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Indonesia is seeking an agreement with Iran to establish a direct payment method in trade deals without having to use the banking services of third countries, such as the United Arab Emirates, Turkey and Malaysia. 
“The payment method is the main problem,” Industry Minister Airlangga Hartarto said in a statement recently. 
The government expects the country’s financial regulators, Bank Indonesia and the Financial Services Authority, to make an agreement with Iran’s banking industry to simplify the payment method for import-export activities between the two countries. Iran could be a hub to facilitate the penetration of Indonesian products into markets in Central Asia and the Middle East. 
Indonesia sells natural rubber, palm oil, paper, tyres and chemical products to Iran. 
“Indonesia imports steel, petrochemicals, minerals and raw materials for synthetic fibre, from Iran,” he said. 
Trade between the two countries reached US$330 million last year, a jump from $270 million in the previous year. – The Jakarta Post

Jakarta’s airport train to transport 33,000 passengers a day

Construction of Jakarta’s airport train is expected to be completed in June, while the integration of Terminals 2 and 3 of the airport will finish in July and the total integration will finish in September.
Indonesia’s State-owned Enterprises Minister Rini Soemarno and Transportation Minister Budi Karya inspected some railway stations on Sunday that would connect Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, Banten to the capital.
“This airport train would be able to transport 33,000 passengers each day, which is about 20 per cent of the 150,000 people flying through Soekarno-Hatta International Airport,” Budi said on the sidelines of the visits.
Riding an inspection train owned by the Transportation Ministry, the two ministers were accompanied by acting Jakarta governor Soemarsono, MRT president director William Sabandar, Railink director Heru Kuswanto and KAI president director Edi Sukmoro. 
They stopped at Sudirman Baru, Duri and Batu Ceper stations. 
From Batu Ceper Station, the entourage was transported by |car to the airport train station |project as the railway was still |under construction. – The Jakarta Post

Malaysia seen as the best country |for investors 
Malaysia has emerged as the front-runner in a 2017 ranking of the best countries to invest in, scoring at least 30 points more than any other country on a 100-point scale so far.
The ranking is based on scores from more than 6,000 business decision-makers compiled on eight equally weighted country attributes – corruption, dynamics, economic stability, entrepreneurialism, favourable tax environment, innovation, skilled labour force and technological expertise.
The survey was undertaken by BAV Consulting, a firm of global marketing-communications company Y&R and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
More than 21,000 participants from four regions were asked to associate 80 countries (up from 60 last year) with specific attributes.
According to the US News & World Report, Malaysia “is the clear front-runner in this ranking”, ahead of second-placed Singapore, India (sixth), Thailand (seventh) and Indonesia (10th).
It said Malaysia “is one of the top recipients of foreign direct investment, and its pro-business government offers a wide range of incentives to investors”.
The report said more than US$1 trillion in FDI was pumped around the world each year and a country’s share of it was sometimes thought to signify its value and potential. – The Star