Tag: Indonesia

  • Uniqlo Indonesia plans several new stores

    Uniqlo Indonesia plans several new stores

    Japanese clothing retailer Uniqlo in Indonesia is set to launch new outlets in Batam, as well as Jakarta and Bekasi next month.

    The Batam store, opening in the Grand Batam mall in Penuin, Lubuk Baja, will be the first Uniqlo in Indonesia to be located in the city. The company hopes it will help locals avoid travelling to other cities to purchase the brand’s collections.

    The new Jakarta outlet is slated for Mall of Indonesia in Kelapa Gading, while the Bekasi opening is at Grand Galaxy Park – bringing the total number of locations in the territory to 29 stores in nine cities.

    “The addition of stores in Jakarta and Bekasi will further strengthen our presence in providing our Lifewear products and services in these cities,” said Uniqlo Indonesia’s president director of PT Fast Retailing Naoki Kamogawa.

  • AirAsia launches new route to Belitung, Indonesia

    AirAsia launches new route to Belitung, Indonesia

    AirAsia has launched a new route connecting Kuala Lumpur to Belitung, an island off the east coast of Sumatra, Indonesia.

    In a statement today, AirAsia said its four times weekly direct service will commence on Oct 2, 2019.

    AirAsia regional commercial head Amanda Woo said Belitung is a place with huge untapped tourism potential.

    “We hope that with this new direct service, more and more people will be able to discover this hidden gem.

    “The new route is also a testament to our firm commitment to support the Indonesian government in its efforts to develop 10 new priority tourism destinations,” she said.

    To celebrate this new route, AirAsia is offering special all-in AirAsia BIG member fare from as low as RM79 from Kuala Lumpur.

    Passengers were advised to book their flight on airasia.com or the AirAsia mobile app from today until Aug 25 for travel between Oct 2 and March 28, 2020 to enjoy these special fares.

    BIG members will enjoy zero processing fees when making payment using BigPay.

    In addition to the new route, AirAsia also operates daily flights to Belitung from Jakarta beginning Oct 1, 2019.

    AirAsia currently connects Kuala Lumpur to 14 other Indonesian destinations — Jakarta, Surabaya, Medan, Bali, Lombok, Yogyakarta, Pekanbaru, Pontianak, Padang, Palembang, Semarang, Makassar, Bandung and Banda Aceh.

  • Papua New Guinea Launches UBS Loan Investigation

    Papua New Guinea Launches UBS Loan Investigation

    Newly elected Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape announced the launch of a full investigation to confirm if the government had violated its own rules regarding a 1.2 billion Australian dollar UBS loan.

    The Swiss bank extended the loan (now valued at $847 million) in 2014 to purchase a key stake in energy firm Oil Search while the current prime minister Marape was then its finance minister.

    According to Marape, the investigation was not only about «looking at leaders» but to reveal the fuller scope of the entire transaction which he believes extends beyond Papa New Guinea.

    The scope is not only confined to investigations in this country, he said.

    UBS transactions have taken place in one or two other jurisdictions outside of our country and so the train of events will be followed by this inquiry… once concluded will put finality to the matters.

    Former Prime Minister Peter O’Neill, stepped down due to loss of confidence in his leadership in May this year. Sarape was elected and sworn in one day after, having since made bold statements including his goal to turn Papa New Guinea into the world’s richest black Christian nation.

    Under the new leadership, the government then sold its Oil Search stake and repaid the loan.

    Prior to Sarape’s investigation, the loan had already been flagged by the country’s Ombudsman Commission for breached budget guidelines and Swiss regulator FINMA had also claimed to have contacted UBS in March about the matter.

    The country deserves the fullest scrutiny as to what has happened, Sarape said.

  • Retail sales in Indonesia decline

    Retail sales in Indonesia decline

    Retail sales in Indonesia declined 1.8 percent in June, compared with an annual growth rate of 7.7 percent a month earlier, a central bank survey showed on Thursday.

    The last decline from a year earlier was in January last year when retail sales also dropped 1.8 percent.

    The survey predicted retail sales would rise 2.3 percent on an annual basis in July, when the new school year begins.

  • Mama’s Choice launched in Indonesia

    Mama’s Choice launched in Indonesia

    Halal-certified parenting-product firm Mama’s Choice has launched in Indonesia.

    The business has been founded by a group of young mothers along with parenting influencer Rahne Putri, teaming up with former Lazada Indonesia Co-CEO Duri Granziol. It was launched in response to the group’s noting a lack of safe, Halal and natural personal care products at a price point that is affordable to the average young family.

    “We launched Mama’s Choice because we feel there is a lack of options for expecting and new mothers for safe and affordable care products,” said Mama’s Choice CEO Duri Granziol. “Most mums are overwhelmed with all the choices and don’t want to spend their time reading through all the chemicals that are in most household products, which is why it is our mission to source only the best, safest ingredients to ease the minds of mothers and empowering them to focus on the beauty of their growing family.”

    According to a statement released by the new firm, Mama’s Choice is “a company that puts the health of mothers and babies first and is committed to provide families access to a safe choice for their daily needs, and honest information. Every product is specially formulated from trusted raw ingredients. Each chosen ingredient has been handpicked from nature, with zero harmful chemicals. All Mama’s Choice products are Halal certified, and are tested in Singapore to be free of toxins, and safe to use during pregnancy and while breastfeeding.”

    “In every product development, we always involve experts and also pregnant and nursing women,” said Mama’s Choice head of branding Rahne Putri. “Until now, more than 13,000 mothers have been involved. We do this because we want this product to accommodate what mothers need and make them feel safe when using it.”

    The Mama’s Choice range of products is available at central department store in Grand Indonesia and via its flagship stores on JD.id, Shopee, Lazada and Tokopedia. The brand is currently working to raise awareness and educate the parenting community on maternity, pre- and post-natal care. It plans on being available in more markets across Southeast Asia, commencing with Thailand within the next 12 months.

  • AirAsia keeps improving flight services

    AirAsia keeps improving flight services

    AirAsia won for the 11th time at the prestigious Skytrax World Airline Awards as the world’s best low-cost airline during the Paris Air Show in Le Bourget, Paris, France, in the middle of June 2019. But despite the awards, it has never let itself get complacent.

    The airline keeps its commitment to continue increasing and improving its flight services for domestic routes and foreign routes, by being continually committed to providing low cost but quality flight services on all of the routes it serves.

    In July 2019, the airline launched three new routes from Jakarta to Sorong in West Papua, Lombok in West Nusa Tenggara and Semarang in Central Java. The new routes will start operating on Sept. 1 and will be served by Airbus A320 aircraft with a capacity of 180 seats. In June, AirAsia launched five new domestic routes. The five round-trip domestic routes are Jakarta-Lombok (11 flights per week), Bali-Lombok (seven flights per week), Yogyakarta Kulonprogo-Lombok (three flights per week), Bali-Labuan Bajo (seven flights per week) and Surabaya-Kertajati (three flights per week). AirAsia will start operating its flight services on the five new domestic routes from Aug. 1 onwards.

    In an effort to attract more passengers to the new routes, AirAsia is offering special prices, namely for Jakarta–Lombok starting from Rp 635,000, Bali–Lombok from Rp 243,000, Surabaya–Kertajati from Rp 626,000. All the prices are one-way but include tax and free baggage up to 15 kg.

    The flight tickets, which are offered at a price of Rp 2.49 million for Jakarta-Sorong, Rp 590,000 for Jakarta-Lombok and Rp 341,000 for Jakarta-Semarang, can be ordered at airasia.com and through the AirAsia application. The prices are only for one-way but include passenger service charge and free baggage up to a maximum of 15 kg. The prices are only available on flights booked until July 28, for flights from Sept. 1 until Oct. 26.

    Sorong is the largest city in West Papua and stands as a gateway to Raja Ampat, one of the most exotic and beautiful tourist destinations in Indonesia.

    In Lombok, where AirAsia has recently opened its new hub, travelers can enjoy a number of enchanting destinations, such as Bukit Merese, the Gili Islands, Tanjung A’an, Pink Beach and Mandalika.

    In Semarang, which is also known as the little Netherlands, travelers can trace its history through the old buildings mostly from the Dutch colonial era, while hunting for local delicacies along the exotic journey.

    Besides the route expansion, last month AsiaAsia also offered five million cheap tickets through its Big Sale 2019 program for various domestic and international destinations. The promotional tickets include those on favorite routes, such as Jakarta-Singapore at a price of only Rp 150,000, Medan-Penang from Rp 230,000 and Surabaya-Bali from Rp 359,000.

    The airline has also introduced a new standard of flight comfort with its Airbus A330neo, which will certainly change the public perception of long-distance flights. It will offer the best value of ticket prices for 30 long-distance destinations in 10 major markets of AirAsia Group.

    “Besides developing international connectivity to support the visit of foreign tourists to Indonesia, this year, as we promised, we are focusing on expanding our domestic routes, especially those to eastern Indonesia.,” said AirAsia’s president director Dendy Kurniawan recently during the ceremony to launch the new routes.

    Currently, AirAsia Indonesia operates a total of 292 flights per week from Jakarta to various domestic and international destinations, such as Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Bangkok, Phuket, Surabaya, Yogyakarta and Bali.

    Overall, AirAsia serves more than 700 flights per week on 38 direct routes from 15 cities of Indonesia for domestic and international routes. It has a fleet of more than 200 airplanes of the type Airbus A320-200 and Airbus A330-300 in six countries, namely Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines, India and Japan, with more than 140 international destinations in Asia, Australia, the Middle East and the US.

    “We’ll continue to be committed to providing low cost but quality flight services in Indonesia. We realize it through the principle of efficiency, innovation and operation digitalization. It is not just a marketing gimmick. It is part of our vision and mission to realize ‘Now Everyone Can Fly,” Dendy Kurniawan concluded.

  • DBS Inks Sustainability-Linked Loan in Indonesia

    DBS Inks Sustainability-Linked Loan in Indonesia

    The export financing sustainability-linked loan is the first of its kind in Indonesia. DBS Bank Indonesia has signed a sustainability-linked export financing loan with wooden door manufacturer PT Sumatera Timberindo Industry (STI), the bank said in a press release on Wednesday.

    DBS said the loan is evaluated based on a target of obtaining timber and raw materials from sources certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). Its interest rate will be reduced for each shipment of raw material that has an FSC certification that the raw material is responsibly sourced.

    STI is a FSC-certified company focused on responsible sourcing, manufacturing and exporting of sustainable-certified products. According to director Hidayat Ang, STI’s synergies with DBS in advancing sustainability support the company’s long-term growth and empower the local community to do good for the environment.

  • AirAsia launches three new routes for Jakarta flights

    AirAsia launches three new routes for Jakarta flights

    Low-cost carrier AirAsia is launching three new routes for direct flights from Jakarta to Sorong, West Papua; Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara; and Semarang, Central Java. These flights will start operating on Sept. 1 using the Airbus A320 plane with a 180 seat capacity.

    The airline is offering a special price for a one-way ticket for these flights starting from Rp 2.7 million (US$193.97) for Jakarta – Sorong, Rp 634,000 for Jakarta – Lombok, and Rp 341,000 for Jakarta – Semarang. All of these flights are available through airasia.com or the AirAsia mobile apps. The offer is available starting from July 20 to 28 for flights from Sept. 1 to Oct. 26.

    AirAsia Indonesia CEO Dendy Kurniawan said that his company was currently focusing on expanding its domestic and international routes.

    “We showed our commitment to provide affordable and high-quality flights through this offer,” Dendy said through a written statement.

    According to Dendy, the ticket includes 15kg checked baggage for passengers.

    “We hope that our service will be able to boost economic growth, especially in tourism,” Dendy said.

  • Visa takes stake in startup Go-Jek

    Visa takes stake in startup Go-Jek

    Digital-payments company Visa has invested an undisclosed amount into Southeast Asian ride-sharing and services startup Go-Jek giving it a foothold in the company’s payments platform.

    The two companies say they will work together to provide greater options for cashless payments and more seamless experiences for consumers across Indonesia and Southeast Asia.

    Indonesian-based Go-Jek, which has since launched in Vietnam and Thailand, has created Go-Pay which is one of the leading digital-payment providers in Indonesia and established itself as a regional rival to GrabPay

    “The partnership will see Go-Jek and Visa collaborating on innovative payment solutions for digital-first consumers and Southeast Asia’s unbanked and underserved population,” the two companies said in a statement.

    “Financial inclusion in Southeast Asia continues to be an urgent and important issue. The vast majority of Indonesia’s transactions are still cash-based and the adoption of digital payment services is as low as one-in-four users in markets like Vietnam. Addressing this opportunity could increase Gross Domestic Product levels by between 9 per cent and 14 per cent, even in relatively large Southeast Asian economies,” the statement said.

    Visa regional president Asia Pacific, Chris Clark said Visa and Go-Jek share common objectives. “We both want to make everyday life more convenient, whether it’s how people move around town in Southeast Asia’s fast-growing urban areas, or making it easier for people to pay and be paid all over the world. We also have a shared goal to bring formal financial services to the unbanked and underserved, including micro, small and medium businesses. Through this partnership, we will explore ways to leverage the power of Go-Jek and Visa’s networks to expand financial access in Southeast Asia.”

    Go-Jek president Andre Soelistyo said Visa’s investment in the company is an endorsement of its business model.

  • Indonesia’s Wake Cup Coffee & Eatery makes Indian debut

    Indonesia’s Wake Cup Coffee & Eatery makes Indian debut

    Indonesian coffee chain Wake Cup Coffee & Eatery has launched in Mumbai.

    The franchise opens in India in partnership with local franchisee Gobble Me Good, its first international location after opening 13 outlets back home.

    The firm is the newest player in India, the world’s 10th fastest-growing coffee market currently valued at ₹2570 crore (US$374 million), according to a recent Euromonitor International report that estimated industry growth at 6.9 per cent a year by 2023.

    “Consumers frequenting cafes in India are primarily 18-35 years old, which comprises the country’s primary working force with higher disposable income and fast-paced lives,” said the

    Large food companies such as local giant ITC are also making moves in coffee retail to compete with the likes of Nestle and Unilever.

  • Indonesian brand Palm Lagoon opens at Trans Studio mall

    Indonesian brand Palm Lagoon opens at Trans Studio mall

    Indonesian brand Palm Lagoon, which specialises in resort wear, has opened at Bali’s Trans Studio mall.

    The 207sqm boutique offers a curated selection of apparel, footwear, bikinis, swimwear, bags, sunglasses, watches and jewellery, targeting women and men.

    Brands sold include Rik and Reg, Saturdays eyewear, Pierre Lannier, Ellyse, Karmen and Marius, Little Savvy, Antyik Butik, Lima Watch, Hopy bags, RDNB bracelets and SNJA tote bags. Fashion advisors will be in store to provide styling advice.

    Onnie Khristanto, COO of Bestari Group, Palm Lagoon’s operator, said the new store brings the brand to life in a new and exciting way with its ‘less-is-more’ concept and product curation based on the beach-and-resort lifestyle.

    “We will inspire head-to toe looks and in-store associates will help our regular customers find styles they love with more ease as well as introduce brands our new customers will love to discover.”

    Launched in 2013, Palm Lagoon now has seven flagship stores in Indonesia, including one at Ngurah Rai International Airport, and 51 points of sales in major cities.

    Its products are also available online at Zalora, Zillingo, Shopee Indonesia, and Amazon Australia.

  • India, Indonesia Set $50 Billion Trade Target By 2025

    India, Indonesia Set $50 Billion Trade Target By 2025

    India and Indonesia on Saturday set an ambitious USD 50 billion target for bilateral trade over the next six years as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Joko Widodo discussed ways to deepen cooperation in a number of key areas including economy, defense and maritime security.

    The two leaders, who are in Osaka, Japan for the G20 Summit, met in the morning and discussed ways to boost bilateral ties and enhance cooperation in trade and investment. According to the Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar, India and Indonesia set a USD 50 billion target for bilateral trade by 2025.

    Trade between the two countries in 2016 was USD 12.9 billion. It rose 28.7 percent to USD 18.13 billion in 2017 with Indonesia’s exports to India reaching USD 14.08 billion and its imports from India standing at USD 4.05 billion, according to Indonesia’s Central Statistics Agency.

    During his meeting between Prime Minister Modi and Indonesian President Widodo, the two leaders discussed ways to deepen bilateral cooperation in trade and investment, defense and maritime fronts. This was Modi’s first official engagement on the second day of the June 28-29 Summit.

    “Beginning Day 2 of the G20 Summit by meeting a valued friend. PM Narendra Modi holds talks with President Joko Widodo on ways to deepen India-Indonesia cooperation,” the prime minister’s office tweeted.

    In a tweet, Kumar said, “Taking forward the comprehensive strategic partnership. PM Narendra Modi had a productive meeting with Indonesian President Joko Widodo on margins of G20 Summit. Discussed expanding cooperation in trade & investment, defense, maritime, space & exchanged views on Indo-Pacific vision”.

    On Friday, Modi held bilateral and plurilateral meetings with many leaders, including US President Donald Trump, Russian president Vladimir Putin and China’s Xi Jinping.

  • Fave Wants to Be Merchant Super App

    Fave Wants to Be Merchant Super App

    Singapore-based Fave is onboarding merchants quickly to distinguish itself, as competition in the mobile rewards and mobile wallet space heats up.

    Fave has recently moved into the fringes of financial services, with a pilot project to help small and medium enterprises (SMEs) obtain micro-loans from financial institutions. The move appears to follow similar moves by lifestyle apps such as Grab, that offer micro-loans to consumers in other parts of Southeast Asia.

    There are all these consumer super-apps, but then, actually we are like a merchant super-app platform,» said Fave’s chief executive Joel Neoh.

    Fave distributes coupons for the merchants while rewarding customers with cashback. After its launch in 2017, Fave acquired the Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia units of Groupon. Neoh was the founder of Fave Malaysia (originally GroupsMore) and previously led Groupon’s Asia-Pacific business.

    So far, the platform has more 25,000 merchants on its platform in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia, where the company had acquired the units of Groupon. In September 2018, Fave raised $20 million in Series B funds from existing investors Sequoia Capital India, SIG Asia Investments and venture capital firm Venturra Capital, which is backed by Indonesia’s Lippo Group.

  • Indonesian coffee chain Kopi Kenangan to expand across SEA

    Indonesian coffee chain Kopi Kenangan to expand across SEA

    Indonesian coffee chain Kopi Kenangan has closed a US$20 million growth funding deal with Sequoia India.

    The firm, which secured an $8 million investment from local group Alpha JWC Ventures last October, plans to use the capital to open 150 outlets within this year, expanding to 1000 stores throughout the territory by 2021. The chain will also consider regional expansion across Southeast Asia.

    Kopi Kenangan currently operates 80 stores in eight cities, which sell around a million cups of coffee per month – predominantly traditional Indonesian iced coffee with organic palm sugar.

    “Our mission is to bring high-quality coffee, made with the freshest local ingredients to consumers across Indonesia – and the rest of Southeast Asia, too,” said Kopi Kenangan co-founder and CEO Edward Tirtanata.

    Sequoia expressed admiration for the firm’s achieving profitability in its second year of business.

    “Most food-retail businesses struggle despite high gross margins due to operating costs like rent, manpower and wastage,” wrote Sequoia Capital investment advisor Rohit Agarwal. “Kopi Kenangan has implemented robust backend systems to track inventory in real-time and moves excess items across stores, cutting wastage to almost zero. Its stores are 10–20 per cent of the size of a normal cafe, significantly cutting cost per store”.

    One of the chain’s core strengths is its app, launched in April, which allows customers to order their coffee for pick up and avoid queues, or have their purchase delivered by food delivery partners.

  • AirAsia to move domestic flights to Kertajati airport starting June 30

    AirAsia to move domestic flights to Kertajati airport starting June 30

    Low-cost carrier AirAsia is to move its domestic flight operations from Husein Sastranegara International Airport in Bandung to Kertajati International Airport in Majalengka starting June 30.

    Majalengka is a 2.5- to 3-hour drive from Bandung, West Java.

    Meanwhile, AirAsia continues to offer international flights at Husein Sastranegara airport.

    Following this decision, flights to and from Bali are to land or depart at Kertajati airport. Hence, passengers who made Bali-Bandung bookings from June 30 onwards are advised to check their emails for new flight itineraries and to reprint their revised boarding passes.

    For those who are uncomfortable with having to change their travel plans, AirAsia announced in a statement that it is offering passengers a one-time chance until June 30 to change their flight date 30 calendar days in advance of the original scheduled flight date. There would be no additional cost but changing flights is subject to seat availability.

    The carrier is also accepting requests for full refunds for the value of passengers’ bookings at support.airasia.com.

    Information regarding Kertajati airport’s location and transportation options is available at bijb.co.id/akses-bandara.