque was designed by a Christian. There is a wide gap between rich and poor in Indonesia.

Indonesia has a big home market, accounting for 61 percent of GDP.

Indonesia's currency, the rupiah, has gained 10.4 percent against the U.S. dollar in the last 12 months.

Indonesian shares have outperformed those of all their BRIC rivals.

Indonesia is safer than India and even Thailand.

Naturally, there is a struggle to control Indonesia's resources.

Kevin O'Rourke, author of Reformasi: The Struggle for Power in Post-Soeharto Indonesia, speaks of "a continuation of tensions between reformers and the remnants of the elite who prospered under Suharto-era patronage." (Indonesia Shows Greece There's Life After Austerity in BRIC Bid)‎

When it comes to investments in Indonesia, there is also a continuation of tensions between the USA and China.

Many Indonesians make their living in the 'informal' sector.

aangirfan: WHY PLOT TO KILL THE INDONESIAN PRESIDENT?

aangirfan: INDONESIA'S GENERALS TURN AGAINST THE USA?


Indonesia