Indonesia Economy Forum

[Indos]

Indonesia projected to record US$37 billion trade surplus in 2021
17 hours ago

Trade Minister Muhammad Lutfi during a press conference held in a hybrid format on Thursday. ANTARA/ screenshot Zoom application)


This year, our oil and gas trade deficit will reach US$12 billion. However, our non-oil and gas trade surplus will surpass US$45 billion. I am convinced that our (trade) surplus this year will reach at least US$37 billion.

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Trade Minister Muhammad Lutfi has forecast Indonesia to clock a trade surplus of at least US$37 billion this year.

“This year, our oil and gas trade deficit will reach US$12 billion. However, our non-oil and gas trade surplus will surpass US$45 billion. I am convinced that our (trade) surplus this year will reach at least US$37 billion,” Lutfi noted during a press conference held in a hybrid format on Thursday.

The trade surplus stood at $34.32 billion in the year ending November 2021.

The minister noted that Indonesia’s exports in 2021 will be the highest since 2011 when the country’s exports were recorded at US$203.5 billion. Until November 2021, the country’s exports had reached US$208 billion.

Related news: BNI launches Xpora program to help MSMEs target export market

“We can imagine if our exports in December are consistent with the first 11 months, Indonesia’s exports will hit a record high of US$230 billion (in 2021),” he pointed out.

The figure suggests that Indonesia’s exports had evolved from primary commodities to processed goods.

“If we look at the year 2011, three of the five export commodities were the primary commodities or mineral commodities, such as coal, rubber, and metal ore. This year, these commodities have evolved into industrial goods,” he remarked.

The minister noted that a decade back, he would have never imagined that steel ore would be one of the country’s key export commodities currently. The other key export commodities are electronics and automotive.

Indonesia projected to record US$37 billion trade surplus in 2021

Trade Minister Muhammad Lutfi has forecast Indonesia to clock a trade surplus of at least US$37 billion this year. “This year, our oil and gas trade ...

en.antaranews.com

 

[Indos]

Indonesia saves $4.54 billion in foreign exchange by using biofuel
9 hours ago

President Joko Widodo inaugurated the B30 Program in Jakarta on December 23, 2019. (ANTARA/Agus Salim/uyu)


In addition, the compliance of BU BBM is getting better...

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The utilization of 30 percent biodiesel (B30) in 2021 helped Indonesia save US$4.54 billion in foreign exchange or equivalent to Rp64.6 trillion, the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry has informed.

Director of downstream oil and gas business development at the ministry, Soerjaningsih, said oil fuel business entities (BU BBM) absorbed 97.89 percent of the allocated 9.21 million kiloliters of B30.

"In addition, the compliance of BU BBM is getting better as they have distributed B30 by 94.17 percent of the total distribution of diesel fuel," she informed in a written statement here on Thursday.

It is hoped that the utilization of B30 in 2022 will run smoothly and its percentage utilization and distribution will increase, she added.

The government has determined that 18 BU BBM will be allocated 10.151 million kiloliters of B30 in 2022, she noted.

Meanwhile, assistant deputy for oil and gas, mining, and petrochemicals at the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs, Andi Novianto, said that President Joko Widodo is committed to using environmentally friendly energy.

In addition to B20 and B30, which have been introduced, the government is developing B100 for a new era of green technology and clean energy, especially in the transportation and industrial sectors, he informed.

Strong collaboration between the government, business entities, and research institutions must continue to be carried out to resolve the challenges to the mandatory use of biofuels in 2022, he said.

Director of fund distribution at the Palm Oil Plantation Fund Management Agency, (BPDPKS) Edi Wibowo, lauded the implementation of B30, which is a mixture of 30 percent palm oil and 70 percent diesel.

He noted that the funds disbursed for palm oil plantation in 2021 reached Rp51.86 trillion, with volume pegged at 9.7 million kiloliters -- an increase compared to 2020, when the funds were recorded at Rp28 trillion.

According to the agency, in 2015–2021, at least Rp110 trillion was spent on 29.14 million kiloliters of biodiesel.

The mandatory use of B30 is one of the government's attempts to increase the utilization of renewable energy and to reduce the international trade balance deficit, it added.

Indonesia saves $4.54 billion in foreign exchange by using biofuel

The utilization of 30 percent biodiesel (B30) in 2021 helped Indonesia save US$4.54 billion in foreign exchange or equivalent to Rp64.6 trillion, the Energy ...

en.antaranews.com

 

[Indos]

 

[Indos]

Ioniq 5 electric car. (Photo courtesy of Hyundai Motor)

Hyundai’s Indonesian Plant to Build Electric Cars in March

DECEMBER 16, 2021

Jakarta. Hyundai will start producing electric cars in Indonesia in March 2022 while admitting that it’s going to be a big gamble to enter a segment not familiar to local buyers.

The South Korean company completed the construction of its $1.5 billion assembly plant in the West Java town of Cikarang earlier this year and began production in May.

The factory is currently developing two models of conventional gasoline cars, those with internal combustion engines (ICE).

“We plan to build electric cars in March at our assembly plant in Cikarang based on our Ioniq 5 model which enjoys good market reception in South Korea and already enters European markets as well,” Lee Kang Hyun, the Chief Operating Officer of Hyundai Motor Asia Pacific, told Beritasatu TV on Thursday.

He said selling electric cars in Indonesia won’t be easy but Hyundai is ready to rise to the challenge.

“Most common cars in Indonesia are those with Rp 200-300 million price tags while electric cars remain very expensive at more than Rp 600 million a unit and that’s why the market size is so tiny,” Lee said.

Despite the challenging conditions, Hyundai Indonesia managed to sell more than 500 units of Kona and Ioniq electric cars imported from South Korea year to date, he added.


Hyundai will need support from the Indonesian government to expand electric car markets next year when local production begins.

“We are confident of selling more electric cars next year with support from the government. For example, government fleets need to be the first to change to electric cars,” he said.

The Cikarang plant is designed with the capability of building ICE cars and electric cars on a single production line, Lee said.

“With the full support of the government, we completed the factory in just 18 months despite the pandemic,” he said.

Hyundai’s Indonesian Plant to Build Electric Cars in March

Hyundai Indonesia managed to sell more than 500 units of Kona and Ioniq electric cars imported from South Korea year to date.

jakartaglobe.id

 

[Indos]

Indonesia tops survey on business optimism​

An office worker looks out from a balcony. Businesspeople in Indonesia are the most optimistic about revenue growth in the next 12 months, according to a recent survey by Grant Thornton in 29 countries.(Shutterstock/File)

Eisya A. Eloksari (The Jakarta Post)
PREMIUM
Jakarta ● Wed, December 29, 2021


Businesspeople in Indonesia are particularly upbeat about what lies in store for them, according to a recent survey conducted by business consulting firm Grant Thornton.

The survey results published in the Grant Thornton International Business Report (IBR) show that 87 percent of business owners in Indonesia expect their revenue to increase in the next 12 months. That suggests Indonesian businesspeople are more optimistic than their peers in all of the other 28 countries assessed in the survey.

Indonesia tops survey on business optimism

Managers in Southeast Asia’s biggest economy are upbeat about 2022 growth prospects, a survey by business consultancy Grant Thornton shows.

www.thejakartapost.com

 

[Indos]

Indonesian stock market hits IPO funding, Southeast Asia listing records​

Bull market: An employee cleans the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) logo at the bourse's building in Jakarta on March 2, 2020. A number of Indonesian e-commerce unicorns made their debut on the IDX earlier this year.(Antara/Galih Pradipta)

Vincent Fabian Thomas (The Jakarta Post)
PREMIUM
Jakarta

Fri, December 31, 2021

The country’s stock market finished the year with record highs in initial public offerings (IPO) and investor numbers, despite a slide in the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) Composite index on the year’s last trading day on Thursday. “Investors and markets remain optimistic about Indonesia’s economy and capital market outlook. This can be seen by increased trading activities, IPOs and numbers of investors,” IDX president director Inarno Djajadi told reporters on Thursday.

This year, the total funds raised through IPOs reached an all-time high of Rp 62.61 trillion ($4.39 billion), compared to the usual of between Rp 10 trillion and 20 trillion annually, aided by the jumbo IPO of e-commerce platform Bukalapak in July.

Indonesian stock market hits IPO funding, Southeast Asia listing records

The COVID-19 pandemic and the continuing growth of the digital economy helped the local bourse break new ground.

www.thejakartapost.com

 

[Indos]

IMF Latest projection for Indonesia economy in 2022

Indonesia
Datasets

https://www.imf.org/external/datamapper/profile/IDN

 

[Indos]

Budget Deficit (% of GDP). 2021 Data is real one ( not a target/projection)

2019 (2.20)
2020 ( 6.14) - Due to stimulus and Social program ( lock down) plus health spending (Respond to Covid)
2021 (4.65)

The reduction in budget deficit is due to the increase of tax collection and other revenue post, overall government spending still increased in 2021 compared to 2020 about 7.4 %. Indonesia must reduce budget deficit until 3 percent in 2023 as obligated by the law.

Economic growth is expected to reach 3.7 percent in 2021 ( despite suffered from Delta variant in third quarter )

 

[Indos]

How China beats US as trade, investment partner for Indonesia​

A train passes the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway project in Cipatat, West Bandung, West Java, on May 27, 2020. (Antara/Raisan Al Farisi)

Dzulfiqar Fathur Rahman (The Jakarta Post)
PREMIUM
Jakarta ● Tue, January 4, 2022


Indonesia has gotten closer to China than the United States in goods trade and foreign direct investment in the past few decades, benefitting from the rapid development of the world’s second-largest economy.

Indonesia’s trade with China picked up following the East Asian giant's accession to the World Trade Organization in 2001. Trade between the two countries grew further after ASEAN implemented a free trade agreement with China, called ACFTA, in 2010.

In 2020, exports to China accounted for 19.45 percent of the total, expanding from 4.45 percent in 2000, according to the United Nations Comtrade Database. The share of imports from the country also expanded to nearly 28 percent in 2020 from 6.03 percent in 2000. This growth puts China as Indonesia’s top trading partner.

How China beats US as trade, investment partner for Indonesia

China has topped other countries, including the United States, as Indonesia’s biggest trading partner. The East Asian giant is also a perfect fit for the government’s interest in developing Indonesia's downstream nickel industry.

www.thejakartapost.com

 

[BHAN85]

Indonesia bans coal exports in January on domestic power worries

Indonesia has banned coal exports in January due to concerns that low supplies at domestic power plants could lead to widespread blackouts, a senior official at the energy ministry said on Saturday.

www.reuters.com

and this? coal buyers dont complain?

 

[Indos]

Indonesia bans coal exports in January on domestic power worries

Indonesia has banned coal exports in January due to concerns that low supplies at domestic power plants could lead to widespread blackouts, a senior official at the energy ministry said on Saturday.

www.reuters.com

and this? coal buyers dont complain?

Coal miners will say they face force majeure situation so they can avoid penalty since the situation is made by government, outside the control of our coal miners.

This shows Indonesia is the country in SEA that can protect and maintain their energy supply to their own people, businesses, and industries amid tight supply of energy that would possibly last for a decade or more due to the World economy transitions into renewable energy. We also provide lower cost of coal inside the country thus make the electricity cost competitive enough for industries.

A message to any ones wanting to invest in SEA

 

[Indos]

2021 budget deficit, debt issuance outperform targets​

Vincent Fabian Thomas
(The Jakarta Post)
PREMIUM
Jakarta ● Tue, January 4, 2022


Indonesia’s full-year budget deficit and debt issuance closed well below targets in 2021, paving the way for an upcoming fiscal consolidation as the economy rides out the COVID-19 pandemic.

Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said on Monday that the 2021 budget deficit was at Rp 783.7 trillion (US$54.92 billion) or 4.65 percent of gross domestic product (GDP).

The figure is “far below” the planned Rp 1 quadrillion or 5.7 percent of GDP. Debt issuance closed at Rp 867.4 trillion or 86.3 percent of the 2021 target. The debt is 30 percent lower than in 2020 when issuance jumped to fund COVID-19 relief programs.

2021 budget deficit, debt issuance outperform targets

These pave the way for the government to reinstate a budget deficit cap of 3 percent of GDP starting 2023.

www.thejakartapost.com

 

[Indos]

A 2017 file photo showed a coal stockpile in coal-fired PLTU 1 Pacitan in East Java. (Antara Photo/Puspa Perwitasari)

PLN Coal Stockpile Fills Up Ahead Gov't Export Ban Review
BY :JAKARTA GLOBE
JANUARY 05, 2022

Jakarta. The state utility company Perusahaan Listrik Negara, or PLN, has seen its coal stockpile increase by 7.5 million metric tons, just days after the government imposed a surprise coal export ban, diminishing the risk of a widespread power outage while increasing the chances of the government lifting the ban sooner than planned.

"Coal power plants that have been experiencing supply issues are beginning to see their problems resolved," Darmawan Prasodjo, the chief executive of PLN, said in a statement on Tuesday.

The government halted coal export last Saturday and planned to keep the ban for the entire January as domestic coal miners neglected their obligation to supply 25 percent of their output for local power plants at a capped price of $70 per metric ton, or around half of the current price in the international market.


The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources is supposed to review the export ban on Wednesday.

The ministry had previously stated that at the beginning of this month, PLN stock has fallen to as low as 35,000 metric tons, and it would require an additional 5.1 million metric tons of coal for the rest of the month to maintain a 20-day supply, critical for avoiding widespread outages.

Today, the company said its stockpile was filling up.

"Thanks to a clear and firm directive from the President that insisted on prioritizing the domestic demand, the coal crisis could be averted," Darmawan said.


Earlier, President Joko "Jokowi' Widodo had warned coal miners that he would not hesitate to revoke their permit if they failed to fulfill their local power plants' obligation.

"This is a mandate from Article 33 Paragraph 3 of the 1945 Constitution that 'the earth, water, and natural resources contained therein are controlled by the state and used for the greatest prosperity of the people," Joowi said on Monday.

"Companies that cannot fulfill their obligations to meet domestic needs can be subject to sanctions. If necessary, not only do they not get export permits, but also revoke their business licenses," he said.

PLN said that the company sought to increase its stockpile further but did not target any specific number. PLN previously told the House of Representatives in November that the utility firm needed around 119.2 million metric tons of coal this year, up from an estimated 115.6 million metric tons from last year.

Adaro Energy, Indonesia's second-largest coal miner, said the company had received an assignment from the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources to supply an additional 500,000 tons to PLN.

Febriati Nadira, Adaro's corporate communication head, said that the company would fulfill the order immediately.

Adaro's domestic market obligation was around 11.1 million tons for 2021 and had delivered about 9.69 million tons in the January-October period, Nadira said.

With additional sales in November and December, the estimated total domestic coal sales for 2021 would be 26-27 percent of the company's total production, she said.

PLN Coal Stockpile Fills Up Ahead Gov't Export Ban Review

The state utility company Perusahaan Listrik Negara, or PLN, has seen its coal stockpile increase by 7.5 million metric tons.

jakartaglobe.id

 

[Indos]

Coal trade in disarray as export ban review delayed​

Smoke rises from chimneys of the Suralaya coal power plant in Cilegon, Banten, on Sept. 22, 2021.(AFP/Ronald Siagian)


Divya Karyza (The Jakarta Post)
PREMIUM
Jakarta
● Thu, January 6, 2022

Indonesian authorities postponed a meeting with coal mining companies on Wednesday, leading to disarray on markets as coal miners consider declaring force majeure over an export ban that has left scores of ships moored off the coast.

Representatives from the Indonesian Coal Mining Association (APBI) said the meeting scheduled for Wednesday, in which Trade Minister Muhammad Lutfi had been expected to review and clarify the ban, had not taken place. “We have yet to receive further information [on the review meeting] from the government,” APBI executive director Hendra Sinadia told The Jakarta Post on Thursday, adding that mining companies were currently focusing on resolving a supply shortage for state-owned electricity monopoly PLN.

Coal trade in disarray as export ban review delayed

Indonesian authorities postponed a meeting with coal mining companies on Wednesday, leading to disarray on markets as coal miners consider declaring force majeure and scores of ships are moored off the coast.

www.thejakartapost.com

 

[Indos]

Bank Indonesia appoints two new deputy governors
​

Juda Aung (left) and Aida Budiman (right) take the oath of office as Bank Indonesia deputy governors on Jan. 6, 2022.(Bank Indonesia/Bank Indonesia)


Dzulfiqar Fathur Rahman (The Jakarta Post)
PREMIUM
Jakarta ● Thu, January 6, 2022


Bank Indonesia (BI) has appointed two new deputy governors who pledged to support the central bank’s efforts to revive the economy and work on other pressing issues.

Juda Agung and Aida Budiman replace Sugeng and Rosmaya Hadi, whose terms have ended.

Their terms as deputy governors under BI Governor Perry Warjiyo and Senior Deputy Governor Destry Damayanti began on Thursday and are set to end in 2027.

Bank Indonesia appoints two new deputy governors

Bank Indonesia has appointed Juda Agung and Aida Budiman as deputy governors to replace Sugeng and Rosmaya Hadi.

www.thejakartapost.com