Pakuwon Jati (PWON) has secured marketing sales of Rp2.73t as of Oct 15, which translates to 91% of its FY15 target of Rp3.0t. The main contributors came from Grand Pakuwon City in Surabaya which contributed 52% of the total marketing sales. The second contributor is the condominium project in Jakarta and Surabaya which contributes Rp1.31t of marketing sales of 48% from the total.

Bank Pembangunan Daerah Jawa Timur (BJTM) has been selected by the Financial Services Authority (OJK) to be involved in the Laku Pandai programme since the company already owns the solid supporting infrastructures. Moreover, the company is also now considered as a Laku Pandai representative because of its total capital range of Rp5.0-30.0t. OJK also opined that BJTM’s customer profile is matched with the target market of the Laku Pandai Programme.

Orchard Road, the heart of Spore’s shopping district, will be all decked out for Christmas from Saturday. The Orchard Road Business Association (ORBA) said this year’s design themed bells and baubles will be unveiled in a ceremony officiated by President Tony Tan Keng Yam. On the night of the launch, there will also be 130 student volunteers distributing multi-coloured light sticks to the public. ORBA said it will pledge S$1 to Community Chest for every light stick given out. The light-up is part of ORBA’s annual Christmas on a Great Street, which is also supported by the Singapore Tourism Board. A new app OneOrchard is available on iTunes and Google Play for shoppers to download vouchers and make purchases.

Spore’s first foreign public bus operator Tower Transit is hoping to jolt things up further by offering higher basic starting pay, trimming the workload of bus captains and treating them as “professionals”. Their drivers need not carry out duties such as refuelling, cleaning and parking the buses at the end of their day, unlike their counterparts at SBS Transit and SMRT. And annual wage increments will be based on cost of living increases rather than work performance.

In a bid to solve the haze crisis, the Indonesian government wants to scrap regulations that allow small-scale farmers to clear land by setting it on fire, but activists fear that such a move would also rule out traditional agriculture. After apologizing for the recent haze crisis, Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Luhut Panjaitan told a discussion organized by the Jakarta Foreign Correspondents Club that the administration of President Joko Widodo plans to revoke regulations that allow farmers to set forests and peat lands on fire for land clearing purposes. Green groups and palm oil plantation firms say a 2009 law that allows smallholder farmers to use slash-and-burn practices to clear land for agricultural purposes is a key cause of the annual fires when the burning gets out of control. Using tractors, chainsaws or hand tools is the most environmentally friendly way to clear forest areas, but these methods are more expensive and time-consuming than fires.

Astra International  will expand its non-automotive business in 2016. Through its subsidiary, Astratel Nusantara, Astra plans to collaborate with PT Pelabuhan Penajam Buana Taka (Eastkal Supply Base) to become a logistics center for oil and gas as well as other sectors. Separately, ASII will also continue the development of its property business. AnandamayaResidences and Astra Tower are targeted for completion in 2018.

Agung Podomoro Land plans to launch a 2-tower apartment project, Vimala View, at its Vimala Hills villa cluster. Each tower would consist of 250 units, with price ranging between IDR1.2-1.5bn. The company targets IDR800bn in total marketing sales target from Vimala View.

Governor of Bank Indonesia, Agus Martowardojo, projected that the economic growth will improve to  5.6%  next year. This will be higher than this year’s BI projection of 4.7-5.1%. Separately, BI’s deputy governor, Perry Warjiyo, stated that 2015 inflation could fall below BI estimate of 3.6%.

Implementing excise tax on soft and sweet drinks will not happen. Head of Customs Public Relation, Haryo Limanseto, stated that MoF plans to make intensive studyon this tax next year.

Chief of FSA, Muliaman Hadad, stated that some incentives for capital market will be included in next stimulus package, two of them relaxing the IPO rules and banking permits.