JAKARTA, Indonesia – An initial public offering of shares in Indonesia’s biggest bank will soon give investors a great way to bet on the country’s rebounding economy – if they don’t mind a little risk

The Indonesia-headquartered Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) claims that members of the Consultative Group on Indonesia (CGI) – which holds its interim meeting in Jakarta this week – are risking Indonesia’s forests by not paying enough attention to the sale of forest assets to state-owned Bank Mandiri.

BOGOR, Indonesia: A recent pledge by 10 of the world’s biggest banks not to lend money for projects that harm the environment in developing countries is good news for forests and other fragile ecosystems. Among those agreeing to follow the new "Equator Principles" code of conduct for private lending, sponsored by the World Bank, were Citibank, Credit Suisse, and ABN AMRO.

June 8, 2003 10:17 PM, – The long-planned initial public offering (IPO) of the country’s largest bank, Bank Mandiri, has been described as a significant test case and stock dealers say it will help provide a benchmark valuation to the banking sector but two particularly troublesome blemishes on the bank’s past record threaten to dampen enthusiasm in the sale.

This past Monday, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, together with other members of the international donor community, met with the Indonesian government at the interim session of the Consultative Group on Indonesia (CGI). The government reported on its progress in meeting outstanding CGI commitments, including reforms in the forestry sector. One important issue that was not discussed is, what has happened to the Rp 22 trillion (US$ 2.5 billion) in corporate debts associated with Indonesia’s forestry conglomerates under the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA)? When the CGI met in February 2000, the government agreed to close heavily indebted forestry companies and wood industries under IBRA. The rationale for this commitment was two-fold: On the one hand, it was intended to facilitate downsizing of Indonesia’s wood processing capacity to bring domestic log demand to a more sustainable level.

The Indonesia-headquartered Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) claims that members of the Consultative Group on Indonesia (CGI) – which holds its interim meeting in Jakarta this week – are risking Indonesia’s forests by not paying enough attention to the sale of forest assets to state-owned Bank Mandiri.

A Malaysian-owned plantation company has agreed to pay the Indonesian government compensation of $1.1 million for contributing to the choking smoke haze that blanketed much of Sumatra in the dry season of 1999-2000. "Following an agreement on April 23 with the company, PT Adei Plantation agreed to pay $1.1 million in settlement money to the government," Forestry Ministry official Nixon Silalahi was quoted as saying by Agence France-Presse on Thursday (1/5/03).