Tag: Indonesia

  • Bank operations smooth despite ATM problem

    Bank operations smooth despite ATM problem

    Senior deputy governor of Indonesias central bank Mirza Adityaswara assured here on Sunday that banking operations in the country remained smooth despite troubles at automatic teller machines since Friday afternoon due to a Telkom-1 satellie problem.

    “We as payment authorities assured that operations of banks have remained smooth and ATMs that have troubles will immediately have their channel shifted,” he said at a training event for journalists.

    He said Bank Indnesia as the countrys central bank has received reports from banks affected by the Telkom-satellite anomaly adding that not all ATMs have been affected.

    “Not all ATMs have troubles but only some of them because not all banks use VSAT network,” he said.

    Mirza said PT Telekomunikadi Indonesia Tbk. has already taken efforts to overcome the problem, adding that service of payment system remained as usual.

    “Telkom certainly has taken maximum efforts to shift the channel to the new satellite,” he said.

    He said Bank Indonesia kept monitoring the developmemt of the restoration and coordinating with banks and other agencies concerned with regard to the problem.

    To anticipate cash demand of the public he said Bank Indonesia continued supporting banks with cash supply.

    “There is no cash supply problem,” he assured.

    The executive director of the communication department of Bank Indonesia, Agusman, said that the banks that had trouble with their ATMs have been working jointly with PT Telkom to restore the situation.

    The restoration is done by moving the satellite connection that was affected to Telkom 3S satellite or others, he explained.

    Agusman said Bank Indonesia as payment system authorities and rupiah currency management is prepared to support banks to serve public fund transfers.

    “The Bank Indonesia Real Time Gross

    Settlement (BI-RTGS), the Bank Indonesia National Clearing System (SKNBI) and Bank Indonesia Scripless Sevurities Settiement Systen (BI-SSSS) still operate normally,” he said.

  • Auto industry calls for luxury tax cut on sedans

    Auto industry calls for luxury tax cut on sedans

    The Indonesian Automotive Manufacturers Association (Gaikindo) chairman Jongkie Sugiarto said on Tuesday that the association had long lobbied the Finance Ministry to reduce the luxury tax on sedans.

    He said the cut in luxury tax for sedans from 30 to 10 percent, a similar rate for multi-purpose vehicles, would encourage producers to manufacture more sedans, not only for the domestic market but also for export.

    “Because of cheaper taxes, Indonesia has now become the king of MPVs, but our exports are just 200,000 units per year, from a total production of 1.3 million,” Jongkie said during a discussion on the automotive industry organized by the Indonesian Business Data Center (PDBI) in Jakarta on Tuesday.

    “Thailand produces 2 million units of vehicles per year, but it exports 1.2 million because they produce everything from sedans and pickups to MPVs. The Thai government also does not discriminate in the taxes on the automotive products.”

    He said Gaikindo had already hired experts at University of Indonesia’s Institute for Economic and Social Research (LPEM UI) to carry out independent research on the issue and the result was that a luxury-tax cut on sedans would increase sales by 17 percent.

    This year, Gaikindo’s efforts received support from Industry Minister Airlangga Hartarto, but it was still struggling to convince the Finance Ministry.

    “We have lobbied for so long [the Finance Ministry], but it has not moved,” Jongkie said, adding that the association had proposed the tax cut since 2011. (bbn)

  • AirAsia Seeks Back-Door Listing on Indonesia Stock Exchange

    AirAsia Seeks Back-Door Listing on Indonesia Stock Exchange

    The deal, which is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2017, implies RMPP will become the new holding company of Indonesia AirAsia.

    Currently, AirAsia Bhd controls a 49 percent stake in Indonesia AirAsia as foreign ownership in Indonesian airlines is capped at a maximum of 49 percent. The remaining shares in Indonesia AirAsia are controlled by Fersindo Nusaperkasa. The debt-and-share-swap deal implies Fersindo Nusaperkasa also obtains a stake in RMPP. After completion of the deal AirAsia and Fersindo Nusaperkasa will own up to 48 percent and 49.96 percent, respectively, in RMPP.

    Several weeks ago Tony Fernandes, Chief Executive of the Airasia Group, still confirmed the Malaysian group’s plans to conduct an initial public offering (IPO) for its Indonesia AirAsia unit on the Indonesia Stock Exchange before the end of 2017. Therefore, the news about the back-door listing was a surprise.

    Previously, Indonesia AirAsia had already expressed its desire for an IPO in 2016 as it seeks fresh funds for further business expansion (specifically for the purchase of new airplanes and opening of new flight routes). However, domestic and global uncertainty made the airline decide to postpone the corporate move.

  • Vietnam Airlines and Garuda agree partnership

    Vietnam Airlines and Garuda agree partnership

    Asian carriers Vietnam Airlines and Garuda Indonesia have agreed to an extended partnership including more codeshares and working together on MRO (maintenance, repair and operations) operations.

    The CEOs of the two Skyteam members signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to work more closely together during an event in Indonesia.

    As part of the deal, the carriers will extend their existing codeshare agreement on to additional routes including Hanoi-Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi/Ho Chi Minh City-Singapore, Singapore-Jakarta/Bali and Jakarta-Bali.

    Pahala Mansury, CEO of Garuda Indonesia said: “We are pleased to announce this partnership with Vietnam Airlines which extends our network even further within the south-east Asia.

    “Vietnam is an important market for Indonesia and through this partnership we can offer increased travel options for the increasing number of passengers travelling between the two countries.”

    Vietnam Airlines CEO Duong Tri Thanh added: “This MOU takes our co-operation further in the direction of a solid and mutually beneficial partnership, helping both airlines achieve the vast potential of the market.”

  • 11street Malaysia commits to long term after parent’s Indonesian exit

    11street Malaysia commits to long term after parent’s Indonesian exit

    Just days after its parent company announced an exit from Indonesia, 11street Malaysia says it is confident of its long-term growth prospects.

    11street is effectively the online business unit of giant Korean telco SK Telecom, which last week said it was selling its 50 per cent stake in Indonesian e-commerce venture Elevenia to Lotte, a company it is pursuing a joint venture opportunity with in their home market.

    In Malaysia, 11Street is operated by Celcom Planet, a joint venture between Celcom Axiata Berhad and SK Planet. Celcom Planet CEO Hoseok Kim (pictured) says since its launch in April 2015, 11Street Malaysia has rapidly grown into a first tier e-commerce provider of an open-market platform with 40 thousand listed sellers, 13 million registered products for sale and 16 million monthly visits.

    “We are very pleased with the success and progress that 11street Malaysia has made in less than three years since its launch and we are confident that we will be the number one marketplace in Malaysia within the next three years”, said Kim.

    He added that the company is currently looking at various strategic options including funding from strategic partners to prepare for the next phase of accelerated growth.

    Sungwon Suh, CEO of SK Planet, backed up Kim’s comments.

    “Recently, SK Planet has made a strategic decision to pick and choose battlegrounds where we can win and Malaysia is [one of] the battlegrounds, one of the fastest-growing and infrastructure-ready e-commerce markets in Southeast Asia,” said Suh.

  • Indonesia’s e-commerce market set to hit $130b by 2020

    Indonesia’s e-commerce market set to hit $130b by 2020

    Indonesia has the biggest and fastest growing online retail sector in Southeast Asia, according to Research and Markets.

    In this environment, RTB House, a provider of retargeting technology for advertisers, anticipates that Indonesia’s e-commerce players will increase adoption and reliance on retargeting to improve customer engagement and conversion rates, strengthen branding, and enhance ROI on their marketing spends.

    Personalized retargeting is a mechanism by which ads are tailored to the behavior and preferences of particular internet users.

    This form of online advertising helps keep brands on top of customers’ minds at every step of the customer journey, after they visit and left certain websites before they could make a purchase.

    The online consumption market has seen an alarming increase in e-commerce cart abandonment from 60% in 2006 to 78% in 2016, according to a Baymard Institute report. Retargeting technology will allow brands to prompt higher conversion rates among these users.

    The 2017 Digital Yearbook report by Hootsuite and Wearesocial estimates that 51% of Indonesians have access to the Internet. With mobile subscription standing at 142%, there is recognition that the country represents one of the largest online marketplaces in the world flanking China and India.

    Next to investment and manufacturing, the consumption market which includes e-commerce is among the largest economic segments in Indonesia. E-commerce is expected to grow to up to $130 billion in 2020, according to Indonesia’s Information and Communications Technology Ministry.

    Indonesia’s burgeoning digital environment presents companies like RTB House a lucrative opportunity to deliver advanced retargeting solutions to a wide array of customers including e-commerce, online travel sites and classifieds.

    A report by eMarketer and Interactive Advertising Bureau Singapore (IAB Singapore) forecasted digital advertising spending in Indonesia will double up to 20.5% of the total media ad spending by 2020 due to rapid internet adoption, particularly through smartphones.

    “We expect a substantial growth in Indonesian e-commerce players’ adoption of retargeting and what will really drive this is improved ROI on their marketing spend as our technology based on deep learning, helps to profitably and effectively drive new customer acquisition and entice existing users to their online marketplace,” RTB House country director for Southeast Asia  Chandra Kuncara said.

    “Deep learning is currently the most promising subfield of artificial intelligence. We believe these new digital ways will help our customers (marketers) succeed.”

  • Vietjet announces Ho Chi Minh City and Jakarta route launch

    Vietjet announces Ho Chi Minh City and Jakarta route launch

    Vietjet today announced the launch of a new international route connecting Ho Chi Minh City with the Indonesian capital of Jakarta. The announcement ceremony was witnessed by high-ranking dignitaries from Vietnam and Indonesia on the official visit of His Excellency Mr. Nguyen Phu Trong, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam to Indonesia. The new route will meet the increasing demand for travels between the two countries and boost regional trading and integration.

    The Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC)-Jakarta route, a three-hour journey, will operate daily from December 20, 2017. The HCMC-Jakarta flight departs from HCMC at 20:40 and arrives in Jakarta at 23:40 (local time). The return flight takes off at 01:40 (local time) and lands in HCMC at 04:40.

    Mr. Dinh Viet Phuong, Vietjet’s Vice President, said: “Since its inception, Vietjet has been developing friendly and professional flight services in operating key international routes, helping connect Vietnam’s main business and tourism hubs with foreign destinations, including Jakarta. With its mission of making air travel approachable and possible for everyone and building a future in the air, Vietjet’s new route from HCMC to Jakarta will boost ties between these two economic, cultural and financial hubs, thus helping to boost regional trading and integration.”

    Jakarta is famous for its own distinctive multicultural style, amazing cuisine and colorful tourism attractions. It also serves as a gateway to the country, which offers the world “Consistency in Diversity”. The Indonesian archipelago boasts UNESCO-listed world heritages such as Borobudur and Prambanan, Komodo National Park, Ujung Kulon National Park and Sumatra rainforest and, of course, breathtaking ‘paradise’ islands, such as Bali, one of the world’s most incredible beach destinations.

    In turn, Ho Chi Minh City will be the country’s doors to Indonesian visitors travelling in Vietnam, which also boasts UNESCO-listed world heritages and incredible beaches. The capital city of Hanoi is an incredible historic city with a rich culture and unique atmosphere. Other cities and destinations include the former imperial capital, Hue, a wonderful, romantic destination, the city of Da Nang, where there are stunning beaches and the wonderland of Quang Binh province, home to the largest caves in the world. As the country’s largest economic, financial and modern tourism hub, Ho Chi Minh City is a destination in its own right, one that visitors will find is as sweet and charming as it is dynamic and entertaining.

    With its high-quality services, special low-fare tickets and diverse ticket classes, Vietjet offers its passengers enjoyable flights with a dynamic and friendly flight crew, comfy seats, delicious hot meals, special surprises as part of the inflight activities and amazing ticket fares during the daily “12 pm, It’s time to Vietjet” promotion.

  • Alibaba to invest $1bn in Indonesia e-commerce platform

    Alibaba to invest $1bn in Indonesia e-commerce platform

    Alibaba Group has led a $1.1 billion investment round for financing into Indonesia’ Tokopedia to become a minority shareholder.

    A number of undisclosed existing Tokopedia investors also participated in the round, the Chinese e-commerce giant said.

    “We have always thought of Alibaba as our teacher and role model. Today, we are excited to welcome them as a shareholder and we believe that our partnership will further accelerate Tokopedia’s mission, to democratise commerce through technology,” said Tokopedia CEO and co-founder William Tanuwijaya, in a statement.

    “The partnership with Alibaba will enhance the scale and quality of Tokopedia’s offerings to its customers and make it easier for merchants and partners to do business across the archipelago and beyond.”

    Alibaba first showed interest in Tokopedia in July where it was in reported talks to lead a funding round in the Indonesian unicorn.

    “Alibaba and Tokopedia have a shared mission of helping small and medium enterprises in achieving success in its business,” said Daniel Zhang, CEO of Alibaba Group.

    “We are very delighted to partner with Tokopedia in serving Indonesian customers.”
    The start-up first announced an investment round in 2014, where it received $100 million from SoftBank and Sequoia.

    In 2016, Tokopedia raised $147 million in an undisclosed round from several venture capital firms including Amasia, which brought the total amount raised to $247 million. The funding round valued the company at one billion dollars.

  • AirAsia Flies Jakarta-Macau Route

    AirAsia Flies Jakarta-Macau Route

    AirAsia, a Malaysian low-cost airline with a branch in Indonesia, made its first Jakarta-Macau flight on Aug. 7.

    Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi has welcomed the new route, saying it will also reinforce Indonesia’s tourism sector.

    “We will continue to support AirAsia in developing new international routes,” Budi said in a statement, adding the ministry has requested airport operators Angkasa Pura I and Angkasa Pura II to cut fees for landing.

    “It will become a stimulus for AirAsia to further develop its routes to various tourism destinations in Indonesia,” he said.

    “This flight is the fifth after our flights to Jakarta from Penang [Malaysia], Singapore, Bangkok [Thailand] and Kuala Lumpur [Malaysia],” AirAsia Indonesia chief executive Dendy Kurniawan said.

    Flights are operated three times a week on the Jakarta-Macau route. In September one more will be added.

    “A fourth of foreign tourists visiting Indonesia in 2016 were brought by Air Asia. The Jakarta-Macau route will improve the connectivity between Indonesia and southern Chinese cities, meaning more tourist arrivals,” Tourism Ministry’s deputy for foreign tourism marketing development.

  • Actress Raline Shah appointed as AirAsia Indonesia director

    Actress Raline Shah appointed as AirAsia Indonesia director

    AirAsia Group’s CEO and co-founder Tan Sri Tony Fernandes has announced that the company had appointed noted actress Raline Shah as a new director of PT Indonesia AirAsia.

    Fernandes announced Raline’s appointment through his private Instagram account on Monday, to which he also uploaded a photograph of Raline and himself.

    Fernandes, however, did not mention the exact position Raline would fill. AirAsia Indonesia spokesman Baskoro Adiwiyono also did not respond to questions about her appointment.

    Raline was born in Jakarta on March 4, 1984, and lived in the North Sumatran capital of Medan. She is an actress and a model. She emerged in the public eye when she took part in the 2008 Putri Indonesia Pageant,  in which she was noted as a favorite contestant.

    She has starred several movies, including 5 cm, 99 Cahaya di Langit Eropa (99 Lights in the European Sky), Supernova, and Surga yang Tak Dirindukan (a heaven unmissed).

    Raline graduated from the National University of Singapore with a bachelor of arts in political science.

    The Malaysian aviation company planned to integrate its South-East Asian business, kompas.com reported, but its plans were not in accordance with Indonesian regulations.

    AirAsia has regional branches in Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand, while its hub is based in Kuala Lumpur.

  • Fast Retailing Indonesia taking Uniqlo to East Java

    Fast Retailing Indonesia taking Uniqlo to East Java

    Fast Retailing Indonesia is reaching out to new markets with the impending opening of two Uniqlo fashion stores in Surabaya, East Java.

    The Japanese retail giant’s expansion to the provincial capital adds to the 11 Uniqlo stores already in Indonesia.

    Fast Retailing Indonesia president/director Michiaki Tanaka says the Surabaya stores are part of his company’s plan to reach all customers across the country.

    Being launched next month, the stores are being built in Surabaya’s biggest shopping centres, Pakuwon Mall and Tunjungan Plaza.

    Uniqlo has 1800 stores in 18 countries.

  • AirAsia, Indonesian tourism ministry in joint marketing pact

    AirAsia, Indonesian tourism ministry in joint marketing pact

    Indonesia’s Ministry of Tourism and AirAsia have announced a collaboration in marketing in terms of brand advertising, promotional activities and activations across various touch points including, digital, print, radio, in-flight branding, consumer selling travel fair and more.

    The launch of the collaboration was held in Shah Alam, and was attended by Judi Rifajantoro, professional staff to the minister for tourism infrastructure, Indonesian Ministry of Tourism; Robert D. Waloni, senior adviser to the minister for air accessibility, Indonesian Ministry of Tourism; Aireen Omar, CEO of AirAsia Bhd; and Rifai Taberi, commercial director of Indonesia AirAsia.

    “Under the joint promotion for the media campaign, we hope AirAsia will cater more travellers to Indonesia and more people especially Malaysians can experience Indonesia thanks to AirAsia’s numerous routes. This is obviously part of a much broader agenda of collaboration with airlines and the community,” said Rifajantoro.

    Aireen said, “This partnership could not be more timely as we have been seeing a robust demand for Malaysia and Indonesia. In 2016, we have flown more than four million guests between both countries to contribute significantly to the tourist arrivals last year and this is only a fraction of the great potential we can achieve.

    “We look forward to this commitment with the Ministry of Tourism Republic of Indonesia and we are confident that we can further increase more tourist traffic and income for both countries.”

    AirAsia connects Malaysia with Indonesia with more than 350 times weekly flights to 15 different cities such as Banda Aceh, Bandung, Bali, Jakarta, Lombok, Medan, Pekanbaru, Palembang, Padang, Pontianak, Semarang, Solo, Surabaya, Makassar, and Yogyakarta.

    The airline recently added more frequencies to several routes in Indonesia and has launched direct flights from Kuching, Sarawak, to Pontianak.

    In conjunction with the partnership, AirAsia is offering promotional fares for flights into Indonesia, starting from RM79, for bookings made from yesterday until Sunday, for immediate travel until Feb 25, 2018.

  • Indonesia Experiencing Salt Crisis

    Indonesia Experiencing Salt Crisis

    Indonesia is experiencing a salt crisis. This is very strange because Indonesia has easy access to the sun, sea, and coastlines more than most countries in the world. In fact, we know, that just by evaporating seawater that depends on the three components, salt can be made.

    The signs of a salt crisis have been seen from long ago. For example, since Eid al-Fitr, the price of salt has almost never dropped again as usual. The price actually continues to soar and has now increased four times. Or, just look at the signs of national needs and production of salt.

    Indonesia needs 4.3 million tons of salt per-year, including the industrial salt with sodium chloride (NaCl) content of above 97 percent or consumption salt with its NaCl content below it. A total of 1.8 million tons of which are supplied domestically, mostly for consumption salts that are now scarce.

    Since the beginning of the year, supply from the domestic fields has been dragged. In the salt fields owned by PT Garam in Sumenep, for example, the salt production in May-June was only 50 tons, while it can usually reach 2,500 tons.

     

  • XOX inks MoU to deploy Voopee in Indonesia

    XOX inks MoU to deploy Voopee in Indonesia

    XOX Bhd has inked a MoU with an Indonesian telco and an Islamic organisation to develop and deploy its Voopee solution – which is a SIM-free application for smartphoneswhich allows the user to call and text non-Voopee phone numbers.

    XOX said on Friday it unit XOX Media Sdn Bhd had signed an MoU with PT. Inovasi Telematika Nusantara and Pengurus Besar Nahdlatul Ulama (PBNU).

    “The plan is to conduct a study and the planning for the development and deployment of the Voopee solution under the Nahdlatul Ulama branding with all other accompanying solutions targeting to be adopted by PBNU members,” it said.

    XOX said PT Inovasi provides telecommunication services. As for PBNU, it  is the largest independent Islamic organisation in the world and also a charitable body funding schools and hospitals as well as organising communities to help alleviate poverty.

    The MoU will be for six month or until a commercial agreement is entered between the parties.

    XOX said the MoU is expected to have positive contribution to the earnings per share and net assets per share of the Group should the MoU be subsequently commercialised.

    What Voopee is about: Voopee, unlike other apps, allows the user to call and text non-Voopee phone numbers. It works like any normal mobile service.

    Voopee uses the power of the Internet via mobile data connection or WiFi to provide you with mobile services.

  • Jakarta prepares for Indonesia’s most influential sugar show

    Jakarta prepares for Indonesia’s most influential sugar show

    The low production of sugar which cannot meet the large demand of sugar consumption in Indonesia caused by inefficient processes initiates the INAGRITECH 2017 to present its premier sub-event named SugarMach Indonesia 2017. SugarMach Indonesia 2017 is the premier show focusing on sugar machinery, innovation, and technology. This show gains a strong support from the Indonesian Sugar Association (AGI) and Indonesian Sugar Professional Association (IKAGI) as SugarMach Indonesia 2017 is held in an attempt to push Indonesia’s infrastructure development in sugar industry as well as supporting the country’s effort to achieve sugar self-sufficiency. For the success of the event, AGI-IKAGI will also hold the National Sugar Summit 2017 along with SugarMach Indonesia 2017.

    National Sugar Summit 2017 will be attended by thousand of professionals from all Indonesia Sugar Industries and government to discuss technology, policy, challenge and strategies how to make Indonesia Sugar Industry to become more competitive in global. Most of the attendee should be decision makers, the board of director, owner, government and professional in the ugar business.

    The resounding big success of INAGRITECH 2016 Jakarta held along with INAGRICHEM 2016 and INAPALM ASIA 2016 attracted 216 companies from 14 countries and 8,920 trade attendees from over 12 countries, has further proved the event as the ASEAN’s most leading trade show for agricultural machinery & equipment, agrochemical, palm oil processing machinery and the other agricultural supporting industries. The expo has expressed a proven opportunity to boost sales and gain exposure as well as meeting with key decision makers and potential buyers. Around 95 per cent of exhibitors also expressed a proven opportunity to boost sales and gain exposure as well as meeting with key decision makers and potential buyers from both domestic and international.

    SugarMach Indonesia 2017 is an ideal platform for sugar industry players to explore their business, to network with both local and global communities, and to unveil their latest products of technology. Indonesia’s sugar self-sufficiency effort provides an opportune time for investors to participate in the sector as well as take advantage of various incentives on offer. The bright prospects for investment in the national sugar industry are evident from the growing interests of the private sector to invest in the sector.

    SugarMach Indonesia 2017 taking place on 23 – 25 August 2017 at JIExpo Kemayoran, Jakarta – Indonesia will co-locate with INAGRITECH 2017, INAGRICHEM 2017 and INAPALM ASIA 2017. It will definitely be one of the Indonesia’s most prospective one-stop exhibitions for sugar industry players. The scale of exhibition area will be expanded up to twice as large as last year’s and will attract more than 500 exhibiting companies.

    According to the Indonesia Ministry of Trade, Indonesian sugar consumption within the consumer retail segment is 3 mn tonnes per year, while national sugar production is only about 2.5 to 2.7 million tonnes per year resulting in a shortfall of 300-500,000 tonnes of sugar. Therefore, the new government is committed to building 10 new sugar mills between 2015 and 2020 with Rp42.5 trillion of investment. Each mill is hoped to be able to process 30,000 tons of sugarcane per day. To achieve the goal, Indonesia’s sugar mill must upgrade and use the modern technology and machinery for its sugar production.