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Tag: Indonesia

  • Chin Teck Q1 earnings halved on losses in Indonesia

    Chin Teck Q1 earnings halved on losses in Indonesia

    Chin Teck Plantations Bhd earnings fell 43.5% to RM5.98mil in the first quarter ended Nov 30, 2015 from RM10.61mil a year ago, partly because its associates sustained losses in their Indonesian oil palm plantations.

    It said on Thursday its revenue was slightly higher at RM27.81mil from RM27.72mil a year ago due to slightly higher prices for the fresh fruit bunches (FFB).

    However, the average selling price of crude palm oil (CPO) was lower despite higher prices for the FFB. It also said that a year ago, there was a gain from the sale of investment.

    Also overall operating expenses were higher due to the increase in replanting expenses.

    Its oil palm plantations in Lampung Province, Indonesia had to suspend harvesting due to unrest in the nearby villages.

    “The plantations have commence harvesting. At end-November, the total harvested area was about 13% of the total area planted,” it said.

    Earnings per share were 6.55 sen versus 11.61 sen. It declared an interim dividend of eight sen, which was similar to a year ago.

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  • Pos Indonesia eyes eCommerce boom

    Pos Indonesia eyes eCommerce boom

    Indonesia’s national postal service, Pos Indonesia, is mulling a spin-off its logistics arm in 2019 an IPO to capitalise on the online shopping boom.

    Pos Indonesia is aiming for Rp 11 trillion ($796 million) in revenue within the next two years, according to its director of technology and financial services, Indyruwani Asikin Natanegara. One third of this would come from its logistics arm, Pos Logistik Indonesia.

    This would more than double Pos Indonesia’s estimated revenue of about Rp 4 trillion last year, and be a nearly eightfold increase (about Rp 500 billion) for Pos Logistik Indonesia.

    Established four years ago, Pos Logistik Indonesia may make its trading debut before its holding company. It is something Pos Indonesia has been discussing for three years. With a network of 4367 offices and more than 28,000 agents, Pos Indonesia has established ties with such eCommerce companies as MatahariMall and Zalora Indonesia, in providing pickup and delivery services.

    Pos Logistik Indonesia’s business solutions director Yan Hendry Jauwena says the idea is to provide logistics for eCommerce companies. It has formed a partnership with Singapore-based technology firm Anchanto, which will be offering its services for warehousing and inventory, processing orders and delivery.

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  • Inflation May Accelerate to 4.38% in January

    Inflation May Accelerate to 4.38% in January

    Supplies of shallots and chili, staple ingredients in Indonesian meals, are often low during the rainy season, propping up the prices index, said Sasmito Hadi Wibowo, the deputy of goods and services distribution at the Central Statistics Agency (BPS).

    Beef prices are also on the rise, increasing by 1 percent alone this month after the government slapped a 10 percent value added tax on beef trade and import in the beginning of this year. Officials reversed the policy on Friday.

    Bank Indonesia has targeted an inflation rate of between 3 percent and 5 percent this year.

    The central bank just cut its benchmark interest rate to 7.25 percent last week as it seeks to stimulate bank lending and boost growth, but an accelerating inflation would undermine its ability to trim the interest rate further.

    The government aims to expand Southeast Asia’s largest economy by 5.3 percent this year, rebounding from an estimated 4.7 percent last year, its slowest pace since 2009.

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  • Creative Industry Positive in Digital Era

    Creative Industry Positive in Digital Era

    Cooperation and SME Minister, Anak Agung Gede Ngurah Puspayoga, visited Marketers Creativity Day expo of creative products in Smesco building, Jakarta. He emphasized that creative industry has a big chance in the digital economy era.

    “The chance is open for anyone, be it internet users or women,” he said.

    Moreover, economy expert, Sri Adiningsih, said that Indonesia owns many creative products in the Asean Economic Community, only the marketing is still the problem. She even boosts women to create business and promote their products through social media in internet. Sri also calls on the people to use Indonesian origin products.

    Initiator of Galeri Indonesia WOW, Hermawan Kertajaya, said that Marketers Creativity event will be held on monthly basis. The expo is expected to inspire creative business in Indonesia, in the wake of Asean Economic Community.

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  • Papua to use e-tender for goods and service procurement

    Papua to use e-tender for goods and service procurement

    The district of Biak Numfor would use online system of electronic tender for the procurement of goods and service in the 2016 fiscal year for efficiency .

    “Online system of e-tender would soon be applied to help accelerate the utilization of district budget fund,” assistant II of Biak district administration Mahasunu said here on Wednesday.

    Mahasunu said the mechanism of offering packages of project for the procurement of government goods and service would be socialized through website of the district administration.

    He said with the only system in project tender, it is hoped that there would be no misunderstanding between the providers of goods and services and the business players taking part in the tender.

    Another important benefit is that the system would allow less room for malfeasance and corruption, he said.

    “I hope that the process of implementing the online tender would be properly carried out,” he said.

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  • Ford to exit Japan, Indonesia on poor sales outlook

    Ford to exit Japan, Indonesia on poor sales outlook

    Ford Motor will close down all operations by the end of this year in Japan and Indonesia, where the United States carmaker says it has no path to boost sales or earn profits.

    The step is being taken “after pursuing every possible option”, Ms Karen Hampton, Ford’s Asia-Pacific spokesman, said in an e-mailed statement. The company will provide ongoing support to customers for service, spare parts and warranties, she said.

    “It has become clear that there is no path to sustained profitability, nor will there be an acceptable return over time from our investments in Japan or Indonesia,” Ms Hampton said. Ford is committed to restructuring parts of its business that “have no reasonable path to achieve sales growth”, she said.

    The exits by Ford are the latest examples of a carmaker losing patience in struggling car markets in parts of Asia that are dominated by Japanese manufacturers.

    General Motors last year closed down its factory in Indonesia, the largest car market in South-east Asia. For 16 straight months, four- wheeler sales on the archipelago have shrunk. If the decline continues, the country will soon lose the distinction of being a one-million-cars-a-year market.

    NO PATH TO GROWTH

    It has become clear that there is no path to sustained profitability, nor will there be an acceptable return over time from our investments in Japan or Indonesia.”

    MS KAREN HAMPTON, Ford’s Asia-Pacific spokesman

    Industrywide sales in both Indonesia and Japan slumped in each of the last two years.

    While Indonesia is the largest economy in South-east Asia, Toyota Motor and its affiliate Daihatsu Motor dominate by accounting for about half of all vehicles sold, according to LMC Automotive. Including Honda Motor and Suzuki Motor, the companies have market share of about 80 per cent.

    Japan’s more developed car market peaked in 1996 with almost 7.3 million vehicles sold and has declined during much of the last two decades. Carmakers sold about five million vehicles in Japan last year, and foreign brands had less than 6 per cent market share.

    Ford is not alone in struggling in Indonesia or Japan. Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors combined to sell fewer vehicles than Ford in Indonesia last year. Each of GM’s brands also trailed Ford by registrations in Japan last year.

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  • Imported salted fish flooding Sukabumi market

    Imported salted fish flooding Sukabumi market

    Imported salted fish products have flooded the traditional markets and attracted consumers in Sukabumi, West Java, because of its low pricing.

    “Imported fish products, including from Thailand and Taiwan, dominated salted fish stalls in Sukabumi,” trader Dani Supriyadi said at Cisaat Market, Sukabumi, on Monday.

    According to him, the imported salted fish products remained the main attraction at the local traditional market due to scarcity of local fish supplies.

    Traders opted for imported products to meet the market demand for salted fish, and stocked them. Another reason for the popularity of the imported salted fish is its low price, compared to the fish produced domestically.

    Sadly, domestic salted fish has been difficult to find lately, because of its limited stock.

    The quality of local salted fish products in the country is better than the imported stock, yet it cannot last long because it is processed traditionally. It does not use chemical preservatives.

    “The local salted fish products should dominate the domestic markets because Indonesia has access to vast water resources in the form of Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean, in comparison to Taiwan and Thailand which have rare Sepat fish species and anchovies,” he added.

    Meanwhile, Chairman of Palabuhan Ratu Community Collectors and Fish Processing Palabuhanratu, Telly Supriatna said too little catch of anchovies ios now found in Indonesia due to inappropriate weather. It is believed that since December 2015 and till April this year, the supply will continue to decrease.

    When entering the rainy season, salted fish processing declines due to the fact that drying process takes a long time. As a result, next April, fish production will decrease and supply will fall as well.

    “Salted fish processing in Indonesia is mostly done traditionally, relying on nature for its drying process. Compared to imported products that are already using modern tools, our products become less competitive in the market,” he said.

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  • Indonesia to speed up EU CEPA negotiation

    Indonesia to speed up EU CEPA negotiation

    Indonesia will speed up negotiations on the Indonesia-European Union (EU) Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), aiming to have an agreement with the EU come into effect within two years.

    The two parties had discussed the implementation of the CEPA in a meeting with EU trade ministers during the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos last week, Trade Minister Thomas Lembong said.

    “It has been decided in a Cabinet meeting that we will have a trade agreement with the EU. We must start it immediately because the President gave us two years to complete the agreement,” Thomas said in Jakarta on Tuesday.

    In contrast to the discussion of trade agreements in the Trans Pacific Partnership (TTP), which still required time for assessment to solve the challenges, Thomas underlined that there were no special constraints on the Indonesia-EU CEPA discussion.

    The planned Indonesia-EU CEPA has been stagnant since 2013. Vietnam, which started free trade agreement negotiations with the 28-member trading bloc in the same year reached an agreement in August last year.

    The EU CEPA covers issues of trade and business, including the reduction of trade barriers and liberalization of government procurement. The two points are also included in the TPP framework.

    Aside from the two agreements, Thomas continued, the ministry also held meetings with trade ministers from several countries to discuss bilateral trade agreements.

    “We are exploring bilateral trade agreements with Australia. Also with the EFTA [European Free Trade Association] which consists of Norway, Switzerland, Iceland and Liechtenstein,” Thomas said.

  • US e-commerce giant eBay plans to open office in Indonesia

    US e-commerce giant eBay plans to open office in Indonesia

    U.S e-commerce major eBay plans to open its office in Indonesia and is looking to hire a head of cross border trade to manage and develop the business in south-east Asia’s largest economy.

    According to information on eBay’s Linkedin link, the head will also be representative and spokesperson for the company.

    eBay already has an existing joint venture company named PT MetraPlasa with a unit of state-owned telecommunication operator PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia Tbk (Telkom). In 2012, eBay and Telkom partnered to increase e-commerce business in Indonesia through Plasa.com, now known as Blanja.com.

    One of the primary objectives of eBay’s new head will be to find local products that can be sold in the global market and to support Indonesian retail exporters.

    Telkom expects the partnership with eBay will enable small and medium enterprises (SME) in Indonesia to tap the global market.

    Blanja.com, a trading site that is in the same space as the likes of Tokopedia, Lazada, Blibli, has more than one million products listed of which 90 per cent would be locally made and sourced.

    This site operates several categories: fashion & accessories, health & beauty, gadgets, toys, home, computer, movies, music, automotive, photography, sports equipment, travel and food.

    The US-based eBay, set up in 1995, currently has branches in more than 30 countries. The site implements consumer to consumer (C2C) and business to consumer (B2C) trade. It can be accessed freely by buyers. However, the seller should pay to put their products on eBay.

    EBay’s move comes at a time when the Indonesian government is planning to launch a roadmap for e-commerce business in February to boost foreign direct investment.

    The government is warming up to the idea of allowing foreign ownership of up to 100 per cent for marketplace platforms with assets of over Rp10 billion.

    At present, Indonesia does not allow foreign ownership in local (business to customer (B2C) retail e-commerce companies, but this restriction does not apply to online marketplaces that mediate between buyers and sellers (C2C).

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  • Printed Media Enters Twilight Period

    Printed Media Enters Twilight Period

    In line with the increasing popularity and knowledge of internet in the society, many online media have successfully attract readers and printed media advertisers. “This is what we call the twilight of print media,” said Communications and Informatics Minister Rudiantara on Tuesday, January 26, 2016.

    According to Rudiantara, the progress of online media can be seen from the constantly improving financial performance of the companies. “Just look at their balance sheets in the stock market,” said Rudiantara.

    Rudiantara added that compared to printed media, online media can be considered to have the upper hand in presenting information. By accessing a digital news website, consumers can read texts, see pictures and watch videos almost at the same time. In addition, readers who wish to interact with writers can just leave a comment and immediately receive responses.

    Such advantages also attract advertisers. Rudiantara predicted that more advertisers will prefer to advertise through online media. “For advertisers, online media offer advantages, ranging from placement to payment,” Rudiantara said.Ari Fadyl, head of transformation and innovation at AXA Indonesia, also said that it is easier to attract consumers through online media. Only by clicking links, prospective consumers can enter a company’s homepage or mobile app. “This is important because to buy an insurance, for example, people need to be assured with explanations or ‘experiences’,” said Ari.

    Ari explained that ‘experiences’ can be in the forms of online test to identify a children’s talent in relation to finding the right school, which will eventually attract parents to apply for an educational insurance. Such method, Ari claimed, is proven to be effective in gathering customers. “We just started using digital platform two years ago, and now we have around eight million customers from [online platform],” Ari said

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  • Malaysian banks in Indonesia to gain from BI rate cut

    Malaysian banks in Indonesia to gain from BI rate cut

    The interest rate cut by Bank Indonesia (BI) last week and further anticipated rate cuts in that country could be a game changer for Malaysian banks in Indonesia as they could see an uplift in their loan growth and earnings amid a challenging economic environment following weaker commodity prices and slower economic growth.

    Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) and CIMB Group Holdings Bhd’s units had been bogged down by provisions due to pressure on their asset quality but this scenario is set to change amid signs of further rate cuts by the Indonesian central bank.

    Maybank operates in Indonesia via PT Bank Maybank Indonesia Tbk and has about 80% shareholding in Maybank Indonesia Tbk while CIMB Group has 97.94% stake in PT Bank CIMB Niaga Tbk.

    CIMB Group chief executive Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Aziz, via an e-mail, told StarBiz the move to cut interest rates by BI would see further uplift in CIMB Niaga’s loan growth this year.

    “BI is adopting a growth strategy for its 2016 monetary policy. As such, we believe there will be further interest rate cuts this year. We expect CIMB Niaga earnings to improve this year on the back of sustained net interest income, improved non-interest income as well as lower loan provisions,” he said.

    He said the group was still positive on the longer-term growth and opportunities in Indonesia and were placing added focus on the consumer and small-medium enterprise (SME) segments in a bid to boost earnings growth.

    “With the government’s economic policy packages that aim to boost the economic growth in Indonesia, we are cautiously optimistic of our business growth there.

    “On the direction of the gross non-performing loans (NPL) of the industry, it is highly dependent on the macroeconomic shifts from commodity prices, the currency and consumer consumption. For CIMB Niaga, we expect gross NPLs to gradually reduce, going forward, from the high of 2015,” Zafrul added.

    For the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2015, CIMB Niaga’s gross NPL ratio improved to 3.17% compared with 3.35% in the same period a year ago as a result of sales of asset to an affiliated company of CIMB Group. Its loan loss coverage during the period increased to 120.96% from 82.89% a year ago.

    The group’s Indonesian arm posted a net profit of 442 billion rupiah (RM137.4mil) for the third quarter. Comparatively, it recorded 93 billion rupiah a quarter ago.

    The bank kept its position as Indonesia’s fifth largest bank by assets, with total assets standing at 244.29 trillion rupiah, representing a 7.3% increase year-on-year.

    Total gross loans rose 7.2% year-on-year to 178.89 trillion rupiah, driven largely by growth in corporate loans, consumer loans and in micro small-medium enterprise banking, while commercial loans remained flat.

    BI, on Jan 14, announced a 25-basis-point cut in its benchmark policy rate to 7.25% in a bid to lift an economy growing at its slowest rate in six years.

    Zafrul said CIMB Niaga would follow suit with the rate reduction and also make adjustments to its lending interest rate accordingly as the cost of funds would be correspondingly lower.

    He said the banking group has also identified a few key priorities for CIMB Niaga this year. These include looking at ways to optimise its SME franchise, further developing its treasury and market capabilities and growing the consumer banking business while focusing efforts to increase CASA (current account/savings account), improve asset quality and continuing with its stringent cost management initiatives.

    Additionally, Zafrul said CIMB Niaga would play a more active role as the leading digital bank in Indonesia with the support of a new core banking infrastructure.

    Meanwhile, despite weakening asset quality, Maybank Indonesia’s net profit for the nine months ended Sept 30, 2015 increased by 70.7% to 592 billion rupiah (RM187.1mil) from 347 billion rupiah a year ago. Its gross NPL stood at 4.34% in the third quarter from 2.55% last year. The bank posted loans growth of 6.6% to 111.5 trillion rupiah in the nine months from 104.6 trillion rupiah in the same period in 2014.

    On the loan growth for CIMB Niaga and Maybank Indonesia as a result of the interest rate cut, Malaysian Rating Corp Bhd head of banking Sharidan Salleh said: “During the nine months of last year, the two banks’ loans grew by about 7% year-on-year. We expect the banks’ loan growth could be higher in 2016 at about 9%-10% in tandem with the expected higher GDP growth at 5.3% in 2016 from 4.73% in 2015.

    “The economic growth is expected to be supported by Indonesian government-driven infrastructure projects. However, banks’ profits from Indonesian operations could be pressured by provisions and compressed margin. Given the current challenges in the economy, we expect the asset quality of these banks would remain under pressure in 2016.”

    UOB Kay Hian analyst Alexander Margaronis said that based on historical data, significant loan growth in Indonesia might take three quarters to pick up after the first rate hike.

    Furthermore, he said the relationship between time-deposit (TD) rate cuts to BI reference rate cut was 1:1 in the short term with no lag time.

    “As we expect further BI rate cuts down the road, cost of funds could come down further as time deposit rates decrease. This should keep the industry’s net interest margin relatively stable or even higher.

    “In the last major round of rate cuts by the BI (2009-2013), BI reference rates came down by a total of 350 basis points (bps) versus TD rates declining by about 500 bps whereas lending rates came down by about 300 bps,” Margaronis noted.

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  • Singapore’s Anchanto in MoU with Pos Logistik Indonesia

    Singapore’s Anchanto in MoU with Pos Logistik Indonesia

    Singapore-headquartered e-commerce fulfillment company Anchanto said it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Pos Logistik Indonesia to bring its technology, expertise and regional network to the fast-growing Indonesian market.

    Indonesia is the largest e-commerce market in South-East Asia, and growing rapidly as local consumers shift to online purchasing, Anchanto said in a statement.

    However, one barrier is that logistics providers continue to use processes built for B2B (business-to-business), and not purpose-built technology. This results in a lack of end-to-end visibility of orders, errors and delays in deliveries, and higher costs, the company argued.

    Anchanto was founded in June 2011, and last November landed an undisclosed Series B round from Japan’s Transcosmos Inc.

    The MoU between Anchanto and Pos Logistik Indonesia, a subsidiary of PT Post Indonesia, will bring Anchanto’s e-commerce-focused technology to Indonesia, it added.

    This will offer both local and cross-border companies fulfillment services that are developed from the ground-up.

    “This MoU allows us to build the biggest e-commerce fulfillment and logistics offering for the Indonesian market,” said Anchanto cofounder and chief executive officer Vaibhav Dabhade.

    “Our mission is to let e-commerce companies, sellers and brands focus on what they do best, while we take care of providing world-class fulfillment technology and infrastructure with 3PL (third-party logistics) partners in the region to them at scale, on demand,” he added.

    Once implemented by March, Anchanto and Pos Logistik Indonesia will carve out a dedicated e-commerce team to offer a complete suite of services.

    This will include real-time order visibility, picking and packing, channel sales management, persistent inventory listing across local and regional marketplaces, and customer support.

    “We have a robust plan to capture e-commerce logistics and cross-border e-commerce market share for the Indonesian market by helping SMEs (small and medium enterprises), local businesses and brands,” said Pos Logistik Indonesia director Hariyanto.

  • CEO stresses value of physical stores, not just e-commerce

    CEO stresses value of physical stores, not just e-commerce

    Electrical goods, information technology and furniture retailer Courts Asia believes that while e-commerce has been gaining popularity, retailers should not neglect their brick-and-mortar operations. The Singapore-based company also sees technology and renting in suburban areas as important revenue sources.

    Terry O’Connor, Group CEO of Courts Asia (Photo by Courts Asia)

    Terry O’Connor, group CEO of the Singapore-based retailer, said that physical stores still play an important role for retailers. “Especially in the case of high-demand products like the latest smartphone, customers want to make sure they get one, rather than waiting for it to be delivered another day,” he said. O’Connor noted that online shoppers do not necessarily prefer delivery, as they may not be home to receive the goods when they arrive. “About half of our customers buy online and then collect (the goods) from the store,” he said.

    Investing in technology is also crucial for retailers to grow their business. Courts Asia recently implemented a queuing system recommended by Google for their online peak periods. “The system stops the website from crashing by having a slightly moderated waiting time of one to two minutes, so everyone effectively ends up transacting faster,” he said. “It has really helped in terms of the conversion rate and reduced some of the abandoned online shopping carts,” he observed. Courts Asia saw higher sales on 2015’s Black Friday and Cyber Monday peak shopping days compared with a year earlier.

    For retailers entering a new market, renting space in suburban areas can reduce costs and gain access to more customers. O’Connor warned that new retailers “will have to pay high rent from day one” if they instead start their business by renting space in the central business district or prime areas. He added that this in turn increases costs significantly and result in the retailer losing out on customers who live outside the city.

    He also suggested that investing in areas that complement the core business is an important step in a company’s expansion. “A lot of retailers that have gone into a completely different field have failed, as it is not their core skill set,” he said. Retailers should go to “the most adjacent category which has a synergy to what they already sell.”

    Courts Asia has grown into one of the largest retailers in Southeast Asia, with 80 stores totaling over 148,600 sq. meters of retail space. Originally named Courts, the company began as a furniture retailer in the U.K. It was established in Singapore and Malaysia in 1974 and 1987, respectively. In 2012, it was renamed Courts Asia and listed on the main board of the Singapore Exchange. In 2014, Courts Asia entered the Indonesian market.

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  • Jakarta index closes higher on Friday

    Jakarta index closes higher on Friday

    The Jakarta composite index (JCI) closed 42.61 points higher on Friday on selective buying by market players.

    The index of the Indonesian Stock Exchange rose 0.96 percent to 4,456.74 points with index of 45 blue chips up 1.48 percent to 779.31 points.

    Selective buying of big capitalization shares pushed up the JCI slightly, HD Capital analyst Yuganur Wijanarko said.

    “In addition, share prices in foreign markets generally rose on oil prices being on the increase lately , prompting market players on the domestic market to buy shares< he said.

    The price of WTI on Friday afternoon rose 4.3 percent to S$30.80 per barrel and Brent pri9ce was up 5.09 percent to US$30.74 dollar.

    Satisfaction expressed by the Capital Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) with the achievement in direct investment to Rp545.4 trillion in 2015 gave positive sentiment to the market.

    In 2016, BKPM set growth target at 9.3 percent for direct investment to Rp594.8 trillion .

    There were 213,493 transactions in the market on Friday with 4.07 billion shares valued at Rp5.25 trillion changing hands .

    Regional markets such as Hang Seng, Nikkei and Straits Times recorded gain in index.

    Meanwhile the national currency rupiah closed stronger trading at 13,834 per U.S. dollar gaining from the previous level of 13,906 per dollar.

    “Rising trend of oil prices propped up the currencies of emerging countries ,” financial market observer from Bank Himpunan Saudara, Rully Nova, said.

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  • Indonesia wins three Aseanta 2016 awards

    Indonesia wins three Aseanta 2016 awards

    Indonesia has won awards in three out of the six categories of the ASEAN Tourism Awards (ASEANTA) 2016 at an event held in Manila, the Philippines, a minister said.

    “Wonderful Indonesia” won awards in three of the six categories of the ASEAN Awards, Tourism Minister Arief Yahya said in a press statement on Friday.

    “We have beaten some competing countries, including Malaysia,” Arief Yahya said.

    The three awards were in the categories of the Best ASEAN Tourism Photo, the Best ASEAN Cultural Preservation Effort, and the Best ASEAN Travel Article.

    “Morning in Bromo” by Agung Parameswara grabbed the award in the Best ASEAN Tourism Photo category.

    “Mang Udjo,” the Angklung bamboo musical instrument center in Bandung, Indonesia, was the winner of the Best ASEAN Cultural Preservation Effort category.

    And for the Best ASEAN Travel Article category, the winner was “The Perfect Wave,” published in Garuda Indonesia Color Magazine.

    “Meanwhile, Malaysia won two awards and Singapore only one award,” the minister said.

    Minister Arief Yahya was in Manila to attend the 35th ASEAN Tourism Forum (ATF), held from January 18 to 22, 2016.

    The ASEAN Tourism Forum is very strategic to Indonesia because the ASEAN market is the largest contributor to tourist arrivals, he noted.

    In the ATF held in Manila, tourism ministers from all ten member countries of ASEAN – Indonesia, Brunei Darussalam, Malaysia, Cambodia, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam, Myanmar and Laos participated.

    He believed that the ASEANTA Awards would help promote Indonesian tourist destinations internationally.

    The three other ASEAN Award categories were the Best ASEAN Marketing and Promotion Campaign, the Best ASEAN New Tourism Attraction, and the Best ASEAN Airline Program.

    Filipino President Benigno S. Aquino III spoke before the ASEAN tourism ministers on Wednesday.

    He said that the number of tourist arrivals in ASEAN reached 105.1 million in 2014, a staggering 42.4 percent increase from 73.8 million tourist arrivals in 2010.

    Of those 105.1 million visitors, he said, 49.22 million came from within the ASEAN itself.

    “We belong to a region that holds vast potential in terms of tourism,” President Benigno was quoted as saying by the Philippine Information Agency (PIA).

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