Indonesia Economy Forum

[Nike]

President Jokowi ianugurates N. Kayong grand mosque
Sabtu, 15 Oktober 2016 20:00 WIB | 1.071 Views

President Joko Widodo (Jokowi, white shirt) inaugurated the Great Mosque of Al-Khair Oesman in Sukadana on Saturday (10/15/2016). (ANTARA News/Ida Nurcahyani)

North Kayong (ANTARA News) - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) inaugurated the North Kayong Grand Mosque on Saturday during his visit to West Kalimantan to attend the peak event of Sail Karimata.

Jokowi inaugurated the Oesman Al Khair grand mosque by signing an inscription.

After signing the inscription, President Jokowi stepped into the mosque along with his entourage. The mosque has been built with Rp38 billion worth of funds.

"This is a beautiful floating mosque with the sea in the background," Jokowi remarked after a tour of the mosque.

Also present during the inauguration ceremony were Home Minister Tjahjo Kumolo, Vice Chairman of the Peoples Consultative Assembly (MPR) Oesman Sapta, Vice Chairman of the MPRF Hidayat Nur Wahid, Indonesian Defense Forces (TNI) Commander Gen. Gatot Nurmantyo and Cabinet Secretary Pramono Agung.

The inauguration of the Grand Mosque was on the Jokowis agenda during his North Kayong visit. He will also inaugurate the peak event of Sail Karimata 2016.

The Sail Karimata event will feature a number of activities including planting seeds in the coastal areas of West Kalimantan.

On the occasion, President Jokowi also planted a Pontianak orange tree, one of West Kalimantans superior commodity trees, in North Kayong District, in Sutera Vilage, Sukadana Subdistrict, Datok Islands, West Kalimtan province.

A number of officials also planted other trees.

Oesman Sapta planted a Sukadana durian tree, which was the mascot of the North Koyang District.

Before the tree planting, President Jokowi witnessed various activities highlighting Sail Karimata 2016. These included a Medevac (Medical Evacuation Air) airshow put up by the Navy and a yacht sailing pass by nine countries.

There was also a skydiving demonstration, Helicopter Bolco maneuver flying the Karimata Sail 2016 banner, and a colorful dance that brought together thousands of students from the District of North Kayong.

The Deputy for Human Resources, Science and Culture of the Maritime Affairs Ministry, Safri Burhanuddin, hoped that Sail Karimata 2016 would speed up development in the region around the Karimata Strait, especially North Kayong.

"We want to work together, involving the central and the local governments, as we promote travel and the excellent products. We hope that the four provinces involved in Sail Karimata Strait activities could be further developed," he remarked.

The Sail Karimata 2016 activities involved the provinces of Riau Islands, Jambi, Bangka Belitung and West Kalimantan.

Other related activities included an exhibition of products from the coastal areas, Nusantara Jaya sailing, culinary festivals, dragon boat competition, development of a fishermen information center and a weave design contest.
(Uu.A014/H-YH/INE/KR-BSR)

http://www.antaranews.com/en/news/107247/president-jokowi-ianugurates-n-kayong-grand-mosque

Indonesian foreign debts US$323 billion
Senin, 17 Oktober 2016 20:04 WIB | 823 Views

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Bank Indonesia reported that the Indonesian foreign debts grew 6.3 percent on-year to US$323 billion in August, 2016, slower than last year growth of 6.6 percent.

Short term foreign debts and private sector debts declined, but government debts and long term debts rose, Executive Director of Communications Department of the Central Bank Tirta Segara said here on Monday.

The government debts rose 19.2 percent year on year to US$159.7 billion or 49.4 percent of the countrys total debts in August. The growth was higher than 18.7 percent yoy in July.

The debts of the private sector continued to decline. By August 2016, the foreign debts of private sector fell 3.9 percent yoy to US$163.3 billion or 50.6 percent of the countrys total foreign debts.

The main debtors among the private sector by the end of August are from the financial sector, manufacturing sector, the mining sector, the electricity, gas and drinking water sector.

Long term debts accounted for 87.5 percent of the countrys total foreign debts , up 8.1 percent yoy to US$282.5 billion.

Short term debts accounted for 12.5 percent .

The central bank described as quite healthy the developments of the countrys foreign debts in August, 2016.

"Bank Indonesia will continue to monitor the developments of the countrys foreign debts especially the debts of the private sector," Tirta said.

"Foreign debts must be used effectively to finance development without risk of disrupting the countrys macro economy," he said.(*)

http://www.antaranews.com/en/news/107257/indonesian-foreign-debts-us323-billion

 

[Nike]

Imports in September down 8.78 percent: BPS
Selasa, 18 Oktober 2016 18:35 WIB | 700 Views

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The value of imports in September, which amounted to US$11.30 billion, has dropped by 8.78 percent compared with the previous month, which was US$12.38 billion, the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) has said.

"Indonesias imports in September 2016 amount to US$11.30 billion, down 8.78 percent from August, or down 2.26 percent if compared to September 2015," BPS chief Suhariyanto said at a press conference in Jakarta on Monday.

Suhariyanto said non-oil-gas imports in September were valued at US$9.55 billion, down 9.77 percent compared to the previous month. Compared to September 2015, these imports dropped by 0.95 percent.

Oil and gas imports in September stood at US$ US$1.74 billion, down 2.97 percent compared to the previous month, and down 8.88 percent compared to last September.

In September, cereal commodities such as wheat touched the highest value in import items at US$39.0 million, or 19.17 percent, while the steepest drop was in the machinery and mechanical equipment category, whose value was US$98.9 million or 5.17 percent.

The cumulative value of imports from January to September crossed US$98.69 billion, down 8.61 percent compared to the same period last year. The cumulative value of oil and gas imports was US$13.74 billion, down 29.19 percent; non-oil imports were valued at US$84.95 billion, down 4.10 percent.

The top three countries for non-oil imports in the January-September period were China with a value of US$21.99 billion, or 25.88 percent; Japan with US$9.48 billion, or 11.16 percent; and Thailand with US$6.64 billion or 7.81 percent. "Non-oil imports from ASEAN countries touched 21.82 percent, while from the European Union it was 9.17 percent," Suhariyanto said.

The import values of auxiliary raw materials from January to September decreased by 9.8 percent and capital goods by 12.66 percent. However, imported consumer goods shot up by 12.80 percent.(*)

http://www.antaranews.com/en/news/107276/imports-in-september-down-878-percent-bps

 

[Nike]

Jokowi's second year: Mind the quality of growth

• Ayomi Amindoni
  The Jakarta Post
  

Jakarta | October 19, 2016 | 01:25 pm

A woman showers her son at a slum area built on stilts in a coastal area on the outskirts of Jakarta, Indonesia, Thursday, Oct. 13, 2016. (AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana)

While President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has managed to boost economic development within two years after taking office, an issue becoming increasingly relevant is the quality of economic growth.

Central Statistics Bureau (BPS) data show that the main indicators of economic development, such as poverty, inequality and unemployment as well as inflation and economic growth, are slightly improved in 2016.

During Jokowi's administration, the unemployment rate hit its lowest level in February 2016, with only 7.02 million unemployed people, 5.5 percent of the country's workforce of 127.8 million.

That figure represents an improvement over the 7.45 million registered unemployed people in February 2015, equaling 5.8 percent of the workforce of 128.3 million at the time.

However, Samuel Asset Management economist Lana Soelistianingsih pointed out another problem that needed taken care of, namely increased under-employment due to lay-offs and reduced working hours amid a sluggish economy.

"Our real sector is still panting. While our workforce is growing in quantity, the quality has yet to be improved," she said on Tuesday in Jakarta, recommending improvements in workforce skills by revitalizing vocational training centers.

Without appropriate measures, under-employment may put in jeopardy recent achievements. These include a decline in poverty from 28.51 million, or 11.22 percent of Indonesia's population, in March 2015 to 28.01 million people, or 10.86 percent, a year later.

Likewise, the gini coefficient, an indicator measuring income inequality, where zero expresses perfect equality, declined to 0.397 in March 2016 from 0.408 in the previous year. This indicates that income inequality in the country has narrowed. (ags)

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/10/19/jokowis-second-year-mind-the-quality-of-growth.html

Foreign investors get double gains from Indonesia market

• News Desk
  Bareksa
  

Jakarta | October 5, 2016 | 11:38 am

A woman walks past an electronic stock indicator of a securities firm in Tokyo, Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2016. The Nikkei led gains in Asian stock markets Tuesday as the dollar rose against the yen following upbeat U.S. manufacturing data. (AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi)

Indonesia has been one of the most lucrative investment destinations in the Asia-Pacific, given the positive performance of the stock market and its stable currency. This is evidenced by foreign flows into the stock market reaching Rp28.76 trillion (US$2.22 billion) in the last 12 months.

Despite a slump in September, the Jakarta Composite Index (JCI) managed to score the highest returns in the Asia-Pacific region, on the back of a stronger rupiah against the US dollar, the improvement of economic figures and the extraordinary result of the tax amnesty program.

In rupiah denomination, the stock market benchmark recorded a 26.71 percent year-on-year growth as of Sept. 30. However, higher growth can be seen in the dollar denomination with a 48.24 percent increase, making it the best performer in the Asia Pacific after the S&P NSX 50 index—which scored a 48.77 percent hike in the same period.

But for the record, contrasting the two indexes is not like comparing apples and apples: the S&P NSX 50 is not a composite index, it only contains the 50 largest stocks in New Zealand, while JCI constitutes all the 538 stocks listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange. Thus the JCI is in reality the best composite index performer in Asia Pacific.

JCI’s performance is high above the ground compared to other composite indexes in the regions. It booked nearly twice the return made by its closest competitors, namely the Ho Chi Minh Stock Index (Vietnam) and S&P ASX 200 (Australia) that recorded 25.63 percent and 25.12 percent growth respectively.

The significant return in the dollar denomination was due to rupiah’s major appreciation against the dollar in the last month during the tax amnesty program. In early September 2015, the rupiah was traded at 13,900-14,000 against the US dollar, its weakest level since the financial crisis of 1998.

Meanwhile, the rupiah has strengthened 7 percent to 12,969 per US dollar as of Oct 3, 2016. The currency ultimately broke the psychological level of 13,000 per US dollar, just after the announcement of the beyond-expected result of the tax amnesty program in the first round.

SourceBareksa/Data)

Surprising result
At the end of the first round of the tax pardon program (July-Sept. 2016), the country saw declared assets of Rp 3,622 trillion. Previously, JP Morgan predicted new asset declaration would be less than Rp 2,000 trillion by the end of the third round of the program in March 2017.

Looking at the result of the first round of the program, it seems like the brokerage house will have drastically revise their projection.

In addition, the government also received additional state revenues from the redemption fee, worth Rp 97.2 trillion. The figure covers 58 percent of the target of the program, which has been set at Rp165 trillion by March 2017.

Amid the eye-opening result of the first round of the program, which led to rupiah appreciation, the foreign investors have enjoyed double gains.

They will potentially score an extra gain in the future if they invest in the Indonesian stock market for at least one year ahead after the announcement of the final result of tax amnesty and the program takes effect in the real sector. (ags)

Source: Bareksa.com

 

[CountStrike]

THURSDAY, 20 OCTOBER, 2016 | 08:24 WIB
Railways to Support ASEAN Tourism
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TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Delegates of ASEAN railway companies visited state-owned train manufacturer PT INKA (Persero) office on Wednesday in Madiun, East Java. They observed the train carriages, the miniatures and tried the train.

“This is our second day visit in the 38th ASEAN Railways CEOs Conference (ARCEO),” said Indonesian delegates chairman Didiek Hartyanto.

Delegates from seven countries, namely Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar participated in the event.

Their first day visit was to Yogyakarta. According to Didiek, they have discussed the role of railways in supporting tourism development, as done in Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia.

“A separate team will study the case to interconnect railway systems which can support tourism,” he said.

Djoko Setijowarno, another Indonesian delegate, said that Indonesia needs to improve its intermodal transportation management. Because the government has been focusing more on infrastructure development than the country’s mode of transport. “It’s Indonesia’s weakness. We have no transportation network,” he said.

Djoko pointed out to the examples of Singapore and China where established intermodal transport has helped tourism development. For example, tourists can use bus or train from airport to their intended destinations. “Using taxi is clearly expensive in the long run,” he said.

NOFIKA DIAN NUGROHO

 

[papacita]

Jokowi proves his mettle as President

By all accounts, President Joko Widodo had a tough first year in office.

The change he had promised during the 2014 presidential election seemed far from being realised as he found himself caught between his reform agenda and the oligarchy of Indonesian politics.

His second year, which began exactly a year ago today, did not kick off too well either. South-east Asia's largest economy had narrowly missed its quarterly growth target of 5 per cent amid cutbacks in government spending, while its rupiah fell to record lows.

Indonesia was also battling fires at home. The raging flames from land burning in Kalimantan and Sumatra led to a transboundary haze problem that was not only the worst on record, but had also pushed the country to the verge of a humanitarian crisis last year.

These issues compounded the opposition's narrative then that Mr Joko, a political outsider with few ties to the Jakarta elite or military, was not the man to be President. However, the former businessman, elected in part by tapping the groundswell of discontent in a country long ruled by an elite class, seems to have turned the tide against his critics this year.

An opinion poll by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) released last month showed that Mr Joko has maintained a high approval rating. Out of 1,000 citizens interviewed in August for the survey, 66.5 per cent said they were satisfied with his performance.

CSIS researcher Arya Fernandes said this was a 10 percentage point bump from the President's first year in office. He attributed it to Mr Joko's focus on rolling out initiatives that made a difference to the man on the street, such as better access to healthcare and education. Political experts such as Associate Professor Bilveer Singh said Mr Joko's "people first" approach has helped him prove pundits, who doubted that he would survive politically, wrong.

"This has to do with Jokowi's personality. He is corrupt-free, stubborn in his commitment to key policies, concerned with details and decisive," said Prof Singh, referring to Mr Joko's popular moniker.

Indeed, the President has in the last one year consolidated his position politically by gaining control of Parliament.

He had also succeeded - through a second Cabinet reshuffle in as many years - in putting together a team that he can count on, unlike his first Cabinet which was built in part to repay political favours.

Dr Cecep Effendi, a political analyst from the Muhammadiyah University in Jakarta, said this has created political stability in Indonesia, which in itself was an achievement.

"In the past two years, there has barely been any brouhaha in Parliament and this will be a plus point for Jokowi in the eyes of foreign investors," said Dr Cecep.

Prof Singh, who is from the National University of Singapore, agreed. "All key political parties are part of Jokowi's coalition, allowing the President to push through policies in Parliament with little resistance," he added.

Mr Joko has also surprised many by his repeated show of Indonesia's military might, particularly in the Natunas, an Indonesian territory that lies on the edge of contested waters, and recently the target of Beijing's disputed territorial claims in the South China Sea.

But it is his commitment to infrastructure development which will be a game changer that will ultimately earn him a place in Indonesia's history, said Prof Singh.

And unlike other Indonesian presidents, Mr Joko also appears to be willing to play a long game, as seen in his push for policies and projects that may well come to fruition only after he leaves office.

That, however, is not to say that he has not made progress in any of the national development plans outlined in his Nawa Cita priority programmes. These include the building of more toll roads, airports and sea ports to improve connectivity and enhance competitiveness. These projects were funded in part by savings from a fuel subsidy cut implemented by Mr Joko early in his presidency.

He has also raised the infrastructure budget from 290.3 trillion rupiah (S$31 billion) last year to 317.1 trillion rupiah this year, and has plans to beef it up to 346.6 trillion rupiah next year.

Indonesia, however, will not escape the global downturn, which has already led to a cut in its state Budget in recent months.

This is why Mr Joko has placed a strong emphasis on the success of a tax amnesty, which was introduced recently to plug Indonesia's budget deficit, as well as to reform its tax regime in order to raise revenue in the long term.

His achievements thus far aside, the President will no doubt approach his third year in office with an eye on re-election in 2019.

But besides dealing with a slowing global economy, he will also expect to continue to confront challenges at home, including the growing threat of extremism, endemic corruption and the tedious process of cutting red tape, among other bureaucratic and political reforms.

Rising tensions between the United States and China, and the latter's claims in the South China Sea, may also prove to be a foreign policy challenge for Mr Joko if Indonesia is forced to choose sides.

"But what is certain is that Jokowi has proven in the last two years to be an Indonesian leader who can rise to the occasion when the situation is very bad," said Dr Cecep.

• Year 2 Report Card
• STRONGER ECONOMIC GROWTH
  
  Indonesia's economy grew by 5.04 per cent in the first half of this year. This is higher than the 4.79 per cent growth recorded last year and far above the global average of 2.5 per cent growth.
  
  ACCELERATED INFRASTRUCTURE
  
  Land: Besides thousands of kilometres of roads and toll roads, including trans-island highways, being laid across the country, Indonesia is also expanding its rail network, such as the high-speed rail project between Jakarta and Bandung.
  
  Sea: It is also building or upgrading 150 ports as well as three maritime toll routes.
  
  Air: There are 17 new airports being built and 32 terminals being upgraded.
  
  Terminal 3 at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in the capital Jakarta will go fully operational next year.
  
  LOWERING UNEMPLOYMENT
  
  Unemployment was 5.5 per cent or about 7 million people this year, down from 5.81 per cent, or 7.45 million last year.
  
  REDUCING POVERTY
  
  The number of citizens classified by the government as "poor" fell from 28.5 million, or 11.2 per cent of Indonesia's population, in March last year, to 28 million (10.9 per cent) in March this year.
  
  LOWERING INCOME INEQUALITY
  
  Indonesia's Gini coefficient, a measure of income inequality, has fallen from 0.408 in March last year, to 0.397 in March this year.
  
  The index ranges from zero to one, with higher values indicating greater inequality.

 

[Kalazan]

Indonesia Holds 63 Uncommitted LNG Cargoes for 2017 Delivery

Jakarta. There are currently 63 uncommitted cargoes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) for 2017 delivery from Indonesia's Tangguh and Bontang projects, Wiratmaja Puja, the country's Director General of Oil and Gas, said on Thursday (21/10).

"We are still oversupplied," Puja said, noting that the government was looking for committed buyers and that deals for 13 of the cargoes were currently being negotiated.

"It would be real pity if we had to cut production."

The 63 cargoes is the equivalent of about 6.99 million metric tons of LNG, based on Reuters calculations. A standard sized LNG cargo contains about 150 to 170 million cubic meters of natural gas or about 111,000 to 125,800 metric tons of LNG.

Last year, Indonesia exported just over 17 million metric tons of LNG. Puja added that for 2018 there were still "more than 60" uncommitted cargoes.

Indonesia gets priority on a large portion of domestically produced LNG, but development of infrastructure to absorb the fuel has been slower than hoped both locally and abroad, putting pressure on gas prices.

"We have prepared everything that has been requested for electricity, but we are still developing the infrastructure," Puja said, meaning that LNG supply has been allocated.

Despite the inability to use the gas domestically and falling demand abroad, Indonesia has approved an expansion of the Tangguh LNG project in the country's West Papua province that will boost annual LNG production capacity by 50 percent.

Indonesia is looking to expand small-scale LNG regasification capacity in central and eastern Indonesia in order to meet soaring energy demand in the region and to soak up LNG supply.

The country has ramped up gas consumption targets for environmental reasons, and plans to subsidize natural gas for industrial buyers.

The LNG demand target from Indonesian state power utility Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN), however, was unchanged this year, amid slower growth in electricity use and declining industrial power demand.

Indonesia is the world's 11th largest gas producer, according to the Indonesian Gas Society, and ships LNG from Bontang and Tangguh to Japan, South Korea and China, as well as to domestic buyers.

Badak NGL, which operates the Bontang LNG plant, is a unit of state energy company Pertamina, while the Tangguh project is majority owned by BP.

Asian liquefied natural gas (LNG) gas prices hit a nine-month high of $6.55 per million British thermal units this month. That's still 51 percent below the price two years ago.

jktglobe

 

[papacita]

Garuda Indonesia: A democratic success story

This Wednesday, July 9, 2014 photo shows current Indonesian President Joko Widodo raising his arms during a victory speech after a fractious presidential campaign. Pic: AP.

IN September, Indonesia’s state-run carrier Garuda Indonesia announced it would be expanding into the U.S. market with flights to begin in 2017.

According to its spokesperson Benny S. Butarbutar, this is part of the airline’s strategic plan “to strengthen Garuda Indonesia’s position as a global aviation player.”

Further towards this aim, it has since signed a codeshare agreement with Mexico’s national carrier Aeromexico whereby passengers can fly from Bali to destinations like Acapulco, Monterrey and Cancun.

Indeed, the airline certainly is a major player across the Asia-Pacific and increasingly worldwide.

This year, Garuda Indonesia was declared the world’s ‘most-loved’ airline, with the highest satisfaction rating among more than 420 carriers worldwide. In 2015, it was presented a Five Star Airline award by Skytrax, joining only six other airlines awarded this honour. This year, it was also deemed to have the World’s Best Airline Cabin Crew for a third consecutive year.

Indeed, it has not always been this way.

The announcement of Garuda Indonesia’s expansion into the US market only came after the American civil aviation authorities in August lifted a longstanding ban on Indonesian airlines flying there. Indonesian airlines are still recovering from decades of being reputed internationally as terribly unsafe. Under former dictator Suharto, Garuda was considered one of the world’s worst airlines.

Safety standards were extremely poor, with all-too-regular crashes and even cases of pilots attempting to land at the wrong airport. The legacy of this has taken years to eradicate.

Even as recently as 2007, a Garuda Indonesia flight landing in Yogyakarta overshot the runway and burst into flames, killing 21 passengers and a crew member. As a result, all 51 Indonesian airlines were banned from flying in the European Union. The ban on Garuda Indonesia was later lifted in 2009 and flights resumed to Europe.

While western countries are enthusiastically selling off their flag carriers, leading to reduced quality of service and safety standards, a handful of Southeast Asia’s state-owned national airlines such as in Thailand, Singapore and Vietnam remain amongst the world’s best. Garuda Indonesia is no exception.

Importantly, Garuda’s transformation from a dangerous, unreliable airline to the world’s ‘most-loved’ has come during the era of democracy since 1998.

Indonesia’s national carrier has since its inception been tied to the young nation’s identity and political history.

In fact, its first plane was one seized from the Dutch colonialists during the 1945 revolution. By 1949, a commercial plane branding “Garuda Indonesian Airways” flew the nation’s first president and revolutionary hero, Sukarno, from Jakarta to Yogyakarta.

Indeed, Bung Karno himself drew the airline’s name from a contemporary poem by Noto Soeroto, “I am Garuda, Vishnoe’s bird which spread its wing high above your archipelago.”

The garuda is a holy bird in Hindu and Buddhist mythology. The fact that this was chosen as the symbol of the national carrier for the world’s largest Muslim country is not insignificant. It represents a powerful acknowledgement of Indonesia’s rich history and its democratic mantra of ‘unity in diversity’ as enshrined under the official Pancasila state ideology.

The Suharto era, a brutal military dictatorship ushered in by a failed coup and retributive killings of some 500,000 communist sympathisers, was characterised by hyper-concentrated state power, corporatism and a system of patronage driven by rampant corruption. High-level official positions and business opportunities were monopolised by the Suharto’s friends and family. With nepotistic bureaucracy and poor administration, Indonesia’s national carrier suffered.

After the Asian economic crisis of 1997, Suharto fell from power following a period of instability and a push for democracy from student organisations and civil society. Indonesia then began its (to date highly successful) transition to democracy. Political and economic freedom has since made Indonesia significantly more prosperous.

Garuda Indonesia, along with other Indonesian state-owned enterprises, now has more effective corporate governance than many actors in the private sector. It has benefitted greatly from strong leadership based upon merit rather than nepotistic appointments as under the New Order regime. Whilst increasingly privatised, Indonesia’s government retains majority ownership of the airline. Last year, Garuda Indonesia moved 23 and a half million people, more than the entire population of Australia. After years of losses, it turned a profit in 2015 and continues to restructure to cut costs and increase revenue whilst expanding into Europe and North America.

The current president, Joko Widodo, has pushed massive investment in the country’s ailing infrastructure – particularly in long-neglected regional areas. Just this month, Jokowi has inaugurated two new airports in remote areas of West Sulawesi and Riau. Given that Garuda accounted for almost half of all domestic flights in Indonesia during 2015, it naturally stands to benefit.

Despite some early hiccups, the newly-christened Terminal 3 at Sukarno-Hatta International airport is the impressive centerpiece of Jokowi’s infrastructure vision. It is also a shiny, modern temple of Indonesian nationalism – with tasteful contemporary art and displays of national heroes, including a portrait of Bung Karno and Mohammad Hatta after whom the airport is named.

Garuda Indonesia currently has exclusive use of the terminal for domestic flights. Indonesia’s transport minister Budi Karya Sumadi declared that “this terminal was built to change the image of the capital Jakarta.” Given its grandeur and nationalist flavour, this is probably true for the entire nation.

Indonesian entrepreneur John Riady once said that despite its enormous population, economy and regional influence, Indonesia is “probably the most invisible country in the world”.

The global ascendency of Garuda Indonesia, however, will undoubtedly help to change this.


HSBC Plans to Inject $1b Into Indonesia Business: Regulator

Jakarta. British lender HSBC plans to inject $1 billion of additional capital into its combined Indonesian business with Bank Ekonomi Raharja, an official at the Indonesian financial regulator, Ariastiadi, said on Thursday (20/10).

HSBC separately said it would integrate its Indonesian business with Bank Ekonomi, but a bank spokeswoman in Indonesia declined to comment on the planned capital injection.

The move would help to resolve a long-running issue for HSBC in Indonesia, where the government has encouraged banks in the country to operate via a single locally incorporated entity.

Since the 2008/09 global financial crisis, local regulators have encouraged banks in their jurisdictions to incorporate themselves locally in order to make them easier to police and to ring-fence them from external shocks.

Before the integration, HSBC operated its own branch on top of having a controlling stake in Bank Ekonomi.

HSBC last year offered to buy out the minority shareholders of Bank Ekonomi and delist the Indonesian lender from the Jakarta stock exchange.

Under the integration process, all the assets and liabilities of HSBC Indonesia will be transferred to the combined entity, which will be called Bank HSBC Indonesia, said HSBC's Indonesian legal consultant, Kemal Siregar.

Reuters

 

[Kalazan]

Restoran Padang Pertama Akan Dibuka di Rusia

Ada satu pengusaha kuliner Nusantara yang sudah menunjukkan komitmen cukup serius, yakni pemilik restoran Padang. Sumber: Wikipedia

Restoran Indonesia pertama di Rusia akan dibuka tahun ini, menyusul tingginya antusiasme warga Negeri Beruang Merah tersebut terhadap kuliner Indonesia pada Festival Indonesia 2016 yang digelar belum lama ini, demikian dilaporkanRepublika.

"Dalam kurun waktu tiga jam, makanan yang dijual oleh ibu-ibu Kedutaan Besar Indonesia di Rusia pada acara Festival Indonesia habis. Padahal, makanan itu disiapkan untuk 1,5 hari," kata Duta Besar Indonesia untuk Rusia Wahid Supriyadi seusai bertemu dengan Gubernur Yogyakarta Sri Sultan Hamengku Buwono X, di Kepatihan Yogyakarta, Jumat (14/10).

Menurut Wahid, menu Indonesia favorit masyarakat Rusia ialah nasi goreng dan sate. "Bahkan saat tinggal kerupuk yang tersisa, mereka makan nasi hanya dengan kerupuk. Ini menunjukkan bahwa produk makanan Indonesia apa saja laku di Rusia," sambung Wahid.

Sejauh ini telah ada empat pengusaha kuliner Nusantara yang berminat membuka restoran di Rusia, tapi baru satu yang sudah menunjukkan komitmen cukup serius, yakni pemilik restoran Padang. Manajer restoran tersebut bahkan sudah datang ke Rusia, tulis Republika.

Wahid berencana mengakuisisi lahan seluas 330 meter persegi di Food City,pusat grosir poduk makanan yang memasok makanan ke seluruh Rusia dan negara bekas Soviet. Area tersebut akan menjadi lokasi pameran produk makanan Indonesia.

Tak hanya kuliner, masyarakat Rusia juga menggemari batik dan wayang Jawa. Melihat minat yang tinggi terhadap budaya Indonesia, pihak KBRI Moskow akan kembali menggelar Festival Indonesia pada 4 – 6 Agustus 2017.

RBTH-Edited

 

[Boss Dragun]

Russian investor to build fish processing plants in Indonesia

http://www.antaranews.com/en/news/1...-to-build-fish-processing-plants-in-indonesia

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - A Russian investor, Blackspace, will invest in the construction of cold storage facilities, ice factories and fishery product processing plants in Indonesia, company owner Alexander Isaev has said.

These remarks were made at a meeting with a delegation from the Indonesian House of Representatives Commission IV in Moscow, Russia, recently.

According to a press release from Blackspace Indonesia, received by ANTARA News, the Indonesian delegation visited the companys office in Usovo, Moskovskaya Oblast, to study the countrys experiences in drafting and adopting regulations on agriculture, the environment, the marine sector and fisheries, as well as food.

The meeting was also used by both sides to collect information on the activities of Russian companies in Indonesia.

Commission IV Chairman Edhy Prabowo said the House of Representatives supports Blackspaces development projects in Indonesia.

According to Prabowo, the Indonesian government appreciates the efforts made by the company in building fish processing facilities in the country.

The need for fish storage and processing plants is on the rise because fish production volumes are also rising steadily with the success of the policy introduced by Maritime and Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti to combat illegal fishing.

A working group has determined the first 10 locations where Blackspace will begin the construction of infrastructure for the fishing industry in the near future.

To realize the project, the company has also established PerindoSpace, which is a joint venture between Blackspace and Perum Perindo.

Construction of the initial phase is planned to begin on Natuna Island.

Another Blackspace project is the development of a situation room in Blackspaces office in Jakarta.

The situation room is intended not only for internal monitoring and field data analysis but can also be used by Indonesian government agencies and institutions.

The situation room can facilitate the early identification of hotspots to prevent forest and peat land fires and eradicate unreported, unregulated, illegal fishing.

Isaev added that Blackspace plans to begin working on several projects in the field of agriculture in Indonesia, including the production of a number of leading commodities, such as palm oil and rubber.



PT INKA sets eyes on controlling ASEAN market

http://www.antaranews.com/en/news/107288/pt-inka-sets-eyes-on-controlling-asean-market

Madiun (ANTARA News) - Indonesias train manufacturing company, PT Industri Kereta Api (PT INKA), based in Madiun, East Java, has set a target to corner a major share of the train market in Southeast Asia or the ASEAN region.

"Our target is to control the train market in ASEAN member countries. So far, PT INKA has cooperated with Malaysia and Singapore and hopes for cooperation in future with Thailand, Myanmar, Laos and also Cambodia," the companys president director, Agus Purnomo, said here on Wednesday.

While receiving delegates of the 38th ASEAN Railways CEOs Conference (ARCEO) recently, he reminded that the technology used by PT INKA was very reliable and competitive. Besides, it meets the needs of railway service in ASEAN member countries.

He referred PT INKA's success in penetrating many export markets, including Malaysia, Singapore and Australia.

"PT INKA recently entered Bangladesh. We have been ready to meet the need for trains in the ARCEO countries," he pointed out.

Agus used the opportunity to promote his company by inviting the delegates to tour the companys manufacturing plant, including its technological design center and workshop.

Seven railway operators from Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar, besides Indonesia as the host, attended the 38th ARCEO Conference in Yogyakarta.

Besides the train industry in Madiun, the ARCEO delegates also visited the train museum in Ambarawa, Central Java.



Chinese investor to build alumina smelter in C Kalimantan

http://www.antaranews.com/en/news/107314/chinese-investor-to-build-alumina-smelter-in-c-kalimantan

Sampit, C Kalimantan (ANTARA News) - A Chinese investor who plans to invest through PT Shaanxi Youser Indonesia is ready to build an alumina smelter in East Kotawaringin district, Central Kalimantan, at a cost of Rp16 trillion.

"We want to build it next year but it will take at least two to three years in Indonesia. In China, it can be built in one year because they (Chinese workers) are ready to work nonstop," Director of PT Shaanxi Youser Indonesia, Steven Ugo, said here on Thursday.

The companys executive board visited the Kotawaringin district capital of Sampit to gauge the level of its seriousness in building an alumina smelter in the district.

Steven pointed out that the bauxite found in the district is of very good quality and that is why the company is interested in building an alumina smelter on 500 hectares of land on the riverside to facilitate its transportation.

He believed the construction of the alumina smelter will have a positive impact on the local economy.

The company has pledged to accord priority to hiring local workers and is ready to train them to become skilled workers and occupy important posts in the company.

PT Shaanxi Youser Indonesia has built a nickel smelter in North Morowali district, Central Sulawesi.

Its plans to build an alumina smelter in the district were delayed, he noted, adding that the smelter should have been built long ago and the company would not have found it difficult to acquire land for the plant.

"We are not doubtful. The obstacle may have to do with land prices, but we remain optimistic," he stressed.



Japan pledges support for Indonesian infrastructure development

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/...or-indonesian-infrastructure-development.html

Efforts to boost infrastructure development will get another push after Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) announced its commitment to provide Southeast Asia’s largest economy with up to US$3.7 billion in loans this year.

The Japanese public financial institution said it would seek opportunities to fund major infrastructure projects in Indonesia, such as the construction of power plants, railways and toll roads, under the public private partnership (PPP) scheme.

“The [source of ] funding for [Indonesian] infrastructure development has shifted from government bonds to the PPP scheme or funding without government guarantee,” JBIC CEO Tadashi Maeda said on Thursday, citing Indonesia’s budget deficit threshold of 3 percent as a part of the reason.

The bank signed on Thursday a loan agreement with state electricity firm PLN to provide $310 million in loans from JBIC-led syndicated banks to finance the construction of PLN’s 800-megawatt (MW) gas and steam-turbine power plant in Tanjung Priok, Jakarta, expected to be completed by 2019.

The loan will mature in 15 years and cover 70 percent of funds needed to run the $437 million project.

The power plant itself is the bank’s second project with PLN funded without the government’s guarantee.

The other project was the construction of a 1x315 MW steam-turbine power plant in Lontar, Banten, which broke ground in June.

JBIC stated that it would also eye funding for the construction of a 2x800 MW coal-based power plant in West Java, one of the country’s biggest power plant projects.

“We might be involved in the funding [of the project],” he said.

JBIC will also coordinate with state infrastructure financing firm Sarana Multi Infrastruktur (SMI) and the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) to look for other potential projects to be funded, he said.

Bappenas itself has a list of various infrastructure projects funded under the PPP scheme, including the Lampung water supply project worth Rp 900 billion ($69.2 million) and the Manado-Bitung toll road in North Sulawesi worth Rp 5.1 trillion.

The government estimates it will need Rp 4.7 quadrillion to finance various infrastructure projects for the next few years. It, however, could only cover 40 percent of the funding from the state budget, providing room for private sector participation to fill in the gap.

JBIC revealed that on average, bank budget allocation for Indonesian infrastructure development reached up to $2 billion annually. The realization of funding from JBIC in the last five years has hit $8 billion.

The Finance Ministry’s Fiscal Policy Office (BKF) head Suahasil Nazara urged government institutions to follow up JBIC’s commitment by offering potential projects to be funded.

“Indonesia’s cooperation with JBIC is important for infrastructure development, as they said they would not just focus on physical infrastructure but also social infrastructure,” he said.

 

[Boss Dragun]

i missed an update news regarding the Trade Expo. they managed to Boost Up the Deals up to
US$974.76 million.

Trade Expo Indonesia 2016 sees transactions worth US$974.76 million

http://www.antaranews.com/en/news/1...-2016-sees-transactions-worth-us97476-million

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The countrys largest export exhibition, Trade Expo Indonesia (TEI) 2016, has recorded transactions worth US$974.76 million and will improve exports, Trade Minister Enggartiaso Lukita said.

"Until Sunday morning, transactions took place to the tune of US$974.76 million, or Rp12.7 trillion," Lukita said at the closing of TEI 2016 in Jakarta on Sunday. The minister is confident that the total transactions at TEI would be over US$1 billion.

TEI 2016 is a turning point in national export performance, Lukita said. Indonesias exports till this August had dropped by 10.61 percent compared to the same period last year. "President Joko Widodo had asked us to maintain the balance of trade and hoped that TEI could reverse the decline of national exports," he said.

The countrys export market is expected to do better in 2017, the minister said, though he was reluctant to reveal the trade ministrys export target. "Exports in 2017 should be higher; every year should be higher than the preceding year. We will observe the growth of the world economy, see how far it recovers. Our exports should at least not be lower than the previous years".

Lukita believes that the export performance can stabilize and even improve by exploring new markets, that is, countries other than those Indonesia has traditionally exported to.

Small and medium enterprises (SME) are also being encouraged to attract buyers by adding value to their export products. The minister said such products will ensure that the national export performance is not solely dependent on primary products such as crude palm oil.

The trade ministry is helping SMEs innovate through the Indonesia Design Development Center (IDDC), with Designers Program Dispatch Service (DDS). "The IDDC is a collaboration between designers and SME entrepreneurs. The products are given unique characteristics for added value. In 2017, we will pay special attention to the IDDC. The president has asked me to allocate adequate budget," the minister said.

At TEI 2016, the potential buyers came not only from Indonesias traditional export destinations, but also from countries in Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia. At US$ 826.52 million, the majority was goods transactions, followed by the service sector at US$48.23 million. Indonesian investment to other countries amounted to US$100 million. In all, 15,567 potential buyers from 125 countries participated in the expo. Of this, 110 countries had transactions indirectly with domestic businesses.

As per the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS), Indonesias export value in August 2016 reached US$12.63 billion, down 0.74 percent compared with the same month in the previous year. Non-oil exports, however, were up 2.76 percent in August 2016, touching US$11.50 billion.

(This is just tip of the Iceberg. More will be coming soon. Be Prepared)



Italy continues to show interest in N Sulawesi coconut flour

http://www.antaranews.com/en/news/1...-to-show-interest-in-n-sulawesi-coconut-flour

Manado, N Sulawesi (ANTARA News) - Italy continues to show interest in coconut flour products from North Sulawesi with the European country recording considerably high demand.

"Thirty-eight tons of coconut flour products were exported to Italy in the beginning of October, generating US$61,375 worth of foreign exchange for the country," Head of Foreign Trade division of the North Sumatra Industry and Trade Agency, T Hasudungan, said in Manado, North Sumatra, on Friday.

"Exporters should take advantage of this opportunity," Hasudungan added, hoping that in the future, export of flour to Italy will continue to increase.

"Export of coconut flour to Italy is an opportunity for North Sulawesi to boost the seeded products exports to even more countries in the world," he remarked.

Coconut flour is one of North Sulawesis most popular commodities among foreign consumers, compared to other products.

"The market for North Sulawesi coconut flour is spread well beyond the European region, and covers Asia, America, Australia and Africa as well," he informed.

Compared to other coconut derived products, including Crude Coconut Oil (CCO), coconut flour has indeed penetrated more markets in the world, but volume wise, CCO is still predominant, which is why it is known to be the biggest foreign exchange generator for North Sumatra.



Indonesia has positive economy: Japan bank CEO

http://www.antaranews.com/en/news/107318/indonesia-has-positive-economy-japan-bank-ceo

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Tadashi Maeda, CEO of the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), assessed that the condition of Indonesias economy was in good shape, despite the global pressure not being completely subsided.

"Indonesia is able to maintain its macro-economic conditions pretty well during the two years of President Joko Widodos administration," Maeda said here on Thursday.

According to Maeda, the efforts taken by the Indonesian government to maintain national fiscal sustainability and resist widening budget deficit have been reducing potential risks from abroad.

"Indonesia has retained its budget deficit below 3 percent of GDP and reduced subsidies to be diverted to infrastructure investment. These steps have stabilized the states finances and boosted economic growth without incurring risks," he said.

Another positive economic feature is the equal distribution of major infrastructure such as highways, ports, airports and power plants in various regions across the nation, Maeda said.

"The policies of development are now more focused on the outer islands, particularly the eastern part of Indonesia," Maeda said, adding that these positive indicators made by JBIC will help in funding infrastructure projects in Indonesia, such as power plants, that benefit society.

He asserted that it should not be a concern if the projects are not guaranteed by the government or if the land procurement still poses an obstacle in the construction projects, like the one that occurred in the construction of Batang power plant in Central Java some time ago.

Earlier, Indonesian electricity company PLN and JBIC agreed on funding US$310 million for a power plant construction in Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta, with a capacity of 800 MW.

The Priok power plant project or Jawa-2 Combined Cycle Power Plant worth $437 million is the second project of PLN, which is agreed directly by JBIC without requiring a guarantee from the Indonesian government.

The PLNs first project funded through JBIC loan without government guarantee is the Lontar power plant in Tangerang, Banten, with a capacity of 315 MW. This project is currently going through the early stages of construction.



BUMN minister considers investment in Papua

http://www.antaranews.com/en/news/107284/bumn-minister-considers-investment-in-papua

Jayapura (ANTARA News) - Minister of State-owned Enterprises (BUMN) Rini Soemarmo said she is looking for potential investment projects in Papua by the ministry.

"We are considering building a hotel in the province," Rini said here on Wednesday.

She said there are works to be carried out in Papua by BUMNs such as the traditional Mama-Mama market to be completed by the end of this year.

"Hopefully the project could be completed by the end of 2016 in line with instruction of the president," Rini said.

When asked about state-owned plantation company, PTPN II, which stopped operation on land problem, Rini said discussion is being held on it to find a solution.

"Soon the company is expected to be able to resume operation; possibly through cooperation with the provincisal administration of Papua," she said.

Jokowi said earlier that construction of the Mama-Mama market must not be delayed as the market was one of the project he promised to build during his pre-election political campaign in 2014.



Indonesia`s food and beverage companies show their product in Paris

http://www.antaranews.com/en/news/1...everage-companies-show-their-product-in-paris

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Twenty of Indonesias food and beverage companies from around the country have displayed their products at Salon International de Lalimentation (SIAL) in Paris, France.

The Industry Ministry of Indonesia has assisted these companies in displaying the diversity of Indonesia's leading products, ranging from coffee, soft drinks, processed oil, health drinks, snacks, biscuits, instant noodles, processed fruit and processed fish, as well as organic foods, said Secretary of the Directorate General of Agro Industry of Industry Ministry, Enny Ratnaningtyas, in a press release received here on Tuesday.

The Indonesian companies reflect the competitiveness of Agro products from Indonesia in international markets, as well as opening opportunities for broadening export markets.

According to Enny, the SIAL Paris 2016 event will bring Indonesian food and beverage products to the European community, as well as the world, due to the attendance by businessmen and visitors from many foreign countries.

"Moreover, the SIAL Paris 2016 exhibitors can interact with all potential buyers from Europe and Asia, as well as visitors from around the world who will be present at this exhibition," said Enny.

Enny also said the twenty companies will be located in the Indonesian pavilion, in Hall 4 booth 4M138 at the Paris-Nord Villepinte.

The booth is located close to the Indonesian Trade Promotion Center of Lyon.

Separately, Director General of the Ministry of Industry Panggah Ago Susanto noted that the nation's food and beverage industry has been able to excel in both the domestic and global markets.

This is reflected in its positive performance, such as in 2015, which accounted for 30.84 percent of the GDP of the non-oil processing industry and 5.61 percent of the national GDP.

Meanwhile, the export value of Indonesian food and beverage products in 2015 amounted to 26.539 billion US dollars.

"Special food and drink exports to France in 2015 reached 34.5 million US dollars, or 0.13 percent of the total exports of food and beverage products to the world," said Panggah.

 

[ahojunk]

Australian delegation to meet trade minister Monday for meat talks

• Dandy Koswaraputra
• The Jakarta Post
  
• Bogor | Sun, October 23, 2016 | 11:12 am

Trade Minister Enggartiasto Lukita (right) gives a speech at a seminar titled "Feeding the Nation: Challenges and Solutions. A Conversation with Trade Minister Enggartiasto Lukita" along with Rappler Indonesia managing director Uni Lubis and Bogor Agricultural University (IPB) deputy rector Hermanto Siregar on Oct. 22. (JP/Dandy Koswaraputra)


An Australian business delegation will meet Trade Minister Enggartiasto Lukita on Monday to discuss Indonesia's trade policy on meat, which had affected the Australia beef industry after the government started importing buffalo meat from India.

“I will meet them and explain the background of our policy,” Enggartiasto told The Jakarta Post on the sidelines of a seminar at the Bogor Agricultural University (IPB) in Bogor on Saturday.

Enggartiasto said the government had decided to import from India as an alternative to beef to stabilize meat prices, particularly for low and middle-income households.

He added that the Australian trade minister had offered Indonesia the opportunity to breed cows in Australia and fatten them in Indonesia, but the country preferred to develop local stockbreeding.

"I got a call from the Australian trade minister some days ago to offer stock breeding there, and I told him that our biggest problem was the high price. He said Australia was open to negotiations," Enggartiasto explained.

In July, the Trade Ministry through the State Logistics Agency (Bulog) imported 10,000 tons of buffalo meat from India in an attempt to stabilize meat prices on the local market, which was currently around Rp 120,000 (US$9.20) a kilogram, compared with US$6 in Malaysia and Singapore.

The government, which has been importing beef from Australia and New Zealand for decades, has begun to import buffalo meat from disease-free zones in India to reduce Indonesia’s dependence on those two countries.

 

[Boss Dragun]

still with The Indonesian Trade Expo 2016, there are LOTS of buyers coming from Nigeria. all the buyers are representatives from their companies). the biggest comes from Nigeria [433 Peoples], while the second and third goes to Saudi Arabia [93 peoples] and India [83 peoples]. this is the reason why we managed to Boost up the deals up to US$974.76 million in such a short time.

Source in Indonesian Language : http://bisnis.liputan6.com/read/2585341/trade-expo-indonesia-ke-31-digelar-oktober-2016

you can check thru this page (though you'll waste lots of time because it's a LOOOONG list) : http://www.tradexpoindonesia.com/buyers/registrant

similiar news in Nigerian online news site : http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/10/...it-from-trade-expo-indonesia-2016-nino-wawan/

this suprises me very much. i never figured that Africa (whole of them), being a non-traditional trade partner with Indonesia seems to be Very Enthusiast with the products especially Food and Drinks. this is a very good chance to make them part of our Economic Allies in Africa, as well as the way to reach African market thru Nigeria.

Big Respect to our Nigerian Friends!

Expanding Indonesian export markets to Africa and South Asia

http://www.antaranews.com/en/news/1...esian-export-markets-to-africa-and-south-asia

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The 31st Trade Expo Indonesia (TEI) this year surprised many as several Asian and African countries dominated business transactions, replacing the US and European countries which used to be traditional major buyers during previous TEIs.

The countrys largest export exhibition recorded transactions worth US$974.76 million, with five nations emerging as the largest contributors, including India, Malaysia and Egypt. The two others were Switzerland and France.

At US$ 826.52 million, goods transactions topped the list, followed by the service sector at US$48.23 million.

In all, 15,567 potential buyers from 125 countries participated in the expo. Of these, 110 countries had indirect transactions with domestic businesses.

At TEI 2016, the potential buyers came not only from Indonesias traditional export destinations, but also from countries in Africa, the Middle East, South Asia and Central Asia.

During the expo, for instance, 56 buyers from India booked transactions worth US$82.845 million for products such as spices, furniture, handicraft, and medical equipment, plus US$ 460,000 for investment or joint ventures.

TEI 2016 was expected to be a turning point in national export performance, according to Indonesian Trade Minister Engggartiasto Lukita.

The minister believed that the exports can stabilize and even improve if new markets are explored.

In fact, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi), in his opening remarks at the five-day TEI 2016 on Oct. 12, urged the Indonesian exporters to expand to new markets, particularly to African countries such as Nigeria, and South Asian nations such as India and Bangladesh which have huge population.

Penetrating African and Indian markets, among other things, will be ideal for the Indonesian products in the long term, he added.

"Pay attention to penetrating new markets that we have so far ignored, and paid no attention to, such as India and African countries that have populations of more than 60 million," President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) suggested at the Jakarta International Expo (JI-Expo), Kemayoran area, Jakarta.

He noted that there are opportunities for Indonesian products to enter African and Indian markets, as well as those in Bangladesh, Iraq and Latin American countries.

Furthermore, countries such as China, Nigeria, Malaysia, India, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates, Papua New Guinea, and Bangladesh, had sent large delegations to the TEI 2016.

The presence of such a large number of foreign buyers could help open up new markets for Indonesian products.

Towards this end, Minister Lukita has been encouraging domestic exporters to enter into trade contracts with foreign buyers and explore international markets.

"Business relations established (during the expo) are a precious asset. In addition to direct transactions, TEI (can bring in) long-term investment," Lukita noted.

SMEs are considered a key to help boost the countrys exports, and, therefore, the government is assisting in developing these further.

Industry Minister Airlangga Hartarto has called upon small- and medium-scale industries to improve their capacity and access to funds so as to explore new markets for exports.

Improved capacity and greater access to funds, equipment and technology will help them explore potential markets in Africa and Latin America, the minister commented.

While Africa and Latin America both need products such as garments, furniture, pulp and papers, Indonesia could import agricultural items such as beef and soybean from Latin America, Hartarto underlined.

This year, the expo was themed, "Indonesia: Source of Natural and Creative Products," and is exhibiting various products that demonstrate creativity and design innovation.

These products are expected to boost diversity in the export market.

The expo also opened wider opportunities for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to increase exports by providing services in the form of designers and offering a bigger participation in the event.

"TEI brings in potential buyers from abroad to see Indonesian products, including products manufactured by the SMEs," Director General of the National Export Expansion Sulistyawati explained.

Sulistyawati pointed out that many areas in Indonesia have immense potential to export goods to traditional export destinations and new markets.

Several SMEs signed deals at least worth US$82,000 at the TEI including that between Rumah Tikar Vinto and Turkish buyers valued at US$30,100 and with Japanese buyers worth US$21,500.

In the meantime, the countrys balance of trade in the January-September 2016 period recorded a surplus of US$5.67 billion, with exports amounting to US$104.36 billion and imports totaling US$98.69 billion.

Over the period, Indonesia recorded a surplus of US$6.28 billion in its trade with the United States, US$4.94 billion with India and US$1.69 billion with the Netherlands, Chairman of the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) Suhariyanto underscored on Oct. 17.

 

[skyhigh88]

Company in focus
Indonesia's Kalbe Farma accelerates into high-tech pharma

October 23, 2016 3:00 pm JST
ERWIDA MAULIA, Nikkei staff writer
Nikkei Asian Review

A worker at a Kalbe Farma factory packs medicine in Cikarang, on the outskirts of Jakarta. © Reuters

JAKARTA -- Indonesia's largest pharmaceutical company, Kalbe Farma, is transforming itself from a generic drug manufacturer to a high-tech pharma developer. Its 2-year-old cancer drug factory has started reaping results, and Kalbe is now accelerating research and development of stem cell therapy products.

Kalbe's 3,800-sq.-meter factory in East Jakarta now produces 13 drugs for chemotherapy, including 10 anti-cancer and three support medications. Half can be used to treat breast cancer, the most common cancer in Indonesia and the one blamed for the most deaths among women.

The strategy behind the factory is simple: Focus on the second leading noncommunicable cause of death among Indonesians after cardiovascular problems. Kalbe's oncology line offers treatments for several kinds of cancer, including the most prevalent here: breast, lung, colorectal and cervical.

The recent results are impressive, according to Kalbe director Vidjongtius. "Sales [of cancer drugs are] growing more than 10%, better than Kalbe's other drugs," he said.

Oncology drugs produced by Kalbe Farma.

From its beginnings in a garage in Jakarta in 1966, Kalbe now has annual revenue of 17.8 trillion rupiah ($1.3 billion) and 30 subsidiaries. The group runs 11 factories -- including one in the Philippines and another in Nigeria -- and has more than 16,000 employees.

Its founder, Boenjamin Setiawan, steered it into a new age of innovation in 2007 with an initial investment in stem cell research. In 2008, his niece, Irawati Setiady, took over as president. Under her, Kalbe has been experimenting to find ways to become an innovation-driven drug developer as well as to expand across the Asian marketplace.

The company's overall net sales for the six months ended in June grew about 10% to a little more than 9.55 trillion rupiah ($732 million), with net income attributable to its shareholders increasing 8% to 1.17 trillion rupiah.

As Kalbe enhances its product portfolio, the administration of Indonesian President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo is pushing to provide better health care to every citizen. The government is gearing up its universal healthcare program and intends to cover the country's projected population of 270 million by 2019, a leap from the 170 million currently covered. This year for the first time, government expenditures on health care reached the legally mandated 5% of the state budget. Health care spending is expected to grow 12% every year through 2020.

Kalbe Farma President Irawati Setiady, center, and former Industry Minister Saleh Husin, right, visit the construction site of the company’s new biopharmaceutical factory in West Java in January. © Antara

On the other hand, government policy is making things difficult for the company's mainstream generic prescription drug business. Government-set price caps on generic drugs are suppressing revenue and profit margins. Kalbe's overall prescription drug sales grew 5.4% in the first half of this year, slower than Kalbe's three other business lines -- consumer health (over-the-counter drugs and energy drinks), nutritionals, and distribution and logistics.

In the current half, "[the poor prescription performance] is partially mitigated by a stronger rupiah and the introduction of higher-margin oncology products," Nomura global investment bank said in a recent report.

Even if generic prescription sales recover, however, Kalbe's aspirations will remain unfulfilled.

There are more than 200 drugmakers in Indonesia, the majority of which are local companies that typically produce only low-margin generic substitutes of brands licensed from multinationals. While they control 95% of the market by sales volume, they have a combined 75% share in value terms. The fewer multinationals operating in the country have been able to reap more profits because of their focus on high-value products.

"Everybody can produce generics, so they [Kalbe] do need to develop something different," said equity analyst Elvira Tjandrawinata of Nomura. "Products like the oncology drugs can be their competitive edge; not many companies here can produce something like that."

Indeed, Kalbe is trying to depart from the typical Indonesian way of doing business. It wants to have its own innovation footprint. Stem cell research is part of its plan, in addition to oncology.


Stem cell research

Kalbe is investing in stem cell research -- an emerging area for treatment of many diseases, with a special focus on therapies for degenerative maladies.

Kalbe's founder, Boenjamin Setiawan, founded the Stem Cell and Cancer Institute in 2007, with a vision that Kalbe would someday become a leading producer of stem cell products in Asia.

"We could have chosen raw materials as our R&D focus, but we're already quite left behind in this area -- mainly [by] India, and also China," President Setiady said in a televised speech in January. "The emerging area for research is currently stem cells. And we thought, we should not be left behind anymore. That's why we founded SCI 10 years ago."

Stem cells are "mother cells" with the potential to develop into many different kinds of cells in the body. They have a characteristic ability to self-renew, thus serving as a repair system in the body. In stem cell therapy, the basic idea is to implant these cells in a damaged organ of a patient so that it may heal itself.

SCI Director Sandy Qlintang told the Nikkei Asian Review that the institute has managed to produce autologous transplants, in which stem cells are harvested from the patients themselves, usually from their bone marrow or fat tissue. SCI has been partnering with several university hospitals in Indonesia to provide this treatment for spinal cord injuries, osteoarthritis and other maladies.

SCI, though, has been trying to develop stem cells that can be mass produced by collecting stem cells from young, healthy individuals for use in the treatment of ailing patients. These are called allogeneic stem cells.

"We're preparing to conduct the preclinical study on animals next year. And then we'll start clinical trials on humans in 2018," Qlintang said in a recent interview. "We're planning to market this product in Indonesia, and perhaps also a few other Southeast Asian countries."

For that, he added, the product must pass three-phase clinical trials on humans -- a six- to seven-year process costing at least 40 billion rupiah ($3.1 million). SCI will have to report results of the tests to Indonesia's Food and Drug Monitoring Agency before the agency might approve the product to be marketed in Indonesia.

Stem Cell and Cancer Institute, Jakarta

It is planning to partner with some other pharma companies in Asia -- perhaps from Malaysia and South Korea -- to similarly obtain marketing approval from drug authorities there, Qlintang said.

The stem cell product will be Kalbe's first attempt at fulfilling the Food and Drug Monitoring Agency's clinical trial review on its own. The company has engaged in some clinical trials before, but with more experienced foreign partners such as the National Cancer Center of Singapore, according to the SCI director.


Strategic collaborations

For decades, Kalbe had engaged in mergers and acquisitions that targeted smaller local companies to help expand its consumer health and nutritionals divisions. Now, finding experienced partners willing to share their technology is the key to the company's high-technology and high-value-product approach, director Vidjongtius said. "We can of course try to build on our own, rely on our internal capacity, let the research and development team continue with trial and error," Vidjongtius said. "But that would take years."

The company is therefore on a hunt for "strategic" foreign partners that can lend expertise in specialty products, planned lines of prescription drugs that can only be made with sophisticated technology. Like the oncology drugs, these products offer higher margins. Significantly, a lack of generic substitutes in Indonesia means no government-set price ceilings.

Companies in South Korea and China are increasingly open to collaborations, Vidjongtius said, because Kalbe offers a strong distribution network and reliable access to the pharmaceutical market of the world's fourth most populous nation. The director said Kalbe has $115 million set aside for future strategic collaborations.

Kalbe launched its strategic partnership policy with the oncology factory, which is a collaboration with South Korea's Samyang Biopharm Pharmaceutical.

As operations there have proceeded smoothly, Kalbe last year inked a partnership with another South Korean drugmaker, Genexine, which has expertise in biopharmaceutical technology -- a branch of pharmaceutical development that focuses on biological sources.

The new partnership prompted the construction of a biopharmaceutical factory on the outskirts of Jakarta, which kicked off earlier this year. It is expected to begin commercial operations in 2018, with only one product planned so far: erythropoietin, a hormone treatment for special cases of anemia resulting from kidney failure and cancer treatment.

Kalbe and Genexine also have established a research unit tasked with developing "new innovative biologic drugs" that will be made at the factory, the company said on its website.

Kalbe has high hopes for the new partnership.

"Through the formation of the joint venture company, Kalbe is gaining access to a wide range of next generation therapeutic proteins, access to advanced countries such as Australia and Taiwan, and greater footholds in ... ASEAN and Indonesia," it added, referring to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Going forward, "we won't stop with the Korean partners," Vidjongtius said. "We've initiated talks with some other potential partners -- [perhaps] Korean, Japanese, Chinese or Indian."

http://asia.nikkei.com/Features/Com...Kalbe-Farma-accelerates-into-high-tech-pharma

 

[skyhigh88]

Mitsubishi Bets on New $632m Plant to Tap Indonesia's Thriving Crossover Marketing

Japanese automaker Mitsubishi Motors is set to start operations at a new plant in Cikarang, West Java, in the second quarter of next year. (Reuters Photo/Thomas Peter)

By : Ridho Syukra & Harso Kurniawan | on 4:58 PM October 23, 2016
Category : Business, Featured, Automotive
Jakarta Globe

Jakarta. Japanese automaker Mitsubishi Motors is set to start operations at a new plant in Cikarang, West Java, in the second quarter of next year, providing the company with a manufacturing base to tap Indonesia's fastest growing automobile market segments.

The $632 million plant will start in April to produce sports utility vehicles and so-called crossover vehicles, which combine off-road capability with a passenger-carrying capacity in multipurpose vehicles, which are currently the best-selling vehicle type in Indonesia. The plant will have a capacity to produce 160,000 units per year, half of which would be crossover vehicles.

Irwan Kuncoro, general manager of sales and marketing at Krama Yudha Tiga Berlian Motor, the authorized sole distributor for Mitsubishi, said on Friday (21/10) that the automaker is seeking to become part of the big three in terms of domestic sales with the introduction of its crossover vehicle.

Japanese automaker Toyota currently dominates the Indonesian car market with a 35 percent market share, followed by Honda with 19 percent and Daihatsu with 17 percent. Mitsubishi only accounts for 4 percent of the market.

Sales of crossover vehicles exploded in the first nine months of this year compared to the same period a year ago, growing at 65 percent. This was led by the likes of the Honda BR-V and Mitsubishi's Outlander. The aggregate growth for all cars in the same period was 2.5 percent.

"The mindset of Indonesian consumers about cars is that the vehicle has to be able to carry seven passengers. Meanwhile, road conditions here are often far from perfect," Indonesian Automotive Association (Gaikindo) deputy chairman Jongkie Soegiharto said.

Crossover vehicle sales could boost next year's total by between 1.10 million and 1.15 million units, from an estimated 1.05 million this year, he said.

"Gaikindo does not yet have an official projection for next year's growth, but I think it would be faster than this year," Jongkie said.

Krama Yudha's Irwan said the company plans to start producing 80,000 crossover vehicles at its Cikarang plant as soon as June next year after concentrating on building Pajero sports utility vehicles in the three months prior.

Mitsubishi will also restructure its operation by transferring all passenger car sales and marketing from Krama Yudha to a new company. That will be a joint venture between parent Mitsubishi, which will control 40 percent, and Mitsubishi Motor and Krama Yudha, which will each control half of the remaining shares.

The new structure would separate Mitsubishi truck sales, under the Fuso brand, and other passenger vehicles such as the Pajero, Outlander, Mirage, Delica, and Triton, which in turn would allow for more rapid dealership expansion, Krama Yudha president director Hisashi Ishimaki said.

And that should be a justified move with competitors also planning to tap into the crossover segment next year.

Japanese rival Nissan will start selling its Datsun Go Cross next year, while French manufacturer Renault has introduced Kwid, which it claims as the cheapest crossover vehicle model in Indonesia.

Local media also reported that Toyota plans to introduce a crossover model next year to strengthen its lead in the Indonesian market.

http://jakartaglobe.beritasatu.com/business/mitsubishi-bets-new-632m-plant-tap-indonesias-thriving-crossover-market/

 

[pr1v4t33r]

Indonesia Returning Most in Asia Amid Sixth Rate Cut: Chart
Indonesia’s sixth interest-rate cut this year last week hasn’t diminished the allure of the nation’s 10-year local-currency bonds, which yield the most in Asia after adjusting for inflation. For the year, domestic debt issued by the country gave investors a return of 18.1 percent, also the most region-wide, according to indexes tracked by Bloomberg. This was followed by India at 12.8 percent and the Philippines at 7.8 percent.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...ost-in-asia-amid-sixth-rate-cut-chart#media-1