Indonesian IR Posting #2

Dear All,

We need to get on the road. Now more than ever. We need to help reverse the damage done to Indonesia's reputation caused by twin blasts in Jakarta on July 17, 2009.

Labels are powerful things. They are used to avoid having to think about the details. We simply don't have time to study the details on every subject, so we resort to known labels to form our opinions.

The timing of the blasts couldn't have been worse. They came just as Indonesia was removing the unjustified label of a backwards, unsafe, corrupt, virtually uninvestable country and slowly replacing it with a fresh new label of a country with the best outlook in the region, with great growth potential, a stable democratic political system, an improving bureaucracy and reduced corruption. People who previously would have rolled their eyes at the supposed benefits of investing in Indonesia are now giving it serious consideration. Some have even labeled Indonesia as a "black swan" given not only the continued existence, but the unexpected rise of a country that many thought, only a few years ago, was on the brink of collapse.

After four years of peaceful growth and good government, the country seemed poised for take off and investment was beginning to pour in. Although the economy is 2/3 based on the consumer, which helped prevent a huge impact from the global economic crisis, the small portion of GDP attributed to investment and exports looked ready to change, and change quickly.

We hear the positive comments from experts and analysts that Indonesia's good growth prospects remain unchanged by the blasts despite clear evidence that more work needs to be done to eradicate terrorism from the country. Let's not rest easy, in quiet agreement with the comforting thought that everything remains the same and that growth and development will increase rapidly.

But what can we as an IR community do? We get on the road. We proactively engage the domestic, regional and international capital markets. While we know the benefits a non-deal roadshow can bring in terms of increased recognition and understanding of the firms we work for, we need to act as a group and all step it up a notch, to improve the reputation of Indonesia Inc. Key Message: we are open for investment and the future still looks bright. If we all agree to add an additional NDR to our IR roadshow plans for the second half of this year, the benefits will be exponential. People will take note that Indonesian may be bloodied but it is unbowed.

A rising tide lifts all boats...Let's take action and show the global capital markets how excited we are about our future; let's give them evidence of the good outlook for the profitability of the firms we work for; let's prove to them that Indonesia is where they need to be.

Best,

Cameron