KARAWANG GIRANG, Indonesia (Reuters) – Anti-tobacco advocates in Indonesia plan to file a class action lawsuit this month using cases of child addicts in the hope of forcing tougher regulations on a society where one in three people smokes.

It is a rare attempt of its kind to constrain a tobacco industry which looks to the world’s fourth most populous country and its growing appetite for cigarettes to replace dwindling sales elsewhere.

The suit against tobacco companies and the Indonesian government argues that feeble regulation has left children dangerously exposed to the risks of smoking.

“There are … kids who have fallen victim to the impact of cigarette companies and smoking. They are addicted. In the context of people’s rights, the society has been disadvantaged by the tobacco industry,” head of the National Commission for Child Protection, Arist Merdeka Sirait, said.

Indonesia is something of a paradise for both smokers and tobacco companies, with the world’s fifth largest population of smokers. It is a widely tolerated habit and one which even in this relatively poor archipelago most can afford to feed.

And it is getting more popular as the economy grows. In 1995, one in four Indonesians smoked. Fifteen years later it had risen to one in three.

That in turn has tempted international tobacco firms to join the hugely profitable home-grown ones such as Gudang Garam, P T Djarum and Hanjaya Mandala Sampoerna, which is now part of Philip Morris International.

TANGERANG, Indonesia (Reuters) – There are many ways to describe Indonesia’s Aburizal Bakrie: multi-millionaire businessman, global mining tycoon, heavyweight contender for the presidency in 2014. One description that does not spring to mind is man of the common people.

So when Bakrie strode into a railway station in south Jakarta last week and slapped the equivalent of one U.S. dollar down on the counter for a ticket, it was a moment of political theatre.

It also signaled an early step in the march to presidential elections in mid-2014 in the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation. Secular Indonesia, a hot favorite of international investors, is a sprawling archipelago of largely untapped mineral riches, an increasingly wealthy middle class and an economic growth rate last year of 6.5 percent.

But in a country in which it is deemed unseemly to openly declare ambition, Bakrie, chairman of the nationalist Golkar Party, stressed he was merely testing the waters.

“It is not yet a campaign,” the 65-year-old told Reuters.

“The purpose of the trip is to give a speech, a motivation speech to … high school students, to meet small vendors, to see also the agriculture, to see what their problems are so that I can tell my legislators,” he said.

In fact, Bakrie was doing all the things that politicians do on the campaign trail. He was also confronting what his aides say is an obstacle on the road to the presidency: the perception that as a member of Indonesia’s elite he is out of touch with the people.

TANGERANG, Indonesia, May 21 (Reuters) – There are many ways to describe Indonesia’s Aburizal Bakrie: multi-millionaire businessman, global mining tycoon, heavyweight contender for the presidency in 2014. One description that does not spring to mind is man of the common people.

So when Bakrie strode into a railway station in south Jakarta last week and slapped the equivalent of one U.S. dollar down on the counter for a ticket, it was a moment of political theatre.

It also signalled an early step in the march to presidential elections in mid-2014 in the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation. Secular Indonesia, a hot favourite of international investors, is a sprawling archipelago of largely untapped mineral riches, an increasingly wealthy middle class and an economic growth rate last year of 6.5 percent.

But in a country in which it is deemed unseemly to openly declare ambition, Bakrie, chairman of the nationalist Golkar Party, stressed he was merely testing the waters.

“It is not yet a campaign,” the 65-year-old told Reuters.

“The purpose of the trip is to give a speech, a motivation speech to … high school students, to meet small vendors, to see also the agriculture, to see what their problems are so that I can tell my legislators,” he said.

In fact, Bakrie was doing all the things that politicians do on the campaign trail. He was also confronting what his aides say is an obstacle on the road to the presidency: the perception that as a member of Indonesia’s elite he is out of touch with the people.

JAKARTA, April 23 (Reuters) – Ratings agency Standard and Poor’s sent Indonesia a warning on Monday over recent policy “slippage” under President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, holding its sovereign credit rating below investment grade rather than raising it as many expected.

Although S&P retained a positive outlook on its Indonesia rating and lauded record first-quarter foreign direct investment figures released earlier in the day, it singled out policies in the key mining sector and failure to approve an immediate fuel price hike as worrisome developments.

“The policy environment has deteriorated because of this raft of recent measures or proposed measures, and the government’s inability to push through what is really not subsidy reform, it is really a price adjustment and they couldn’t even do that,” said S&P analyst Agost Bernard.

Foreign direct investment in Southeast Asia’s largest economy surged 30.3 percent year-on-year to 51.5 trillion rupiah ($5.61 billion) in the January to March period.

That exceeded the 25.2 percent rate posted in the last quarter of 2011, boosted by mining investment and an investment-grade credit rating in January from Moody’s Investors Service.

But analysts cautioned that new mining rules and weak infrastructure could deter future investors, who helped to fuel 6.5 percent economic growth last year in the world’s fourth most populous nation as they were drawn to its large domestic market, booming mine sector and relatively stable fiscal policy.

S&P’s decision not to follow Fitch and Moody’s with an investment-grade rating, which would open the door for pension funds, insurers and other institutions to buy Indonesian debt, partly reflected concern over uncertainty in the mining sector, which generates about 12 percent of the country’s GDP.

JAKARTA, April 12 (Reuters) – Indonesia should quickly impose a tax on mining exports, the industry minister said on Thursday in comments likely to worry miners in the world’s top exporter of thermal coal and tin.

Government officials have previously said a 25 percent tax on mining exports is being considered for this year and a 50 percent tax for next year, though miners and industry analysts have speculated that such plans are likely to be toned down.

“The mining export tax has to be imposed as soon as possible,” Mohamad S. Hidayat told Reuters.

The tax plan is the latest in a series of proposed regulations that have rattled Indonesia’s mining sector both because they could increase the cost of business and because of a perception of inconsistent policymaking.

Mining is vital to Southeast Asia’s largest economy, which grew at 6.5 percent last year in part because the sector.

Other new regulations include a plan under which some foreign mining companies must divest 51 percent within 10 years and a proposed ban on the export of some unprocessed metals by 2014.

Even so, the outlook for Indonesia’s mining sector remains stable despite stringent regulations that are likely to drive up the cost of business, ratings agency Standard & Poor’s said on Thursday.

JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesia’s Golkar Party has emerged from a policy fight over whether to raise subsidized fuel prices less tainted than its main coalition partner, the Democrat Party, and voters are likely to take note ahead of elections in 2014.

A parliamentary vote on Friday to delay raising fuel prices by 33 percent and instead grant the government authority under certain conditions to raise prices later saddles President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s Democrat Party with an unpopular decision down the line.

It could keep inflation in check in the short term, but will increase the burden on government coffers and undermine efforts to rein in a budget deficit, pressuring bond prices, according to economists.

For voters, though, it all starts with the politics.

As police fired water cannon and tear gas grenades to keep protesters at bay outside parliament, Golkar told the public it had switched to opposing a fuel price rise. Then, inside parliament, it voted for one on precisely the terms it wanted.

“Golkar and the Prosperous Justice Party are trying to secure their electoral fortunes and don’t want to get mud splashed on them from this very unpopular policy. That is why they leave it to the government to decide on this hike,” said Dodi Ambardi, executive director of Indonesia’s Survey Institute.

“In terms of political moves, Golkar seemed the most cunning to come out of this mess with the message that they are on people’s side,” he said. “It’s amazing how the elections are still two years away but the battle has begun.”

JAKARTA, April 2 (Reuters) – Indonesia’s Golkar Party has emerged from a policy fight over whether to raise subsidised fuel prices less tainted than its main coalition partner, the Democrat Party, and voters are likely to take note ahead of elections in 2014.

A parliamentary vote on Friday to delay raising fuel prices by 33 percent and instead grant the government authority under certain conditions to raise prices later saddles President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s Democrat Party with an unpopular decision down the line.

It could keep inflation in check in the short term, but will increase the burden on government coffers and undermine efforts to rein in a budget deficit, pressuring bond prices, according to economists.

For voters, though, it all starts with the politics.

As police fired water cannon and tear gas grenades to keep protesters at bay outside parliament, Golkar told the public it had switched to opposing a fuel price rise. Then, inside parliament, it voted for one on precisely the terms it wanted.

“Golkar and the Prosperous Justice Party are trying to secure their electoral fortunes and don’t want to get mud splashed on them from this very unpopular policy. That is why they leave it to the government to decide on this hike,” said Dodi Ambardi, executive director of Indonesia’s Survey Institute.

“In terms of political moves, Golkar seemed the most cunning to come out of this mess with the message that they are on people’s side,” he said. “It’s amazing how the elections are still two years away but the battle has begun.”

JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesia’s government offered a clearer view on Friday of a new regulation that limits foreign ownership in mines to no more than 49 percent, saying the rule applies to existing as well as new contracts.

The comments by senior officials in the Ministry of Energy and Minerals could unnerve foreign companies owning mines in Indonesia, including Australian miners who have played down the impact of the rule signed last month by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Mining makes up 11.9 percent of the economy in Indonesia, the world’s top exporter of thermal coal and tin, and foreign investment in mining in the sector topped $2.2 billion in 2010.

Under the rules, Southeast Asia’s top economy will require foreign companies to sell down stakes in mines and increase domestic ownership to at least 51 percent by the 10th year of a mine’s production.

Trade Minister Gita Wirjawan said the regulation would only affect short term investment by foreign miners.

“In the middle and long term there will not be a significant effect on the investment if we can explain the policy properly to them,” Wirjawan told Reuters.

Firms with existing “Contract of Work” agreements signed before the new rule have mostly said the regulation did not apply to them and would only apply to firms holding newer “mining business licenses”.

JAKARTA, March 9 (Reuters) – Indonesia’s government offered a clearer view on Friday of a new regulation that limits foreign ownership in mines to no more than 49 percent, saying the rule applies to existing as well as new contracts.

The comments by senior officials in the Ministry of Energy and Minerals could unnerve foreign companies owning mines in Indonesia, including Australian miners who have played down the impact of the rule signed last month by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Mining makes up 11.9 percent of the economy in Indonesia, the world’s top exporter of thermal coal and tin, and foreign investment in mining in the sector topped $2.2 billion in 2010.

Under the rules, Southeast Asia’s top economy will require foreign companies to sell down stakes in mines and increase domestic ownership to at least 51 percent by the 10th year of a mine’s production.

Trade Minister Gita Wirjawan said the regulation would only affect short term investment by foreign miners.

“In the middle and long term there will not be a significant affect on the investment if we can explain the policy properly to them,” Wirjawan told Reuters.

Firms with existing “Contract of Work” agreements signed before the new rule have mostly said the regulation did not apply to them and would only apply to firms holding newer “mining business licenses”.

JAKARTA, March 8 (Reuters) – A new Indonesian regulation that changes the rules on foreign ownership of mines applies to all foreign companies and is not aimed specifically at the largest of those, Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc , the deputy energy and mining minister said on Thursday.

Indonesia has substantial mineral wealth and is the world’s top exporter of thermal coal and tin, but attention has focused on Freeport since news on Wednesday of the regulation which could deter fresh investment in the sector.

Freeport is negotiating to renew its royalty contract to run the Grasberg mining complex, which has the world’s largest gold reserves and is the second-largest copper mine.

The regulation could be an attempt by the government to increase pressure on Freeport, said some analysts and people with knowledge of Indonesian mining.

Under the rules signed by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Feb. 21, Southeast Asia’s largest economy will require foreign companies to sell down stakes in mines and increase domestic ownership to at least 51 percent by the 10th year of production.

“The regulation will be imposed on every mining company operating in Indonesia, in general. That includes Freeport and Newmont,” said Deputy Minister Widjajono Partowidagdo, adding it was wrong to assume the law was aimed specifically at Freeport.

Newmont Mining Corp is also engaged in a renegotiation with the government.