Indonesia Economy Forum

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Kunjungan Presiden Ukraina Ke YogyakartaPresiden Ukraina Petro Poroshenko (kiri) berbincang dengan Raja Keraton Yogyakarta Sri Sultan HB X (kanan) saat berkunjung di Keraton Yogyakarta, Sabtu (6/8/2016). Presiden Petro Poroshenko melihat secara langsung kekayan tradisi dan budaya di Yogyakarta. (ANTARA FOTO/Andreas Fitri Atmoko)

Kunjungan Presiden Ukraina Ke YogyakartaPresiden Ukraina Petro Poroshenko (kiri) berjalan bersama Raja Keraton Yogyakarta Sri Sultan HB X (kedua kanan) saat berkunjung di Keraton Yogyakarta, Sabtu (6/8/2016). Presiden Petro Poroshenko melihat secara langsung kekayan tradisi dan budaya di Yogyakarta. (ANTARA FOTO/Andreas Fitri Atmoko)

 

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Indonesian olympic team - Best opening ceremony outfits
When you’re trying to stand out among 200+ countries, you can’t be drab. You can’t do the expected or go with boring colors and designs. You need to pay homage to your country while also looking stylish and keeping athletes’ comfort in mind.

 

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Indonesia`s July forex reserves surge to $111.4 billion
Sabtu, 6 Agustus 2016 07:22 WIB | 586 Views

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Bank Indonesia (BI) has reported that Indonesian foreign exchange reserves at the end of July had increased by $1.6 billion to $111.4 billion, up from $109.8 billion in June this year.

The Governor of Indonesias central bank Agus Martowardojo, briefly commented on Friday that the foreign exchange (forex) reserves until July 2016 would remain in a good condition.

The increase in forex reserves was a result, among others, of tax revenue and the governments oil and gas forex, also due to BIs Foreign Exchange Securities (SBBI) auction.

"The foreign exchange income is beyond the need of foreign debt payment and Bank Indonesias Foreign Exchange's Securities (SBBI) maturity," said the central banks spokesperson Arbonas Hutabarat in an official statement.

The reserves are sufficient to finance 8.5 months of imports or 8.2 months of imports and governments foreign debt payments, with the reserve also being above the standard international adequacy for approximately three months of imports.

BI expects the forex reserve to help maintain external sector resilience to support and maintain the sustainability of economic growth in Indonesia in the future.(*)

http://www.antaranews.com/en/news/106118/indonesias-july-forex-reserves-surge-to-1114-billion

 

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Lippo Cikarang Team Up With Mitsubishi to Develop Orange County


Jakarta. The Lippo Group's industrial township development branch Lippo Cikarang has established a joint venture with Japan's Mitsubishi Corporation to develop two apartment towers at Orange County, an integrated development city near Jakarta, a senior official said on Thursday (04/08).

Orange Country will expand by 322 hectares and aims to be the Eastern Corridor — connecting major industrial zones in the area with Jakarta and Bandung. Construction launched in June with local contractor Total Bangun Persada.

"This collaboration will provide added value to Orange County with new ideas from Mitsubishi Corporation," Toto Bartholomeus, president director of Lippo Cikarang, said in a statement.

Orange County boasts a strategic location at the center of seven industrial estates, strengthening its claims to becoming a hub of the Eastern Corridor.

"This joint venture is an appreciation of Indonesia's conducive investment climate and representative of our trust in the Lippo Group and their reputation as a major property developer," said Takashi Ito, president director of Mitsubishi subsidiary Diamond Realty Investment Indonesia.

Lippo Cikarang chief marketing officer Stanley Ang said the joint venture is a result of the launch Newport Park, the newest tower in Orange County. Newport Park will be the first "smart" apartment in Jakarta's Eastern Corridor, featuring a retina access security system, smart lighting and a cutting edge lock system.

Both public and unit facilities at the apartment complex have borrowed traditional aspects of Japanese design, such as in the spa and garden. Japan inspired the interior design of the Tatami room and the zen balconies.

The Jakarta Eastern Corridor is one prospective area along the Jakarta to Bandung speed train line, the under construction LRT line connecting Cawang in East Jakarta and East Bekasi and the extended line to West Java's industrial cities, such as Cikarang and Karawang.

The corridor will also connect the Patiman seaport, Kertajati international airport and the automated people mover, or a type of grade-separated mass transit system.

“The joint venture would also help us to serve and create a better place for expatriate communities from Japan, Korea, Taiwan working in multinational companies in the city,” Stanley said.

Previously, the Lippo Group partnered with several Japanese companies such as Toyota Tsusho, Sumitomo Corporation and Mintsui in developing projects across Indonesia.

The Jakarta Globe is affiliated with the Lippo Group.

• Lippo Cikarang
• Orange County

Indonesia's economy surprises with growth of 5.18%

Jakarta | Fri, August 5 2016 | 12:57 pm

People purchase sweet snacks at a traditional market during Ramadhan. Rising consumption during the fasting month pushed economic growth in the second quarter of this year to 5.18 percent year on year. JP/ Wienda Parwitasari(The Jakarta Post/Wienda Parwitasari)

 

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President Joko Widodo pointed to the tunnel when reviewing Raknamo dam construction in Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara province, July 25, 2015. Antara/Kornelis Kaha

SATURDAY, 06 AUGUST, 2016 | 18:44 WIB
Raknamo Dam in Kupang to be Completed in 2017
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TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesian Public Works and Public Housing Ministry said that Raknamo dam in Kupang regency, East Nusa Tenggara, is expected to be completed in July 2017.

The progress of dam construction so far has reached 54 percent.

The dam convers an area of ​​147.3 hectares.

Public Works and Public Housing Minister Hadimuljono Basuki said the East Nusa Tenggara province needs more attention if the central government wants to grow maize and cassava in the province.

In the future, the Ministry will build more retention basins to improve irrigation system in the province and to provide more clean water supply.

"Progress of the construction of the dam is already 54 per cent and is targeted to be completed in July 2017," the Minister said on Friday (5/8).

Meanwhile, funds allocated for the dam reaches Rp 782 billion, with the main contractor being state-owned construction firm PT Waskita Karya Tbk.

The construction of the dam employs approximately 400 workers who worke in two shifts until 10 pm.

The operation of the dam is expected to help resolve problems in the province, including the provision of water in Kupang regency with a debit of 100 liters per second, the development of irrigation area to provide water for 1,250 hectares of land in the Naibonat district, Raknamo village, and Manusak village, controlling of flooding in Kupang, for tourism development and for the development of 0.22 megawatt micro power plant.

http://en.tempo.co/read/news/2016/08/06/056793793/Raknamo-Dam-in-Kupang-to-be-Completed-in-2017

 

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Raknamo dam progress on August 5, 2016

Motaain (Indonesia - Timor Leste) Integrated cross border pos progress

 

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Jakarta reclamation progress

Foto udara salah satu pulau hasil reklamasi di Teluk Jakarta, Jakarta, 2 Agustus 2016. Pemerintah Pusat bersama Pemerintah Provinsi DKI Jakarta akan melakukan rapat terbatas mengenai reklamasi Teluk Jakarta. ANTARA/Sigid Kurniawan

Salah satu pulau hasil reklamasi di Teluk Jakarta, Jakarta, 2 Agustus 2016. Rapat terbatas tersebut diharapkan akan melahirkan keputusan formal terkait kelanjutan nasib proyek tersebut. ANTARA/Sigid Kurniawan

Foto udara bangunan di atas salah satu pulau hasil reklamasi di Teluk Jakarta, Jakarta, 2 Agustus 2016. Reklamasi ini masih mendapat penolakan dari nelayan Muara Angke. ANTARA/Sigid Kurniawan

Bangunan dan jalanan di atas salah satu pulau hasil reklamasi di Teluk Jakarta, Jakarta, 2 Agustus 2016. ANTARA/Sigid Kurniawan

Foto salah satu pulau hasil reklamasi di Teluk Jakarta, Jakarta, 2 Agustus 2016. ANTARA/Sigid Kurniawan

 

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[Indonesia Inspires] Can Kenya replicate Indonesia’s turnaround?

Recently, a friend from Indonesia visited me in Nairobi. He is one of the world’s leading experts on social development and a long-term Jakarta resident. One of his observations stuck in my mind: “Kenya is just like Indonesia ten years ago”, he said.

Comparing Kenya with Indonesia is counterintuitive—except perhaps when it comes to traffic jams—because of the many differences between the two countries. Indonesia is the world largest island state with more than 17.000 islands and a demographic heavyweight with 240 million people (six times more than Kenya). It is also 85 percent Muslim, while Kenya is about 85 percent Christian. Indonesia has massive natural resources – coal and gas (and some oil) – that it exports to other Asian countries, especially China, while Kenya’s economy is fuelled by a strong service sector.

There are many more reasons to challenge a comparison between these two countries but when one digs below the surface, there are also some similarities. Economically my friend was spot on: in GDP per capita terms, Kenya is roughly at the level of Indonesia a decade ago (about US$800 per capita). Today Indonesia is far ahead, but I don’t see any reason why Kenya couldn’t follow suit. Indeed, Indonesia is a good benchmark case for Kenya because it was never a “star reformer”, but instead a consistently strong performer.



Both countries experienced major social, political and economic upheavals, which were also historical turning points. Indonesia’s defining moment was the massive East Asian crisis in 1997/1998, followed by the transition to a new government. In Kenya, the shock came in 2007/2008 in the wake of disputed elections. In response to social and political grievances, Indonesia introduced radical decentralization of government in 2001, ten years or so before Kenya also opted to embrace devolution.



Indonesia saw improvements in governance, but not at once and not across the board. Doing business there remains difficult and reforms have been progressing unevenly. Yet it kept on growing substantially in a short period of time. It is now an emerging Middle-Income economy with an average per-capita income of US$ 3,500 (see figure). True, this is partly reflecting an exchange rate effect (a stronger Rupiah translating into a higher GDP in dollar terms), but once Kenya starts its export engine the same would apply.



Figure – Learning from Indonesia: What a decade of strong growth can achieve

Source: World Bank estimates



Even if Indonesia is not “best practice” according to textbook economics—and in fact precisely because it isn’t—it strikes me as a very good fit for thinking about Kenya’s prospects. Over the last decade, Indonesia has been dealing with many institutional challenges, some of them similar to Kenya’s today. Like Kenya, it had a critical mass of reformers eager to advance the country but challenged by supporters of the status quo. Like in Kenya a vibrant and innovative private sector emerged and with it, a middle class which increasingly used the democratic space provided by new technologies and an open media.



How did Indonesia engineer a successful decade of economic development despite average performance on the reform front? It did three essential things which Kenya should consider to embark on the emerging economy path:

1. Stability. After the fall of Suharto in 1998 and the turbulence that followed, Indonesia entered a phase of socio-political and economic instability; yet it emerged as a relatively stable democracy. It has held three elections (1999, 2004, 2009) which were all peaceful and where the losers accepted defeat (even though in 1999 complex coalition politics in parliament led to the emergence of a surprise President, Abdulrahman Wahid).
2. Strategic reforms in public financial management, including customs. When Sri Mulyani Indrawati took over as Minister of Finance in 2005, she was determined to reduce corruption and improve the Public Financial Management system, including customs. With sound macroeconomic management and determined action to reduce fuel subsidies, she gained the space to advance more ambitious reforms to help spend the people’s money well.
3. Successful crisis management. Like Kenya, Indonesia has been hit by a number of domestic and external shocks. But it leveraged these crises to put in place one of the Asia’s most ambitious social protection programs and coupled it with the world’s largest village empowerment initiative (covering more than 70,000 villages). These programs provided an important buffer for the poor during economic crises. They also opened new avenues to tackle corruption, as the funds were directly transferred to local communities and individuals, and short-circuited the chain of officials through which funds were channeled in the past.

The story of Indonesia’s development over the last decade is a positive one. Per-capita incomes increased and millions of Indonesians were lifted out of poverty. The country’s reform track-record was mixed: it was not a great success but neither was it a spectacular failure. Indonesia is now one of the world’s main emerging economies because it managed to get a few ‘basic’ things right: it remained politically stable, made progress in some strategic governance areas, and leveraged integration with Asia’s growth engines, riding on the wave of globalization. Can Kenya replicate the Indonesian experience? It has all the assets to do so.

http://blogs.worldbank.org/africacan/can-kenya-replicate-indonesia-s-turnaround

 

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Maintaining world heritage cities` network
Sabtu, 6 Agustus 2016 23:02 WIB | 1.289 Views
Pewarta: Otniel Tamindael

Jakarta, Aug 6 (ANTARA News) - As a member of the Organization of World Heritage Cities (OWHC), the city of Denpasar on the Indonesian island resort of Bali is poised to host a regional meeting of the OWHC from August 7 to 10, 2016.

Denpasar is the only Indonesian city to have become a member of the OWHC because of the historical interest it holds as an urban centre.

In addition, Denpasar adheres to the OWHCs values. The UNESCO has also recognized its outstanding universal value and registered it in the World Heritage List.

The city is all set to host the regional meeting of the OWHC, and the event is likely to come up with a Denpasar Declaration at the end.

This Denpasar Declaration will call for efforts to preserve and maintain the cultural heritage of the world and the network of world heritage cities.

"The tangible and intangible world cultural heritage must be preserved and maintained in order to serve as a tourist attraction," the organizing committee spokesman, Dewa Made Ariawan said.

Representatives of 41 heritage cities network from nine countries in Asia and the Pacific will participate in the OWHC regional meeting, organized in cooperation with South Korea.

Prior to the meeting on Sunday to Wednesday, a team from South Korea has reviewed the location of the event at the Grand Inna Bali Beach Sanur.

In the meantime, the head of Denpasar Tourism Department, I Wayan Gunawan remarked on Friday that there are three main items on the agenda --- a cultural performance, the strategic meeting and an international photo and painting exhibition.

"The results of this OWHC regional meeting will serve as an input or a recommendation to be discussed at the international level in relation to the preservation of cultural values and history," Wayan explained.

He noted that the OWHC regional meeting in Denpasar is very important and will promote culture and tourism in Bali.

"Culture and tourism in the city of Denpasar is very important because it affects all areas of social life. It spurs all economic sectors and mobilizes them to serve increased public welfare," he said.

Regarding cultural performances on the sidelines of the OWHC regional meeting, three Balinese dances that were inscribed in the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity List in December 2015, will be performed.

These three genres of traditional Balinese dance are sacred, semi-sacred, and that meant for enjoyment by communities at large.

Traditional Balinese dances will be performed by men and women dancers dressed in traditional costumes comprising brightly colored clothes painted with gold floral and faunal motifs, with gold-leafed and ornate accessories.

The dance forms are inspired by nature and symbolize specific traditions, customs and religious values.

The international photo and painting exhibition to enliven the OWHC regional meeting will see the participation of overseas painters, including those from the island of paradise.

The OWHC is divided into three regions, namely Europe, Latin America and Asia Pacific. Indonesia is represented by Denpasar as a member of the World Heritage Cities Organization.

The Organization of World Heritage Cities is an international non-profit, non-governmental organization of 250 cities, including Denpasar, where the sites of the UNESCO World Heritage list are located.

Denpasar is known worldwide as a major tourist destination, and is the main gateway to the paradise island of Bali.

With the rapid growth of tourism industry in Bali, Denpasar has encouraged and promoted business activities and ventures, contributing to the fact that it has the highest growth rate in the province.

Denpasars various attractions include white sandy beaches, well-known all over the island.

Ten minutes from the Ngurah Rai International Airport is the town of Kuta, where most of the hotels, restaurants, malls, cafes, marketplaces, and spas that cater to tourists, are located.

In the Denpasar area, all kinds of Balinese handicrafts are showcased in local shops. These include artwork, pottery, textiles, and silver.

Traditional values inspired by Hindu religious rituals are still strong in this city, influencing local culture.

However, over time, some of the customary laws are being contested by the people, especially in matters of gender and inheritance.

Therefore, the OWHC regional meeting aims to encourage cooperation and exchange of information and expertise among its member cities at both regional and international levels.

The OWHC works in close collaboration with other organizations pursuing similar goals while promoting action likely to support the efforts of cities located in developing countries.

It assists members to adapt and improve their management methods in relation to the specific requirements of having a site inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Moreover, the organization ensures better links between research undertaken by specialists and the needs of the local managements.

In addition, the Organization intends to help develop a sense of solidarity among its member cities and to sensitize the populations about heritage values and their protection.

The OWHC organizes meetings at international and regional levels. In addition to the biennial General Assemblies, there are World Congresses, conferences, seminars and workshops. All those meetings deal with the challenges in the realm of management and strategies pertaining to the preservation and development of historic cities.

(O001/INE/S012)
EDITED BY INE
(O001/KR-BSR/S012)

http://www.antaranews.com/en/news/106122/maintaining-world-heritage-cities-network

 

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- 2 years GDP growth trend for the new administration -

 

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Our infrastructure company is a main investor to this toll road project (from Cikampek to Palimanan .. and to be extended to Semarang) with investment value of more than USD4 billion ..

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UMNO and Golkar .. We are Serumpun ...

 

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Indonesia One of the Strongest Emerging Markets: Templeton
Last week, the Indonesian economy surprised observers and policymakers alike with its strongest growth in the last ten quarters. But for Michael Hasenstab, the chief investment officer at global fund manager Franklin Templeton Investments, that may be just a small vindication for a long-held belief.

Amid rising uncertainties haunting a fragile recovery of the global economy, Hassenstab has always viewed Indonesia among the few economies that still offer robust growth, thanks to the country's prudent fiscal policy, favorable demographics, healthy level of foreign exchange reserves and continuing structural reforms.

Templeton's proprietary Local Markets Resilience Index, which assess investment risks and opportunities in emerging markets, puts the largest economy in Southeast Asia ahead of Thailand, Malaysia and China.

"Over the last several years, prudent fiscal and monetary policies have entrenched macroeconomic stability in Indonesia," Hasenstab said in a commentary sent to the Jakarta Globe.

The country last year shed off most subsidies in fuel, reducing volatility in fiscal and monetary deficits and putting the country in "a strong position" to respond to deterioration in external environment of the last few years, which stemmed from weak commodity prices and a deceleration in China’s economy, Hasenstab said.

The Indonesian government has been maintaining a prudent fiscal deficit management in the past few years, in line with an imposed legal deficit cap of 3 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP). This year, with large shortfall in tax revenue imminent, newly elected Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati laid out a series of budget cuts as one of her first actions in office to maintain the deficit at below 2.5 percent of the GDP.

Hasenstab said Bank Indonesia, the country's central bank, can now make a more credible monetary policy, after the main culprits in its missing its own inflation target were eliminated.

Inflation has been tame this year, cooling further in July to 3.2 percent from 3.4 percent a month earlier and falling within the central bank's target of between 3 percent to 5 percent. That allowed Bank Indonesia to cut benchmark interest rate by 1 percentage point so far this year to 6.5 percent in order to rejuvenate growth.

Favorable demographics

Indonesia's GDP expanded at a faster-than-expected 5.2 percent in April to June from the same period a year earlier, thanks to higher commodity prices and stronger consumption.

And for Hasenstab, its long term prospect was just as bright.

"Macroeconomic stability and supportive monetary policy have allowed GDP growth to remain robust. Looking forward, Indonesia’s demographics provide a solid underpinning for current and future domestic demand," he said.

Hasenstab noted only about 5 percent of Indonesia's population are 65 or older — a veritable advantage when coupled with a steady increase in the rate of urbanization and a decline in unemployment rate, from 10 percent in the mid-2000s to a current level of 5.5 percent.

In the second quarter, exports made up less than 20 percent of Indonesia's GDP, while more than 83 percent of the quarter growth came from private consumption and capital formation.

"The strength of domestic demand is a fundamental strength of the Indonesian economy, in our view," Hasenstab said.

External strength

At current stance, Indonesia is largely shielded from external shock, Hasenstab said.

"Indonesia runs a small current account deficit that is not fully financed by net foreign direct investment flows, leading to a narrow balance of payments deficit of 1 percent of GDP," he said.

Still, Bank Indonesia sat on a $111.4 billion foreign exchange reserve by the end of last month, the highest level since May last year, and capable of covering more than twice the level of short-term debt.

"Indonesia's public debt is not vulnerable to foreign exchange mismatches," Hasenstab said.

Structural reforms

The country can still benefit from improvement, tough.

"To further strengthen the country’s prospects for sustainable robust growth, the government should raise the very low revenue ratio in order to fund an increase in capital expenditure, notably on infrastructure," Hasenstab said.

Indonesia's current 15 percent tax-to- GDP ratio is very low compared to OECD members' average of 34 percent. The government introduced the tax amnesty program last month, which beside boosting tax revenue this year, will also expand the country's tax base in coming years.

In addition, the country also needs to further improve its business environment and transparency.

The World Bank's Ease of Doing Business survey last year placed Indonesia at 109 out of 189 countries, moving up 11 places from a year earlier, thanks to a new policy to make it easier for companies to register their businesses and pay tax.

"On an international scale, Indonesia does not rank very highly, and further progress will be needed in the years ahead," Hasenstab said.

http://jakartaglobe.beritasatu.com/business/indonesia-one-strongest-emerging-markets-templeton/

 

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Signs of relief for sluggish Indonesian economy
Finance minister Indrawati’s reappointment lifts hopes as country struggles from China slowdown

YESTERDAY by: Ben Bland in Jakarta
Financial Times

When Indonesia’s fast-growing consumer market was the talk of global investors in 2012, the local operator of brands such as Starbucks, Zara and New Balance could simply open stores and the customers came.

But as the commodity slump hit Southeast Asia’s biggest economy, Mitra Adiperkasa, a Jakarta-listed group, has had to scale back its ambitions drastically, cutting costs, offering big discounts to clear stock and curbing expansion plans.

“This has been our longest-ever period of internal consolidation,” says Fetty Kwartati, an executive at the company, Indonesia’s biggest operator of international retail brands. “People who used to buy $100 Reebok trainers have been going for the $50 pair and Zara shoppers who used to buy two items are picking up just one.”

A decade-long, China-driven boom in demand for Indonesian natural resources such as coal and palm oil pumped up the economy and turbocharged consumer spending, attracting an influx of international investors keen to profit from the rapidly expanding middle class in this nation of more than 250m people.

But the slowdown in China, and the related slide in commodity prices, has hit Indonesia hard. While data released on Friday showed annual growth in gross domestic product had risen to 5.2 per cent in the second quarter of this year, the highest rate in 10 quarters, it is still far short of a peak of 6.5 per cent in 2011.

Domestic consumption is responsible for about 60 per cent of economic activity so retailers, carmakers and other companies focused on the middle class have been hit particularly badly.

Although President Joko Widodo was elected in 2014 after promising to revamp the economy and propel growth to 7 per cent, economists say it is hard to see such a turnround happening given that the structural slowdown in China is unlikely to be reversed soon.

“We’re living in a different world now,” says Chatib Basri, a former finance minister. “I don’t think commodity prices will come back to where they were and we can’t compete with the likes of Bangladesh on low wages so we need to focus on developing our human capital. But that takes time.”

Mr Widodo, a former mayor who has struggled to stamp his authority on the national stage, has launched an extensive infrastructure-building programme and a series of policy packages designed to make it easier to do business in a nation renowned for corruption and heavy-handed bureaucracy.

However, the economic reforms will take time to bed in and the infrastructure investment plans look more vulnerable in the face of slumping government revenues, a symptom of the wider slowdown.

This week Sri Mulyani Indrawati, a highly respected economist who was reappointed as finance minister in last month’s cabinet reshuffle, cut the government’s spending plans for this year by $10bn to make up for the shortfall.

5.2% = Annual GDP growth in second quarter, highest for 10 quarters but far short of a 6.5% peak in 2011

The appointment of a finance minister known for her fiscal discipline and reformist mindset has boosted confidence in the government’s ability to tackle the short and long-term economic challenges, from the slowdown to the woeful state of the education and infrastructure systems.

Analysts believe the slightly better than expected second-quarter growth could signal an improvement in consumer confidence.

Most had forecast GDP growth of 5 per cent but increasing domestic consumption drove it higher, helped by four interest-rate cuts from the central bank this year.

Wellian Wiranto, an economist at OCBC, a bank in Singapore, says that while evidence of a recovery in consumer spending is encouraging, the government still has “work to do” to convince Indonesian and foreign investors to deploy their money with the vigour shown five years ago.

$40bn = Wealth Jakarta hopes will be repatriated because of tax amnesty

The government hopes a new tax amnesty will generate inflows from wealthy Indonesians who have long held their money in offshore havens, with the central bank predicting that about $40bn could be repatriated. Jakarta is hoping to bring in $100bn in tax this year, excluding oil and gas receipts, but that is little more than 10 per cent of GDP, a far lower collection rate than many emerging markets.

Ms Indrawati, who previously quit the job after clashing with tycoons opposed to her reforms, is charged with making this happen.

Companies such as Mitra Adiperkasa, which says it has seen signs of a consumer confidence pick up in the first half of this year, remain cautious while hoping she can deliver.

“Things have been quite stuck for the last two years but now the government is moving, with the reshuffle and the tax amnesty, and we hope the second half of the year will be better,” says Ms Kwartati.

Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2016. All rights reserved.

12:08 Aug. 7, 2016
Ukraine and Indonesia to start talks on free trade zone

Photo source: president.gov.ua

Poroshenko pays state visit to Indonesia, meets with counterpart Widodo

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and his Indonesian counterpart Joko Widodo have agreed to start consultations on establishing a free trade zone between Ukraine and Indonesia.

Poroshenko announced this in an interview with CNN Indonesia, Ukrainian president's press service reported.

"President Widodo and I have agreed to start consultations on the free trade zone," he said.

Poroshenko underlined Indonesia is Ukraine's important partner in Southeast Asia. "Ukraine could become a gateway for Indonesian investors into the European market," Poroshenko explained.

On August 6, Ukrainian president met with his Indonesian counterpart during his visit to Southeast Asia. The leaders discussed a number of questions on the countries' cooperation. The two states struck several agreements in economic, defense and education fields, and a visa-free regime for Ukrainians was agreed upon.

http://uatoday.tv/politics/ukraine-and-indonesia-to-start-talks-on-free-trade-zone-711337.html

 

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Telstra Ventures signs Telkom Indonesia for startup investment in Asia
Telkom Indonesia and Telstra are expanding their partnership by signing an MOU for exploring startup investment prospects in South East Asia.

Corinne Reichert

By Corinne Reichert | August 5, 2016 -- 02:53 GMT (10:53 GMT+08:00) | Topic: Start-Ups

Telstra's venture capital arm Telstra Ventures has announced signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Telkom Indonesia's corporate venture arm PT Metra Digital Investama for the purposes of collaborating on startup investment opportunities in South East Asia.

Investing in startups and technology companies has created new revenue streams for the telecommunications provider, said Cynthia Whelan, group executive of International and New Businesses at Telstra -- particularly in the growing Asian region.

"Over the past five years, Telstra Ventures has invested over AU$200 million in more than 30 different technology companies, giving us access to new revenue streams and cutting-edge technology we can use in-house and provide to our customers," Whelan said.

"Our ventures investments are increasingly occurring in Asia, and we are very excited to be collaborating with Telkom to identify the best new emerging technology companies in the region."

Telstra Ventures particularly pointed towards startups in the e-commerce, e-health, Internet of Things, and fintech sectors.

The MOU will provide Telkom Indonesia with the ability to leverage Telstra's expertise and relationships with global startup hubs in Silicon Valley, Israel, and China, Telkom Indonesia group chief strategy officer Pak Indra Utoyo said. In return, Telkom will provide Telstra with experience in the Indonesian startup market.

"Over the last two years, Telkom and Telstra have established a good relationship, bringing network applications and services to businesses in Indonesia through our joint venture, telkomtelstra," Pak Indra said.

"Our continued partnership extends to collaborating on venture opportunities in the region, where we will again leverage both Telkom and Telstra's deep local expertise as well as experience in global ventures investments."

At the start of 2014, Telstra and Telkom Indonesia announced signing an MOU for a joint venture for network applications and services (NAS), allowing Telstra to enter the Southeast Asia market and take advantage of Telkom's customer base.

Telstra has since been making investments in the Asian region; last month, Telstra Ventures invested in Cloopen, a Chinese communications application programming interface (API) provider; in January, Telstra acquired Kloud, which provides professional and managed cloud services to enterprises for more than 80 corporate and government customers across the Asia-Pacific region; and at the same time, the telco invested in Chinese cloud services company Qiniu.

Telstra Ventures also made a multimillion-dollar investment in Taiwanese video big data and analytics company Gorilla Technology Group in March 2015, saying the company could provide beneficial video analytic software solutions for the government, security, broadcast, and retail sectors.

Most significantly, Telstra purchased Pacnet for $697 million in December 2014.

Telstra in May also announced that it would be increasing its Asian network assets by building a fibre overland route between Taiwan and Hong Kong, a fibre ring network in South Korea, and a submarine cable connecting its networks in Asia to India and the Middle East, as well as securing capacity on a new cable system connecting Asia with the United States.

The measures were announced as part of Telstra's ongoing investment in the 36,000km cable network system connecting China, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and the Philippines, which the telco acquired as part of its Pacnet purchase.