Indonesia Economy Forum

[Nike]

Pelindo III reports 130 percent rise in profit in 2016
Kamis, 4 Mei 2017 09:50 WIB - 0 Views

Surabaya, E Java (ANTARA News) - State port operator PT Pelabuhan Indonesia (Pelindo) III reported Rp1.51 trillion in net profit in 2016 or an increase of 130 percent year-on-year.

Its Finance Director Saefudin Noer told reporters here on Wednesday, the company, which controls a number of seaports including Tanjung Perak in Surabaya, Tanjung Emas in Central Java and a number of other smaller ports in eastern Indonesia recorded improved performance in 2016.

"The profit of Rp1.51 trillion in 2016 represented an increase of Rp350 billion from Rp1.16 trillion in the previous year," Saefuddin said, attributing the increase to 106 percent growth in container transport in comparison with in 2015.

He said container port service contributed Rp4.39 trillion or around 59 percent to the income of the company.

"Net income including non port service income of the company totaled Rp7.48 trillion in 2016 or an increase of 15.5 percent from the previous year," he said.

He said the company also recorded an increase in assets from Rp18.97 trillion in 2015 to Rp22.18 trillion in 2016 to follow the completion of a number of investment projects in port services.

He said noteworthy was three international credit rating agencies -- Fitch, Moodys and Standard & Poors -- expressed appreciation for the performance of the company.

"Fitch gave PT Pelindo III the rating of BBB- stable, Moodys gave the Baa3 rating and Standard & Poors with BB+ rating developing," he said.(*)
Editor: Heru

COPYRIGHT © ANTARA 2017

 

[pr1v4t33r]

The Indonesians are coming! The Indonesians are coming! After the Chinese invasion, it is now the turn of Indonesian goods to flood the Kerala market.

Call it the impact of demonetisation or high labour charges. Low-priced teak furniture from Indonesia are swamping showrooms across the state. A high-profit margin is luring traders to go for furniture from the equatorial nation.

Indonesian teak sofa sets come in the Rs 12,000 plus price range in the wholesale market compared to pieces made locally priced at Rs 17,000 and above. Similarly, a dining table set is priced at Rs 12,000 compared to local ones costing between Rs 14,000 and Rs 15,000. It seems there is no stopping the Indonesian juggernaut.

Considered to be the furniture hub of the state, Nellikuzhy has also fallen under the Indonesian spell. Its 400 shops dotting a three-km stretch along the Aluva-Munnar Road houses imported pieces from Indonesia.

Abu Vattapara, who distributes furniture in Alappuzha, Idukki, Kollam and Pathanamthitta, told Express the advent of Indonesian furniture in Nellikuzhy took place less than a year ago.

“There is scarcity of local wood and manpower. Similarly, demonetisation has hit the industry badly. With construction activities going down, there are very few takers for new and expensive furniture,” he said.

“Maintaining manpower when business is down is not a viable option for traders and manufacturers. This prompted them to opt for Indonesian furniture,” said Abu. There are a number of traders in Nellikuzhy who directly import the pieces.

Its price is 25 per cent less compared to local versions, he said. Besides lower costs, traders get unique designs hitherto unseen in the state. “As per demand, the orders are given to suppliers in Indonesia. The pieces arrive on a monthly basis. Some of them have to be assembled here,” said Abu.

Forest Industries Travancore Ltd (FIT) of the state government has woken up to the challenge. Its research and development wing will plan strategies to overcome the competition, FIT managing director P Krishnan told Express. “We will be adopting the patterns and styles of imported furniture and make it locally,” he said.

“Though Indonesian teak furniture is a new trend in the market, it can pose a challenge to industries here in the future. By introducing new styles this challenge can be curtailed to some extent,” he said. Though Indonesian pieces are characterised by better polishing, local furniture are superior in terms of wood quality and sustainability, he said.

http://www.newindianexpress.com/sta...w-woodwork-now-its-indonesian-1601202--2.html

@Nilgiri

 

[Nilgiri]

The Indonesians are coming! The Indonesians are coming! After the Chinese invasion, it is now the turn of Indonesian goods to flood the Kerala market.

View attachment 394707

Call it the impact of demonetisation or high labour charges. Low-priced teak furniture from Indonesia are swamping showrooms across the state. A high-profit margin is luring traders to go for furniture from the equatorial nation.

Indonesian teak sofa sets come in the Rs 12,000 plus price range in the wholesale market compared to pieces made locally priced at Rs 17,000 and above. Similarly, a dining table set is priced at Rs 12,000 compared to local ones costing between Rs 14,000 and Rs 15,000. It seems there is no stopping the Indonesian juggernaut.

Considered to be the furniture hub of the state, Nellikuzhy has also fallen under the Indonesian spell. Its 400 shops dotting a three-km stretch along the Aluva-Munnar Road houses imported pieces from Indonesia.

Abu Vattapara, who distributes furniture in Alappuzha, Idukki, Kollam and Pathanamthitta, told Express the advent of Indonesian furniture in Nellikuzhy took place less than a year ago.

“There is scarcity of local wood and manpower. Similarly, demonetisation has hit the industry badly. With construction activities going down, there are very few takers for new and expensive furniture,” he said.

“Maintaining manpower when business is down is not a viable option for traders and manufacturers. This prompted them to opt for Indonesian furniture,” said Abu. There are a number of traders in Nellikuzhy who directly import the pieces.

Its price is 25 per cent less compared to local versions, he said. Besides lower costs, traders get unique designs hitherto unseen in the state. “As per demand, the orders are given to suppliers in Indonesia. The pieces arrive on a monthly basis. Some of them have to be assembled here,” said Abu.

Forest Industries Travancore Ltd (FIT) of the state government has woken up to the challenge. Its research and development wing will plan strategies to overcome the competition, FIT managing director P Krishnan told Express. “We will be adopting the patterns and styles of imported furniture and make it locally,” he said.

“Though Indonesian teak furniture is a new trend in the market, it can pose a challenge to industries here in the future. By introducing new styles this challenge can be curtailed to some extent,” he said. Though Indonesian pieces are characterised by better polishing, local furniture are superior in terms of wood quality and sustainability, he said.

http://www.newindianexpress.com/sta...w-woodwork-now-its-indonesian-1601202--2.html

@Nilgiri

Excellent, the supply of teak in India is quite restricted now, so Indonesia definitely has big opportunity here.

 

[pr1v4t33r]

Indonesia seeks US$2 billion compensation from Thai firm over 2009 oil spill in Timor Sea

Indonesia said on Friday it has filed a US$2 billion lawsuit against an energy company over an oil spill off Australia that it claims caused environmental damage in the archipelago’s waters.

The civil suit was filed Wednesday in a Jakarta court against PTTEP Australasia, which was operating the rig in the Timor Sea where the accident happened, and its parent company, Thailand’s state-owned PTT Exploration and Production.

The spill in the Montara field, north of Australia, took place in August 2009. Thousands of barrels of oil leaked for close to 10 weeks following a blowout at the rig, in Australia’s worst ever offshore drilling accident.

Indonesia is seeking about 27.4 trillion rupiah (US$2 billion) in damages, including for damage caused to the environment, after the oil spread into its waters, said Arif Havas Oegroseno, deputy minister for maritime affairs.

The government is also seeking to freeze the firm’s assets in Indonesia and overseas, he said.

Readme: http://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south...eks-us2-billion-over-2009-australia-oil-spill

 

[Nike]

Dwelling time at ports down, but logistics costs still high
Jumat, 5 Mei 2017 04:17 WIB - 0 Views

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan said that the government had successfully reduced the loading and unloading time of goods at ports (dwelling time), but logistics cost still remained high.

"The dwelling time has decreased; but honestly, we acknowledge that logistics costs are still a problem that we are trying to resolve," he said at the National Coordination Meeting in Sasana Kriya TMII, East Jakarta, on Thursday.

Luhut admitted that the government was trying to cut the costs at the ports.

"We hope that in the period of this year, the problem of cost at the port can count well," he added.

Luhut previously claimed that he wanted to save logistics costs in Indonesia.

The government is examining logistics costing components one by one to map details that can be trimmed. For example, the cost of Terminal Handling Charge is quite expensive.

On the same occasion, President Jokowi requested that "dwelling time" can be reduced again to two days from three days.

According to the president, all the targets set had been achieved. Hence, he was optimistic that the two-day target can also be achieved.

"Till now, it had been three days, and now, I ask for two days. We will not change unless we are forced to, while in fact, we can change, if we really want to. This is only a matter of intention, whether want desire change or not we," he revealed.(*)
Editor: Heru

COPYRIGHT © ANTARA 2017

http://m.antaranews.com/en/news/110785/dwelling-time-at-ports-down-but-logistics-costs-still-high

 

[Nike]

Small and big firms should forge business ties: President
12 hours ago | 706 Views

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) said a business partnership between small businesses and big ones should be implemented to help small enterprises develop further and advance.

"I think a partnership should be implemented soon, not only with the government and state-owned companies (BUMN), but also with big companies and conglomerates," the President said when attending the opening the congress of the Nahdliyin Business Association (HPN) in Jagakarsa, South Jakarta, on Friday.

Nadliyin are members of Indonesias largest Muslim organization Nahdlatul Ulama (NU).

The President said that in the governments economic policy packages, partnership businesses have been mentioned. "I have just asked the HPN chief about what is actually needed by business makers. And the answer is that give us opportunities, good access to capital sources, or projects in the government or in the BUMNs."

Jokowi said in order to implement a partnership, small entrepreneurs and ministries or BUMNs (which have projects) will be brought together in a meeting in the coming two weeks.

"I will directly facilitate their meeting. I will only see it. This must be concrete. If not, I am afraid the PBNU (NU executive board) chairman will reprimand me," the president said.

The head of state also promised that there will be distribution of land, which for years is only given to those, who are close to power.

"We will change this; it will be given to people, cooperatives, and small businesses. However, it should be guaranteed that the land will be made productive," he said.

Jokowi said the government should also be informed about what land will be used, whether it is planted with coffee, cocoa, oil palm trees or what.

He added that the ownership of the land should not be transferred to others.

He further said there are 12.7 million hectares of land, which is ready to be distributed to the people.(*)


http://www.antaranews.com/en/news/110798/small-and-big-firms-should-forge-business-ties-president

 

[pr1v4t33r]

He further said there are 12.7 million hectares of land, which is ready to be distributed to the people.

Land reform is the key to wealth distribution. This program should become top priority goal for Jokowi's administration in order to aleviate poverty and achieve greater economic growth with equality.

 

[Nike]

Indonesia Q1 GDP Growth Edges Up on Higher Exports

Jakarta. Indonesia's economic growth edged up in the first quarter as improving momentum in its major trading partners and rising prices for some commodities underpinned exports, but some analysts say slow credit growth is hampering prospects for a strong GDP rebound.

Southeast Asia's largest economy grew 5.01 percent between January and March on an annual basis, the statistics bureau said on Friday (05/05), matching a Reuters poll and up slightly from the 4.94 percent pace in the previous quarter.

The resource-rich country struggled through years of slowing growth as a plunge in commodity prices hurt everything from exports to investment and households' purchasing power.

The recovery in prices of some of its main exports, such as palm oil and coal, helped economic growth pick up to 5.02 percent last year, from 4.79 percent in 2015.

In the first quarter, exports of goods and services rose more than 8 percent, which the head of the statistics bureau Suhariyanto attributed to rising prices of commodities like tea and shrimp. Demand was also supported by slightly better economic growth in China, the United States and Singapore – Indonesia's major trading partners.

"This is promising and in line with growth in our export partners," Suhariyanto told a press briefing accompanying the data.

Still, even as growth edged above the fourth quarter, London-based Capital Economics described first quarter performance as "another disappointing" outcome for the country.

"Looking ahead, with commodity prices likely to stay relatively depressed and credit growth set to remain weak, we expect growth to remain stuck at around 5 percent over the next couple of years," senior Asia economist Gareth Leather said in a note.

During the first three months of 2017, growth of private consumption, which accounts for more than half of Indonesia's gross domestic product, slowed slightly, while investment remained sluggish.

But the government, which helped drag growth when it cut spending in the second half of 2016, pulled more of its weight behind GDP growth in the first quarter.

Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati told Reuters last month there will be no more spending cuts this year as revenue collection was on track to reach the government's target.

She said part of the spending will be redirected to more productive parts of the economy, including infrastructure, to help further boost growth.

Meanwhile, the mining sector swung back to contraction after starting to grow for a few quarters. Suhariyanto partly attributed the slump to a decline in production in major mining companies like Freeport Indonesia and Amman Mineral Nusa Tenggara, as well as lower oil and gas output.

Improving growth in other major sectors like agriculture and manufacturing complemented the mining contraction.

Capital Economics' Leather believes the central bank is unlikely to support the economy with more rate cuts this year, having cut six times already last year.

Therefore, "the slowdown in credit growth is unlikely to reverse anytime soon," he said.

Reuters

http://jakartaglobe.id/business/indonesia-q1-gdp-growth-edges-higher-exports/

 

[katarabhumi]

Batam shipyard has launched the Peleke Nui, the biggest floating dock ship made of concrete
Wednesday, 3 May 2017 00:31

• It's made by PT. Canuarta Star Marine (CSM) in colaboration with PT. Karyasindo Samudera Biru (KSM) for US company Marisco Limited based in Hawaii.
• Size is 138m long, 46m wide and has 15.500 metric ton in weight.
• Able to mount two ships at the same time.
• Was built in 13 months by 500 local workers.

SAGULUNG - Kota Batam yang dikenal sebagai kota industri kembali membuat produk kapal tercanggih dan terbesar di dunia. Melalui PT Canuarta Star Marine (CSM), kapal jenis Floating Dock yang terbuat dari coran semen (beton) terbesar di dunia dibuat pertama kali di Batam, di PT Karyasindo Samudra Biru (KSB).

Kapal yang dibangun sejak awal 2016 tersebut diberi nama 'Peleke Nui' dengan panjang 138 meter, lebar 46 meter, dan bobot 15.500 metrik ton. Kapal ini mempunyai fungsi sebagai kapal Floating Dock yang berguna untuk memperbaiki kapal di atas laut. Meskipun jenis kapal Floating Dock sudah banyak di produksi di negara maju dan berkembang, kapal Peleke Nui yang dibuat oleh PT CSM ini memiliki keunggulan kapasitas yang lebih besar dari jenis kapal yang sudah ada.

Selain itu, kapal yang merupakan pesanan sebuah perushaan di Amerika Marisco Limited juga mempunyai keunggulan daya tahan hingga 20 Tahun. Hal tersebut sangat jauh berbeda jika dibandingkan dengan kapal yang terbuat dari besi baja yang hanya bertahan sekitar lima tahun. "Hari Kamis (4/5) kapal akan diberangkatkan ke Hawai, Amerika, dengan estimasi waktu perjalanan selama 23 hari," kata Direktur Utama PT CSM, Canuarta.

Canuarta menuturkan, kapal ini merupakan kebanggaan tersendiri bagi perusahaan dan industri kota Batam. Dengan rampungnya pembangunan kapal berbahan dasar coran semen tersebut, Indonesia akan dikenal di dunia dengan pembuatan kapal terbaik. "Buatan kita lebih baik dari negara lain yang pernah membuat jenis kapal serupa, seperti Mynamar, Cina, Filipina, Singapura, dan Malaysia," ujarnya.

Kapal ini dikerjakan oleh 500 pekerja lokal dan tenaga ahli dari luar tersebut di disain dan dirancang oleh Iran, dengan menghabiskan 4.500 kubik semen. "Bagian dasar semuanya dari coran semen, baru bagian tengah ke atas dari besi. Bagian dasar itu fungsinya menjadi lokasi docking berukuran 120 meter," kata Canuarta.

Meskipun terbuat dari bahan semen, kapal tersebut mampu mengapung di permukaan air dan menampung dua unit kapal. Kapal ini menggunakan sistem benam di dalam air, agar kapal yang akan diperbaiki bisa masuk. "Jika kapal yang diperbaik sudah masuk maka dia bisa muncul kembali ke permukaan laut," terang Canuarta.

Menurut dia, dari para ahli yang merancang bangun kapal, coran semen untuk bagian dasar kapal jauh lebih kuat dan awet ketimbang pakai besi. "Kalau coran semen bisa tahan sampai 20 tahun. Makanya Amerika mau yang seperti itu. Kalau besi lima tahun saja sudah docking," ujarnya.

Canuarta optimistis, dengan selesainya kapal Peleke Nui, industri galangan kapal di Batam sudah tak diragukan lagi. Paslanya Industri galangan kapal Batam bisa bersaing dengan industri lain dengan mampu memproduksi kapal-kapal berteknologi tinggi. "Semoga kedepan semakin sukses lagi industri kapal di Kita Batam," katanya.

Sementara Lim Sing Tian, perwakilan Engineering & Construction Pte Ltd menuturkan, meskipun jenis kapal ini pernah dibuatnya di Singapura, namun kapal ini memiliki teknogi lebih canggih dibanding kapal sebelumnya. "Kualitasnya tentu lebih baik dari yang sudah pernah ada. Kapal ini juga lebih stabil pada cuaca dibanding kapal yang terbuat dari bahan baja," sebutnya.

https://daerah.sindonews.com/read/1...-dock-dari-beton-terbesar-di-dunia-1493786885


+++

Indonesia’s still a darling for investors ignoring earnings
Saturday, 6 May 2017

JAKARTA: Two thirds of Indonesia’s major companies missed earnings estimates in the first quarter, but that’s done little to stop investors from pouring into this enduring emerging-market darling.

Overseas funds pumped the most money into the market in April for any month since mid-2014, even as Indonesia’s capital region saw its business-friendly governor lose a re-election campaign.

The Jakarta Composite Index is little more than 1% from the record high reached last week, showing little evidence of concern about commodity-price declines or signs of a slowing in Chinese growth.

What’s giving confidence to foreign money managers from Aberdeen Asset Management Plc to Jupiter Asset Management Ltd is an expansion in capital spending and sustained economic growth rates of around 5% that compare favourably with developed markets. Last year’s cuts in interest rates continue to fuel investment demand, investors say.

“The returns from the index this year are impressive but not out of keeping with other markets in the region,” Ben Surtees, a London-based fund manager at Jupiter Asset Management, wrote in an e-mail.

He said his fund would use any weakness “to add to positions or initiate new holdings” as signs of improvement emerge in consumption, automotive and retail sales.

The Jakarta Composite gauge opened 0.1% lower to 5,665.11. A government report yesterday is forecast to show Indonesia’s gross domestic product rose 5.1% in the first quarter from a year before, still below President Joko Widodo’s target of 7% for the end of his term in 2019.

Strengthening capital spending should help ensure earnings growth of 13% to 15% this year, according to estimates from Aberdeen. By comparison, members of the MSCI Asean Index are projected to post 5% gains, according to analysts surveyed by Bloomberg for the same period.

For the most recent quarter, companies including PT Indocement Tunggal Prakarsa and developer PT Ciputra Development were among those that disappointed, amid weakness in construction and the property industry.

“The weaker numbers should largely be temporary,” said Bharat Joshi, a Jakarta-based investment director at Aberdeen. “The commodity capex cycle and the recent slash in borrowing rates should slowly trickle down to the wider economy later in the year.”

Net flows into the nation’s equities exceeded US$1bil in April, underscoring international interest in Indonesia, one of the markets hardest hit during the 2013 “taper tantrum” over prospects for reduced US Federal Reserve stimulus. South Korea is another beneficiary of the search for higher returns, with its Kospi index posting a record on Thursday.

The Indonesian rally has stretched valuations in South-East Asia’s largest economy, however. Last month, the Jakarta Composite Index traded at its biggest premium over the MSCI Emerging Markets Index for more than a year. The benchmark is now 15.5 times earnings projected over 12 months, above the 14.4 average for the past five years.

The gains have come even after pockets of weakness emerged in the economy, including a 6.8% drop in motorcycle sales in the first quarter from a year earlier, domestic cement sales slipped 0.6% – excluding state-owned PT Semen Indonesia – and cigarette industry sales dropped 5.5%.

“We are still cautious due to high valuation and rising political risk ahead,” said Jeffrosenberg Tan, a director and head of strategy at PT Sinarmas Sekuritas in Jakarta.

Tan said he is uncomfortable with valuations and has recommended his clients lock in gains and only buy if the market retreats to a more reasonable level. “Foreign flows have been supporting the market as domestic funds trimming down,” he said.

Federico Parenti, a fund manager at Sempione Sim Spa in Milan, is one of those overseas looking at Indonesia with a sparkle.

“The weakness in first quarter data is just a blip,” Parenti wrote in an e-mail. “I’m holding on into my position and will buy more if there’s any weakness in the market. I’m focusing on consumer staple companies in the country.” — Bloomberg

http://www.thestar.com.my/business/...ll-a-darling-for-investors-ignoring-earnings/
.

 

[pr1v4t33r]

Macron win brings cheer; Indonesia hits record high

May 8 (Reuters) - Most Southeast Asian stock markets rose on Monday as investors breathed a sigh of relief after Emmanuel Macron won the French presidential election, while better-than-expected Indonesian economic growth lifted the market to a record high.

"The strength in the emerging market comes from the combination of the French elections as well as the U.S. jobs data," said Taye Shim, head of research at Jakarta-based Mirae Asset Sekuritas.
"Stronger-than-expected growth in Indonesia is clear evidence that emerging markets are doing very well than the
developed markets."

Jakarta SE Composite Index gained as much as 0.8 percent, after Indonesia's central bank reported better-than-expected annual growth of 5.01 percent in Jan-March on Friday.

http://lta.reuters.com/article/idLTAL4N1IA1Y7?rpc=401&

 

[MarveL]

Q1 Result Shows All Engines Running in Indonesian Economy: Sri Mulyani

Yokohama. Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati takes confidence from Indonesia's robust gross domestic product growth in the first quarter and said Southeast Asia's largest economy is in a solid position to weather global economic uncertainty.

"The good thing about the first-quarter growth is that all the growth engines started to perform equally well," Sri Mulyani told reporters on the sidelines of the 50th annual meeting of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in Yokohama, Japan, on Saturday (06/05).

"Exports and imports are extremely good. This all but confirms the rising trend of prices and volume of our exports we have seen in December. It also confirms what the IMF [International Monetary Fund] said about the global economy; that recovery is on the way," the minister added.

Indonesia's GDP grew 5.01 percent between January and March this year compared with the same period a year ago, the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) announced last week. Exports of goods and services rose more than 8 percent, thanks to rising commodity prices and a pickup in demand from the country's major trading partners, China, the United States and Singapore.

Growth in investment and consumption, which account for more than half of the country's economy, maintained their pace at 4.9 percent and 4.8 percent, respectively, while government spending is picking up pace at 2.7 percent.

"The first-quarter performance should make us exited, because we can start to see all the signs that government policies have shown some results from the demand and supply side," Sri Mulyani said.

Geopolitical Uncertainties

Yasuyuki Sawada, the ADB's chief economist and director general for economic research and cooperation, said the main risks Asian countries face this year include trade policy changes in the United States and Europe; a strong increase in US oil and gas output, which may lower global commodity and energy prices; and higher-than-expected US interest-rate increases.

"Some countries may react to a sharper than anticipated increase with policy responses of their own and this could have an impact on the growth momentum," Sawada said.

While agreeing with the ADB's assessment, Sri Mulyani said Indonesia is well prepared to overcome interest rate increases by the US Federal Reserve – with markets anticipating at least two more this year.

However, Sri Mulyani is more concerned about rising tension on the Korean peninsula and the possibility of an Iran nuclear deal with the United States, which could escalate conflict in Asia.

"Often during commodity price booms, a geopolitical crisis increases prices because people assume supply would collapse. But at the time of weak commodity prices, or when it has yet to recover like today, commodity prices will go down because people expect that there will be no demand," she said.

Any crisis in Asia would likely exacerbate problems in Indonesia's mining sector, which already contracted in the first quarter due to delays in production from new oil and gas investments.

"Policy uncertainty comes from policy makers and geopolitics [...] there is no pattern in this kind of uncertainty as any government in the world can go right or left in an instant," Sri Mulyani said.

She said the government has enough fiscal room to mitigate financial shocks that could arise from a small state budget deficit and low sovereign debt levels. Local companies and banks have also reduced their exposure to foreign debt, while the central bank sits on ample foreign exchange reserves, the minister said.

The Asean+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO), a regional surveillance unit that monitors and analyses the economies of Southeast Asian countries and China, Japan and South Korea, said in its inaugural economic outlook report that the Indonesian economy is expected to expand by 5.1 percent this year and 5.2 percent next year, in line with overall resilience in the region.

"It is encouraging to see that the Asean+3 region has been resilient going into 2017," AMRO chief economist Hoe Ee Khor said in a statement. "Under the current global environment, the region should prioritize financial stability while supporting growth with an appropriate policy mix, including targeted macro-prudential policy measures and sustained structural reforms."

The government has set an economic growth target of 5.2 percent this year, compared with 5.02 percent last year.

http://jakartaglobe.id/business/q1-result-shows-engines-running-indonesian-economy-sri-mulyani/

 

[katarabhumi]

Russian nationals account for highest growth of tourist arrivals in Indonesia

Jakarta | Tue, May 9, 2017 | 02:19 pm

Russian nationals have the highest growth for the number of foreign tourist arrivals in Indonesia between January and March.

According to the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), Russia topped the list with 76.94 percent growth, followed by China (43.87 percent), Bahrain (18.31 percent) and India (17.55 percent).

As for the number of foreign tourists in the first trimester of 2017, China took the lead with 525,035 tourists coming to Indonesia, followed by Singapore (336,190), Malaysia (288,268), Australia (279, 525) and Japan (122,489).

BPS also announced the top three airports with the highest number of tourist arrivals during the aforementioned period, which were the Ngurah Rai International Airport in Bali with 1.33 million people, followed by Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang (635,000) and Hang Nadim International Airport in Batam (369,179). (kes)

http://www.thejakartapost.com/trave...-growth-of-tourist-arrivals-in-indonesia.html

 

[patu]

Russian nationals account for highest growth of tourist arrivals in Indonesia

Jakarta | Tue, May 9, 2017 | 02:19 pm

Russian nationals have the highest growth for the number of foreign tourist arrivals in Indonesia between January and March.

According to the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), Russia topped the list with 76.94 percent growth, followed by China (43.87 percent), Bahrain (18.31 percent) and India (17.55 percent).

As for the number of foreign tourists in the first trimester of 2017, China took the lead with 525,035 tourists coming to Indonesia, followed by Singapore (336,190), Malaysia (288,268), Australia (279, 525) and Japan (122,489).

BPS also announced the top three airports with the highest number of tourist arrivals during the aforementioned period, which were the Ngurah Rai International Airport in Bali with 1.33 million people, followed by Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang (635,000) and Hang Nadim International Airport in Batam (369,179). (kes)

http://www.thejakartapost.com/trave...-growth-of-tourist-arrivals-in-indonesia.html

May be now is the rightest time to build an international airport in Sorong West Papua to support the Raja Ampat destination.

 

[MarveL]

Jokowi inspects progress of trans-Papua road project

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo gets ready to inspect the progress of the trans-Papua road project by motorbike in Wamena on May 10. (Courtesy/State Palace)

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and his entourage visited Wamena, Papua, on the last day of his working visit to the area on Wednesday, to inspect the progress of the trans-Papua road project.

Jokowi inspected the development of the Wamena-Mamugu 1 section road by motorbike. The inspected road is part of the 4,300-km project.

“Imagine how difficult it was for the builders [of the road],” he told reporters after the inspection on Wednesday.

Jokowi said the Indonesia Military (TNI) was cooperating with the Public Works and Public Housing Ministry to finish the project by 2019.

“In the beginning [the project] was carried out by the TNI, before the ministry joined in to get it done faster,” said Jokowi.

Jokowi was accompanied by TNI commander Gen. Gatot Nurmantyo, Public Works and Public Housing Minister Basuki Hadimuljono and Army chief of staff Gen. Mulyono during the inspection. (mrc/dan)

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/...cts-progress-of-trans-papua-road-project.html

President Joko Widodo or Jokowi accompanied by TNI Commander General Gatot Nurmantyo, Minister of Public Works Basuki Hadimuljono, and Army Chief of Staff General TNI Mulyono drove a dirt bike while reviewing the development of the Trans Papua road in Wamena-Mamugu 1, Papua, on Wednesday 10/5). President Jokowi with a group of motorcycles trail to feel the direct difficulty of Trans Papua field which was built along 7 km.

The roads traced by the President along with the entourage is one of the segments of approximately 4,300 kilometers of Trans Papua currently under construction. Throughout the 3,800 kilometers has been successfully opened by the TNI and is expected in 2019 later all roads are open and passable.

President Jokowi and his entourage rode a dirt bike while reviewing the development of the Trans-West road of Wamena-Mamugu 1, Papua, on Wednesday (10/5).

 

[Nike]

Indonesia to join China`s initiated economic pact
10th May 2017 | 1.411 Views

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Transport Minister Budi Karya Sumadi said Indonesia will join Chinas initiated economic cooperation pact "One Belt One Road" (OBOR).

"To be sure, we will join and take participation in it, as it will be difficult for us to raise fund out side the state budget for investment. Our budget fund would be enough to cover only 30 percent of the total fund requirement for our investment projects," Budi Karya Sumadi said after the opening of the 2nd Ministerial Conference of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) on Blue Economy here on Wednesday.

President Joko Widodo is scheduled to attend the OBOR economic forum in Beijing, on 14 May 2017. The forum is expected to be attended by leaders of 138 countries.

Budi said Indonesia joining OBOR is naturally expected as currently China is the world largest investing country, while the countrys state budget could not finance its ambitious infrastructure projects.

"In my opinion it is something common if we enter an international system we could use for our benefit," he said.

He said a team is preparing a proposal related to transport infrastructure to OBOR including railways, seaport and airports.

Other ministers may have their own proposals. The cabinet Ministers to accompany President Joko Widodo to attend the Beijing forum include Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs Luhut Pandjaitan, Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi, and Transport Minister Budi Karya Sumadi.(*)

http://www.antaranews.com/en/news/110871/indonesia-to-join-chinas-initiated-economic-pact