Retail News CRM

Tag: Indonesia

  • Disappointing year for Matahari Putra Prima

    Disappointing year for Matahari Putra Prima

    While the net income of Indonesian grocery retailer Matahari Putra Prima (MPPA) was below expectations, it recorded slightly improved revenue and sales for the year ended December 31.

    Its revenue was Rp13.9 trillion ($US2 billion), with sales up 2.5 per cent from Rp13.6 trillion in 2014. Its net income came in at Rp183 billion, giving it an operating profit of Rp268.8 billion, or 1.9 per cent of sales.

    CEO Noel Trinder says that despite the economic difficulties, the group continued its strategic direction of expanding business through new or enhanced formats.

    As well as continuing its Hypermarket G7 rollout, Matahari PP also revamped its Foodmart and Bostonformats, and launched the SmartHub and FMX concept debuts formats on the wholesale side.

    MPPA opened 33 outlets during the year, and now has 293 multi-format stores. Four G7 stores opened, and eight stores were remodelled to the concept.

    One of Indonesia’s largest retailers, Matahari PP has more than 30,000 employees in 112 hypermarkets, 23 supermarkets (Foodmart and Primo/Fresh), 49 minimarket/convenience stores (FMX), 108 health and beauty stores (Boston) and its wholesale outlet (SmartClub).

    In total, it has 293 stores in 68 cities throughout Indonesia.

  • Masterpiece Auction House opens in Hong Kong

    Masterpiece Auction House opens in Hong Kong

    Indonesia-based Masterpiece Auction House will host its first auction in Hong Kong featuring Southeast Asian and Chinese modern and contemporary art works this Saturday (March 26).

    The public preview will start tomorrow (March 22).

    Masterpiece Auction House recently opened an office in Hong Kong to help expand its market share of the growing Asian modern and contemporary art market, said the President Director of Masterpiece Auction Private Ltd,, Benny Oenardi Raharjo.

    The company plans to host two auctions in Hong Kong every year showcasing artworks – paintings in particular – by established, emerging and young artists from Southeast Asia and Asia. It will also provide junior painters with an opportunity to introduce their work, which will help increase their international exposure.

    “The art market in Hong Kong has been buoyant, with more and more people buying artwork not just for the love of it, but as part of their financial and investment portfolio,” Raharjo said. “Our entry into Hong Kong, a key art hub of the region, will allow Masterpiece Auction House to grab a larger slice of the growing Asian modern and contemporary art market.”

    Associate director-general of investment promotion Dr Jimmy Chiang said Hong Kong has a strategic location in the heart of Asia and is close to the Mainland.

    “Against this backdrop, art auction houses or related companies in Hong Kong enjoy unrivalled access to a huge number of high net-worth individuals in Asia Pacific, as well as a pool of seasoned art managers, art-specific transportation and logistics support.”

    Founded in 2003, Masterpiece Auction House is recognised as one of the leading and the most dynamic auction houses in Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia. It gives exposure to high quality of fine art, particularly with the vision of developing and raising the national and international exposure of Indonesian art, especially through the medium of paintings.

    *Photo: Masterpiece Auction House president director Benny Oenardi Raharjo.

  • Indonesia is ASEAN eCommerce sleeping giant

    Indonesia is ASEAN eCommerce sleeping giant

    Indonesia is the most-promising ASEAN eCommerce market, according to Hong Kong-based consultant Paul McKenzie.

    He told a seminar in Bangkok, organised by brokerage and investment group CLSA, that Indonesia has the greatest potential because of its developing infrastructure and private equity advantage.

    Thailand is a little behind, he said, with the eCommerce landscape growing but not to the same scale as Indonesia.

    “It’s simply too early right now for The Philippines – there are not enough big and efficient companies in the market, and Malaysia’s market is just too small,” said McKenzie. However, Malaysia had less of a potential void for eCommerce as offline retail penetration was even higher than China.

    His talk focused on the “e-liftoff”’ of ASEAN countries, corresponding with a CLSA report published last year, and he predicted that the ASEAN eCommerce market would grow in terms of IPO, which would make it more appealing for investors.

    He also spoke about the Line app being essential to eCommerce in the ASEAN region. “More than 60 per cent of Thais 14 years and older are on Line, and mobile is the future of online shopping.”

    He predicted that within the next few years, mobile will be even more important in ASEAN than it now is in China. He said a third of online transactions were made on mobile, and 50 per cent of online browsing was done on mobile, lagging behind China by only a year.

    He said further progress was being hindered by slow data speeds, with users complaining about transactions being dropped and pages not loading. Another problem was that most shoppers in the region did not have credit cards.

    McKenzie said ASEAN countries had being doing well with delivery in the main centres, which meant there was a market for more warehouses or logistical services.

    Meanwhile, 1200 retailers, eCommerce and fulfilment company representatives gathered at the two-day Last Mile Fulfilment Asia conference in Singapore. Speakers included CEO Paul Srivorakul and CLO Mitch Bittermann from the Thai eCommerce solutions provider aCommerce Group, which has started expanding in Indonesia.

    “The changes in the Indonesian market are happening much faster when compared to other regions in Southeast Asia,” Srivorakul says on a company blog. “A lot of investment is taking place in Indonesia’s eCommerce infrastructure, cash-on-delivery networks and third-party logistics (3PL) systems.”

    The company has a presence in four countries in Southeast Asia: its home market as well as Indonesia, The Philippines and Singapore. Of its 200 clients, 120 are in Indonesia. Major clients include BerryBenka, Blibli.com, Elevenia, Mitra Adi Perkasa and L’Oreal. The company has about 500 employees in Indonesia, and runs two multi-client fulfilment centres as well as a 5000 sqm fulfilment centre for Lippo Group’s eCommerce arm MatahariMall.

    The company is also preparing to launch a four-level fulfilment centre in the next two months, which will increase the country’s warehouse capacity by 17,000 sqm, bringing the total to 32,000 sqm.

  • Indonesians urged to eat more fish

    Indonesians urged to eat more fish

    Living in a country, which is rich in fisheries resources, the Indonesian people have been urged to eat more fish to increase their protein intake and boost the growth of the nations younger generation.

    Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (KKP) Ministry said eating more fish will be useful in increasing the peoples protein intake and for overcoming the growth problem of Indonesian children. “In the past 10 years, one (in three) Indonesian children grew shorter due to (inadequate) food quality,” KKP Minister Susi Pudjiastuti said on Wednesday.

    She said with the efforts of her ministry to fight fish theft in Indonesian waters, the quantity of fish and fish protein for domestic consumption in the society could be increased.

    Therefore, she said, foreign consumers would not be the only party who would enjoy the countrys premium fish products through exports, but the local Indonesian population could also enjoy the benefits of these resources.

    “Ideally, we export fish after our consumption needs at home have been met,” the minister said, adding that the Indonesian people will meet their nutritional intake and become healthier if they obtain adequate protein.

    The Peoples Coalition for Fishery Justice (Kiara) expects the government to optimize production in the maritime and fishery sector for domestic consumption owing to the fact that the size of the population has increased rapidly over the past several decades. Indonesias population is now pegged at about 250 million.

    “Since the 1990s, the proportion of fishery production for consumption has been increasing. Some 71 percent of fish production in the 1980s was allocated for human consumption,” Kiara Secretary General, Abdul Halim said.

    He said during the period of 1976-2012, the world fish and fishery trade increased 8.3 percent in nominal terms and 4.1 percent in real terms per annum.

    Abdul therefore urged the KKP to remain focused on safeguarding the countrys fish resources amid reports that a number of countries are experiencing a decline in their fish catch.

    “Poaching will continue to be a challenge for the Indonesian people because many countries which have run short of fishery resources,” the Kiara Secretary General said.

    The KKP had earlier said that there has been an upward trend in the fish consumption of the Indonesian people. The increasing trend is believed to be the results of campaigns asking people to increase fish consumption in various parts of the country.

    The KKP in its written statement made available to Antara on March 24, said the countrys per capita fish consumption per annum was recorded at 42.11 kilogram (kg) in 2015, exceeding the target set at 40.90 kg per capita per annum.

    In 2014, fish production for domestic consumption was set at 13.07 million tons, up 10.01 percent from 2013.

    Although it is important to supply fish for domestic consumption, the country also needs to increase its fish exports.

    Toward this end, the KKP will gather the profiles and business plans of fisheries companies in the country to make it easier in the calculation of the countrys fisheries exports.

    “If we know the profiles and performance of fisheries industry, it will make it easier for us to calculate our export targets,” KKP Director General for the Promotions of Maritime and Fisheries Products, Nilanto Perbowo said on March 30.

    Nilanto also invited various partners of fisheries associations to provide data about their performance and business plans. This will be useful for setting the export target and for the issuance of fishery raw material import licenses, he said.

  • BNI, Indonesia’s Leading Bank, Adopts e-Learning to Improve Credit Performance

    BNI, Indonesia’s Leading Bank, Adopts e-Learning to Improve Credit Performance

    Omega Performance, a TwentyEighty company, and BNI, Indonesia’s fourth largest bank, teamed up to create a robust e-Learning platform to improve the bank’s quality of assets aimed at reducing its credit risk. By focusing on training and developing its loan officers, BNI has found a solution to reduce the percentage of its nonperforming loans (NPLs).

    Risk management is one of the top threats facing Indonesian banks in today’s economic climate. BNI had shown improvement year over year regarding its NPLs, but leaders of the bank wanted to do even better.

    BNI’s strategy to reduce the burden on its financial system was to manage its operational risks by investing in technology and its people through a systematic training system for its loan approval processes. The best way to do this was to supplement its in-house training model with an e-Learning platform from Omega Performance. Training employees using a technologically advanced platform ensures consistent learning opportunities are available to all credit officers and it encourages knowledge sharing within the bank.

    “A few years ago, I personally evaluated the content Omega Performance offered in terms of credit training, and I was highly impressed with the quality of the material,” said Putu B. Kresna, head of the organizational learning division at BNI. “After that experience, we have been successfully working together ever since.”

    Since it was established in 1946, BNI has grown and developed into a national bank with sustainable financial performance and millions of customers worldwide. The bank relies on its wide-ranging service network, comprising of 1,585 domestic outlets and nine overseas branches in Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, the United Kingdom and the United States.

    In addition to seeing improvement on its NPLs, BNI senior managers saw instant results in the change in employee perception towards training. It’s clear that BNI employees are seeing great value in being trained by a partner that understands the banking credit culture like Omega Performance.

    Omega Performance has been able to get BNI’s most experienced credit officers to buy into the e-Learning platform. Using a blended approach that includes online self-study, facilitator-led interactive workshops, skills application labs and a Train-the-Trainer style of learning has laid a strong foundation for training at BNI. Omega Performance is providing training platforms to help BNI in consumer lending, business lending fundamentals, financial accountability for lenders, commercial loans to business and minimizing problem loans.

    “We are pleased that BNI has chosen Omega Performance as its trusted learning partner to help the bank make continuous improvements in its NPL ratio by using our blended credit training solutions,” said Gil Madrid, business development director at Omega Performance. “By elevating the competency and risk management skills of its bankers to international standards, BNI has taken an invaluable and progressive step to fulfill its vision of creating and sustaining a strong credit culture at the bank.”

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  • Merck foresees healthy growth ahead in Indonesia

    Merck foresees healthy growth ahead in Indonesia

    Publicly listed Merck, founded in 1970 as the Indonesian unit of German life science group Merck KGaA, expects double-digit growth in total sales in 2016 following a similar growth in its healthcare business last year.

    The biopharma business, for example, rose by 14.5% in 2015, above the industry average of 8% to 9%. On the other hand, the consumer health business soared by 16%, according to the Jakarta Post.

    The Indonesia unit will also strengthen its current strategy of maintaining partnerships with both private and government organizations such as the Health Ministry and the Jakarta Administration, through which Merck will expand public awareness about health issues, encourage public acceptance and broaden market access for Merck’s pharmaceutical products.

    Merck is also currently expanding the production capacity of its factory in TB Simatupang, South Jakarta, to further boost future sales.

    These and other key industry news will be discussed next week at CPhI SEA, the only trade exhibition dedicated to the pharma industry in the region, to be held at the Jakarta International Expo during April 6-8.

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  • Fuji keen to intensify cooperation with Indonesia

    Fuji keen to intensify cooperation with Indonesia

    Fijian Minister for Agriculture, Rural, and Maritime Development and National Disaster Management Ina Seruiratu has expressed his countrys keenness to expand cooperation with Indonesia in various fields.

    “We have expanded our cooperation with Indonesia in areas such as agriculture, which is paramount for the two countries as well as in the field of residential development,” Seruiratu noted in a press statement of the Indonesian Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan released on Thursday.

    He made the remarks after receiving assistance worth US$5 million from the Indonesian government through Minister Pandjaitan to help alleviate the financial burden of the victims of Cyclone Winston, which left 19 people dead and affected part of the country.

    He expressed hope that the Indonesian assistance would strengthen relations between the two nations.

    Pandjaitan also said his country was looking forward to taking a cue from Indonesia in mitigating natural disasters as it was also a disaster-prone nation.

    “Besides learning from Indonesias experiences, we also want to gain a deeper understanding of disaster mitigation technology from the country,” he revealed.

    During his visit to Fiji, Minister Luhut also met Prime Minister Josaia Bainimarama to extend his condolences over the disaster that affected the South Pacific country.

    Luhut praised the Fijian premier for his swift action in addressing the disaster.

    “I believe that under the leadership of Prime Minister Bainimarama, Fiji would soon recover and rebuild itself,” he added.

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  • Garuda Indonesia Inaugurates Flight to London Heathrow

    Garuda Indonesia Inaugurates Flight to London Heathrow

    In a bid to strengthen its business expansion and nation branding in Europe, Garuda Indonesia today has inaugurated flight service to Heathrow Airport, London. Earlier, since September 2014, Garuda Indonesia has opened flight service to Gatwick Airport, London.

    “London Heathrow is the world’s 6th busiest airport with high passenger traffic. Garuda Indonesia’s service in the airport is expected to expand passenger connectivity in European market, particularly England, mainly through SkyTeam network to various world destinations,” said President Director of Garuda Indonesia M. Arif Wibowo in a press release as quoted by Bisnis.com, Thursday, March 31, 2016.

    Garuda Indonesia will offer flights from Jakarta to London Heathrow through Singapore (transit), whereas from London Heathrow to Jakarta, Garuda will operate five times weekly non–stop flight service (every Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday), using Boeing 777-300ER aircraft with First Class service, with a capacity of 314 passengers, with 8 seats configuration for First Class, 38 seats for business class and 268 seats for economy class.

    Meanwhile, Deputy for Financial Service Business, Survey and Consulting Division of SOE Minister, Gatot Trihargo, in his speech representing Indonesia’s SEO Minister has expressed his appreciation on Garuda Indonesia’s effort who has continuously provides the best services to its users.

    “As a the nation’s flag carrier who also carries a five star rating, Garuda Indonesia’s presence, wherever it is, will carry the state’s name. Flight services to London Heathrow is expected to strengthen Garuda’s flight network, which can certainly help boost Indonesia’s economic, business and tourism growth,” Gatot added.

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  • Indonesian shoppers flock to Singapore as rupiah surges

    Indonesian shoppers flock to Singapore as rupiah surges

    Tourist arrivals will spike this year.

    Buoyed by the resurgent rupiah, Indonesian holidaymakers are once again trooping to Singapore to shop and splurge, according to a report by Bloomberg.

    The rupiah has surged 9.9 percent against the U.S. dollar over the past six months, second only to Malaysia’s ringgit among emerging markets, as slowing inflation and a nascent commodity-price recovery lured money to the nation’s assets.

    “The rupiah has done really well this year and it makes things look cheaper elsewhere for Indonesians,” said Nizam Idris, head of foreign-exchange and fixed-income strategy at Macquarie Bank Ltd. in Singapore. “The currency will find support from decent yields and bottoming commodity prices.

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  • Oh!K expands into Indonesia

    Oh!K expands into Indonesia

    K-entertainment fans in Indonesia will now be able to catch the latest and best Korean content within hours of its world premiere with the launch of Oh!K on Tribe.

    This new OTT service from XL, a telecommunications operator, offers its subscribers via the Tribe app exclusive access to fresh, first-run, localized and high-quality video, via mobile devices and online.

    Oh!K currently boasts a slew of popular series including Monster, which will premiere later this month, and Marriage Contract, which is currently running on the channel. These express titles air within 24 and 48 hours of Korean telecast, respectively.

    “Since Turner launched Oh!K in October 2014, the channel’s reach and popularity has grown significantly,” said Phil Nelson, Turner’s managing director for Southeast Asia. “In just 18 months, partners in Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong and now in Indonesia with Tribe, have responded to the growing appetite for quality Korean content.”

    Other express titles on Oh!K include Just Married and Korea’s No. 1 variety show Infinite Challenge – starring celebrity hosts Yoo Jae Suk, Park Myung Soo, Jung Joon Ha, Jung Hyung Don, Hwang Kwang Hee and Haha.

    Oh!K’s programming is also supplemented by special live simulcasts from Korea, such as the MBC Drama and Entertainment Awards and Gayo Daejun (Korean Music Festival) available on the channel.

  • XL Axiata to sell more telecom towers for $250m

    XL Axiata to sell more telecom towers for $250m

    Indonesia’s XL Axiata has arranged to sell 2,500 more telecom towers for 3.56 trillion rupiah ($250 million) as part of an ongoing asset management reorgnization.

    XL has agreed to sell the towers to local tower operator Professional Telekomunikasi Indonesia (Protelindo) and rent most of them back for 10 years as the anchor tenant.

    Announcing the move, XL said it expects to benefit from significant capex and opex savings, and plans to use proceeds from the sale to help further reduce its debt.

    The operator is also expected to use the divestment to help more aggressively roll out 4G services.

    XL already sold 3,500 towers to PT Solusi Tunas Pratama (SUPR) as part of a deal arranged during 2014, and used the proceeds to reduce its debt burden.

    In related news, credit ratings agency Moody’s has recently published a report predicting that telecom tower companies in Indonesia as well as India are well-placed to continue growing.

    Tower companies in the two markets are the most developed in Asia, Moody’s said. But the company noted that geographical, operational and regulatory differences between the two countries will affect their growth rates and financial performance.

    “We expect continued growth in both markets as mobile operators, building out and strengthening their third- and fourth-generation (3G and 4G) footprints, will seek to lease tower space and sell more of their own towers,” Moody’s assistant vice president and analyst Nidhi Dhruv said.

    “In this context, we expect overall year-on-year revenue growth of about 8%-10% for tower operators in both countries during the next one to two years.”

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  • Australia Strengthens Presence in Indonesia

    Australia Strengthens Presence in Indonesia

    Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, as part of her busy schedule, visited Jakarta, Makassar in South Sulawesi Province, and Bali during a working visit on March 20-23, 2016.

    Bishop started her agenda by holding meetings with her Indonesian counterpart Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi and Vice President M. Jusuf Kalla in Jakarta to discuss efforts to boost bilateral, political, trade, and investment cooperation.

    Foreign Minister Bishop then formally inaugurated Australias newly constructed embassy in the Patra Kuningan area, South Jakarta, which includes a five-storey Chancery, accommodation for some Embassy staff, and a recreation and medical center covering an area of more than 50 thousand square meters.

    “The state-of-the-art building and joint project between Australian and Indonesian companies symbolizes our commitment to strong and enduring ties with Indonesia. The new embassy facility will accommodate Australias increased presence in Indonesia and will provide a secure working environment for our personnel,” she stated.

    The new embassy complex was built by Indonesian company Total Bangun Persada in partnership with Leighton (Asia) and continues to make a positive contribution to the local economy.

    Some 2.5 thousand local workers were employed at the site during the construction process. The Australian government is also upgrading infrastructure in the embassys neighborhood.

    “The embassy showcases the best in Australian innovative design and cutting-edge technology to make the most out of Indonesias environment while minimizing the impact on local water and energy sources,” Australian Ambassador to Indonesia Paul Grigson noted.

    The new embassy is the largest ever to be constructed by an Australian government in the world and reflects the depth of the relationship between Australia and Indonesia, he remarked.

    The embassy complex uses low-resource technologies such as rainwater harvesting and solar water heating systems.

    Extensive landscaping was carried out during construction. Four mature Banyan trees were also relocated. This relocation is the biggest of its kind to be ever undertaken and has been recognized by the Indonesian Guinness Book of Records. The effort also won a Museum Rekor Indonesia Award.

    The distinctive colors chosen for the Chancery are designed to represent Australias wealth in minerals and metals such as copper, zinc, brass, steel, and aluminum.

    “The new Australian Embassy complex is not only a tribute to the countrys creative design and innovation but is also a tangible example of a very successful Australian-Indonesian construction partnership,” Grigson emphasized.

    Bishop expressed hope that more number of Indonesian tourists would visit her country.

    “Every year, a million Australians visit Indonesia. We wish to push for an increase in the number of Indonesian tourists visiting Australia,” Bishop stated here on Monday after inaugurating the new Australian embassy.

    She said Australia applies a universal visa system across the world. Currently, Australian tourists do not require a visa to visit Indonesia.

    From January to November 2015, the number of Australian visitors to Bali was the highest, reaching 876,748 out of the total of 3,631,195 foreign tourists arriving on the island.

    Australia is a potential market for Bali, or even Indonesia as a whole, largely due to its proximity. It has always been one of the three biggest sources of tourists to Bali.

    On March 22, Bishop opened the new Australian Consulate General in Makassar, Australias third diplomatic post in Indonesia.

    “Australia is committed to building trade and investment partnership with Indonesia and expanding our people-to-people contacts. The Consulate General will deepen our business, education, and cultural links with the provinces of eastern Indonesia,” the minister noted.

    On the occasion, Bishop announced the appointment of Richard Mathews as Australias first Consul General in Makassar, which is Indonesias fifth-largest city and a key commercial hub for Australians doing business in eastern Indonesia.

    Eastern Indonesia is an increasingly popular destination for Australian trade and investment, particularly in the resources, agribusiness, and food processing sectors.

    Mathews is a career officer with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and was most recently the director of the Nuclear Policy Section. He had earlier served overseas as deputy representative in the Australian Commerce and Industry Office, Taipei; deputy head of Mission in Athens; and as second secretary in Bandar Seri Begawan.

    In Canberra, Mathews has worked in the India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Europe sections.

    He has also worked as director at the Centre for Defence and Strategic Studies; Indonesia director in the Northern Territory Government; and as a visiting fellow and Indonesia Merdeka fellow at the ANU.

    Mathews claimed that the new diplomatic facility will help to reinforce and strengthen trade and investment ties with eastern Indonesia.

    “I want to build a network of business, educational facilities, and Australian alumni in eastern Indonesia,” Mathews emphasized.

    He promised to promote sound relations between the two sides.

    Meanwhile, South Sulawesi Deputy Governor Agus Arifin Numang stated that the consulate general would help strengthen trade relations between his administration and Australia.

    “We hope that trade relations with Australia would be improved,” he noted.

    Earlier, Vice President Kalla had expressed hope to lure more Australian investments in Makassar.

    “Australia is relatively closer to the eastern part of Indonesia,” the vice president pointed out.

    Grigson listed trade, education, and culture as the three priority sectors that the consulate general in Makassar would pursue.

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  • Coffee Producer Classic Worldwide International Group Expands to Indonesia’

    Coffee Producer Classic Worldwide International Group Expands to Indonesia’

    Dato Sri Rozaini, Executive Director at CWIG, said the company’s expansion to Indonesia required about IDR 1 trillion (approx. USD $76 million) worth of investment over the past two years, including the construction of the coffee plant. The main reason for expansion to Indonesia is that production costs are lower in Indonesia compared to the home country. CWIG targets to control a 3 – 5 percent stake in Indonesia’s coffee market after the first year of operations. This market share should then be raised to 20 – 30 percent in the next three years. This is an ambitious target as Indonesia’s coffee market is characterized by many brands and types of coffee.

    CWIG is confident that it can control a significant stake in Indonesia’s coffee market because the company has developed strongly, within a short time, on the Malaysian market. Although it only started to sell its coffee products in Malaysia in 2014, Rozaini says CWIG already controls a 30 – 40 percent market share in Malaysia’s coffee market. A similar scenario is expected in Indonesia. Rozaini added that – provided the expansion to Indonesia is successful – the company also plans to expand its coffee business to Brunei and the Philippines.

    Remarkably, CWIG’s coffee plant in Banten will not use domestically-sourced coffee beans (although Indonesia is among the world’s top coffee bean producers). Instead the company will import the beans from Vietnam and Brazil. The reason behind this decision is that the company wants to use (high-grade) arabica coffee beans for its coffee products. Indonesia, on the other hand, is mostly a robusta bean producer.  Parts of Aceh and North Sumatra do produce arabica beans but the grade of these beans are not in line with the requirements of the company.

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  • Jakarta Convention Center to hold biggest marine tourism expo

    Jakarta Convention Center to hold biggest marine tourism expo

    The Tourism Ministry supports the countries biggest marine adventure tourism exhibition, “Deep & Extreme Indonesia 2016”, which will be held at the Jakarta Convention Center, from March 31 to April 3, 2016.

    “The Tourism Ministry supports the organizing of the event. Lets explore the beauty of Indonesias underwater world,” Tourism Destination Development Deputy of the Tourism Ministry Dadang Rizki said here on Sunday.

    Organized since ten years ago, the exhibition is the biggest and most complete of its kind held in the country. It explores marine tourism markets in various regions to be developed into world best diving tourist destinations.

    It is admitted that Indonesia is best for its beautiful undersea world with various diving destinations such as Raja Ampat in West Papua; Bunaken in Manado (North Sulawesi); Lembeh Bitung in Lombok (West Nusa Tenggara/NTB); Labuan Bajo in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT); Wangi-Wangi, Kaledupa, Tomia and Binongko in Wakatobi (Southeast Sulawesi); and Morotai as well as Halmahera in Ambon (Maluku).

    Indonesia has thousands of places of this kind that are scattered across the country from Sabang in Aceh Province to Marauke in Papua Province, he said.

    Dadang explained that the Indonesian underwater world is host to various coral reefs which serve as habitat for more than 2,000 fish species and various sea biota.

    Different fish species such as wrasse, dansel, trigger, sweetlip and unicorn are all can be found there. There are also various big fish species such as tuna, marlin, hammer head sharks, sailfish, yellowfin tuna, barracuda, dolphin and whales.

    Different tourism operators and diving organizers, government organizations, tourism promotion boards and travel bureaus will take part in the exhibition.

    The operators and diving organizers will display diving operator ship and various diving accessories, and other water sport devices. They will also exhibit underwater photography equipment.

  • BNI Set to Penetrate ASEAN Market

    BNI Set to Penetrate ASEAN Market

    Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI) president director Achmad Baiquni said that state-owned lender BNI would expand its business in other Southeast Asian countries, in addition to Myanmar.

    “There are some countries targeted by BNI, but we can’t reveal them yet, because it’s too early,” Baiquni told us during a tree-planting event at kilometer 59 of the Jakarta-Cikampek toll road on Saturday, March 26, 2016.

    Baiquni added that the expansion plan would be executed based on existing business potentials. Myanmar was selected since other state-owned companies were expanding their business in the country.

    “We have to follow our customers,” Baiquini explained.

    Baiquni admitted that BNI had looked into the business potential in Myanmar. He also expected that the expansion plan would be realized this year.

    BNI and Bank Mandiri are preparing to expand their businesses in the ASEAN market prior to Financial Services Authority’s agreement signings with Central Bank of Myanmar and Bank Negara Malaysia.

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