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Tag: Indonesia

  • PT Telkom adopts Palo Alto firewalls

    PT Telkom adopts Palo Alto firewalls

    Indonesia’s PT Telkom has moved to strengthen its security capabilities by adopting Palo Alto Networks’ next-generation firewalls.

    The operator will deploy Palo Alto’s Next Generation Security Platform for its security operations center to support its global expansion plans. Telkom aims to become one of the five largest telecoms operators in Southeast Asia.

    Telkom has replaced its legacy firewall systems with eight Palo Alto firewalls, as well as its network security management solution Panorama and its contextual threat intelligence service AutoFocus.

    Panorama provides  static rules and dynamic security updates to simplify the management of a changing threat landscape.

    “Palo Alto Networks has enabled us to take our security operations to a higher level. I now have complete visibility of threats, the team has become more skilled, and we’re better able to focus on the development of new services,” Telkom Indonesia VP of IT strategy and governance Sihmirmo Adi said.

    He said the operator expects the platform to help it save billions of rupiahs in future capex and spend significantly less time managing its network.

  • Telkomsel wins 2.3-GHz spectrum auction

    Telkomsel wins 2.3-GHz spectrum auction

    Indonesian state-owned mobile operator Telkomsel has emerged as the winner of an auction for 30 MHz of 2.3-GHz spectrum with a bid of 1 trillion rupiah ($73.9 million).

    The company beat out four other operators, including XL Axiata and Indosat, to secure the spectrum.

    Telkomsel will need to pay an upfront fee of double its bidding price – 2 trillion rupiah – within 10 days as well as an annual license fee.

    With the acquisition of the additional spectrum Telkomsel is expected to be in a position to expand its network capacity by 30%, the report states.

    Telkomsel is Indonesia’s dominant mobile operator with 178 million subscribers and 150,000 base stations across the nation. It is the mobile subsidiary of state-owned operator PT Telkom.

    Under government regulations Telkomsel will now be unable to bid during the next spectrum auction, scheduled to commence next week.  Indosat, XL Axiata and Hutchison 3 Indonesia are expected to participate in the auction for two blocks of 2.1-GHz spectrum.

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  • AirAsia now connects Bali and Kolkata

    AirAsia now connects Bali and Kolkata

    AirAsia Indonesia inaugurated its new flight route from Bali to Kolkata in India on Oct. 4.

    The service offers four flights a day departing from I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport in Bali and arrives at Kolkata’s Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.

    Upon landing, the maiden flight, which used an Airbus A320-200 airplane, was greeted with a water canon at the airport in Bali.

    According to AirAsia Group CEO for Indonesia Dendy Kurniawan, the ticket sales for this route was first made available on Aug. 17 in accordance to the 72nd anniversary celebration of Indonesia’s Independence Day.

    “We want to emphasize that this expansion is only possible due to the hard work of the Transportation Ministry. We are currently in the first category of the FAA safety rank and we really appreciate it,” said Dendy.

    Following the launch of the new service, AirAsia now offers two routes to India as it previously launched Bali – Mumbai flight in May.

    This also marks the fourth international route from AirAsia Indonesia after Bali – Narita, Bali – Mumbai and Jakarta – Macau.

    The travel time between Bali from Kolkata is 7.5 hours including a short transit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

    India has the second highest growth percentage for the number of tourists to Indonesia with 27 percent per year, right behind China with 45 percent per year.

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  • Permata Bank adopts voice biometric authentication

    Permata Bank adopts voice biometric authentication

    Permata Bank has become the first domestic bank in Indonesia to introduce voice biometrics as part of its customer authentication protocol, using technology from customer experience company NICE.

    NICE Real-Time Authentication (RTA), together with its process automation solution, will allow the financial institution to conduct secure and seamless voice authentication, improving customer service.

    Permata Bank is a veteran NICE customer, already benefiting from its Quality and Workforce Management solutions, as well as real-time back office applications. More recently, the bank sought new ways to improve fraud prevention and increase the efficiency of its contact center, turning to NICE to address these challenges.

    NICE’s Real-Time Authentication (RTA) solution creates and utilizes one voice print for each caller to deliver quick and efficient customer service across all voice channels, with no customer effort required.

    Authentication takes place within the first few seconds of the call, and customers’ issues are resolved during the natural flow of conversation. This automated, rapid and transparent process will help Permata Bank deliver better service while improving the accuracy of its fraud prevention program.

    “Permata Bank’s introduction of voice biometrics in the local banking industry positions us as a leader in financial services innovation throughout Indonesia,” Permata Bank director of consumer banking Bianto Surodjo said.

    “This is largely thanks to NICE’s unique Fluent engine capability, which provides omnichannel authentication with a single voiceprint, which is a major advantage over competing solutions in the market.”

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  • Xiaomi plans Indonesia-based business

    Xiaomi plans Indonesia-based business

    Xiaomi has announced plans to set up a permanent business entity in Indonesia. Indonesia is pushing for foreign firms that have internet-based services there to set up local companies for the purpose of tax compliance.

    Speaking at the Xiaomi Way of Innovation event in Jakarta, CEO/founder Lei Jun said Indonesia was the company’s “most important” market after China and India.

    International Data Corporation (IDC) data for the first quarter of this year ranked Xiaomi, which entered the smartphone market in 2010, the fifth-largest smartphone manufacturer in the world. It has a presence in more than 60 countries and last month shipped a record 10 million smartphones, thanks to growing demand in India.

    Lei said Xiaomi was mostly known in Indonesia as a smartphone manufacturer, but he wanted to change that by taking more of the firm’s products mainstream. Xiaomi was also an internet and e-commerce company, he said.

    He referred to the company’s business model as a “golden triangle” as it was propped up by three key elements: hardware, internet and retail.

    Xiaomi’s products include robot vacuum cleaners, rice cookers, washing machines, scooters, toys and desk lamps.
    “Hopefully in the future Xiaomi’s ecosystem of products can deliver a great impact on Indonesian users and producers.”

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  • Aeon Indonesia shifts focus to entertainment

    Aeon Indonesia shifts focus to entertainment

    Aeon Indonesia is putting the accent on entertainment in its new mall, Jakarta Garden City.

    About an hour’s drive east from the city centre, it is the Japanese retailer’s second location after two years in Indonesia.

    Jakarta Garden City devotes relatively little space to traditional retail like clothing (H&M and Uniqlo will not be found there). Instead, it focuses on interactive experiences, and more than half of its 227 tenants are foodcourt stalls or restaurants.

    It also house Indonesia’s first skating rink to meet international standards, a movie complex and Fanpekka, a Scandinavian-style educational center for children. On the roof is one of the country’s largest Ferris wheels.

    Aeon is marketing Jakarta Garden City as Indonesia’s largest entertainment mall.

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  • Polygamy dating app draws criticism in Indonesia

    Polygamy dating app draws criticism in Indonesia

    A Tinder-style dating app for polygamists has sparked controversy in Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim nation — but its developer says he “just wants to help” unmarried middle-aged women.

    Indonesian law defines marriage as between a man and a woman but polygamy is tolerated in certain circumstances, despite being generally frowned upon. Ayo  Poligami, loosely translated as “let’s go polygamy”, is a free smartphone app that matches married and single Muslim men with women who want to create “big families”.

    It has attracted more than 56,000 members since its launch in April, according to developer Lindu Cipta Pranayama.

    But women’s rights campaigners have criticised the app, warning of a strong link between polygamy and domestic violence.

    “Due to the controversy, I initially wanted to permanently shut down the site, but when I saw many women in their 40s of 50s who are still virgins and unmarried I decided to keep it,” Pranayama told Tuesday.

    “Can you image being in your 40s or 50s but never been touched by a man?” added the 35-year-old, who created the app after failing to find a wife on several dating sites.

    Indonesian men who apply to one of the country’s Islamic courts, which have jurisdiction over marriage, are able to take a second wife under certain circumstances.

    For example, a court may review and grant an application if the man’s first wife is unable to bear children or has a disability and gives her permission.

    Adriana Venny Aryani, from Indonesia’s National Commission on Violence Against Women, said polygamy as facilitated by Ayo Poligami could be harmful to wives.

    “When the husband is practicing polygamy, women are emotionally abused, economically (abused), and sometimes violently,” she said.

    Pranayama said a high number of fake accounts had caused the platform to temporarily close, but a new version is set to launch on Thursday with more stringent user criteria.

    Indonesian authorities recently shut down another controversial matchmaking site, Nikahsirri.com, which offered “virgin auctions” for men and women looking for marriage.

    Police arrested the founder of the short-lived site, Aris Wahyudi, over the “pornographic content” it contained.

  • Indonesia’s Inflation Eased in September to 3.72%, Weighed by Food Prices

    Indonesia’s Inflation Eased in September to 3.72%, Weighed by Food Prices

    Inflation in Indonesia continued to ease in September as some basic food commodity prices dropped, suggesting full-year inflation will be limited despite a pick up in the first few months of the year.

    September’s consumer price index, a gauge of inflation, rose 3.72% compared with the same period a year ago, slowing from August’s 3.82% rise, the official Statistics Agency said Monday. Compared the month before, prices rose 0.13%, after falling 0.07% in August.

    The median forecast from a survey of 10 economists by The Wall Street Journal was for 3.70% year-over-year inflation. The median prediction for on-month inflation from seven economists polled was 0.10%.

    Inflation was stoked by a 1.03% increase in education costs in September, compared with August. But a 0.53% fall in basic food prices mitigated the impact on headline inflation, the agency added.

    Core inflation, which excludes volatile food prices and those determined by the government, picked up to 3.00% compared with a year ago, August’s 2.98%, the first increase in many months, which may indicate an early recovery in consumers’ purchasing power.

    Although inflation is likely to continue retreating for the rest of the year, Bank Indonesia isn’t expected to cut interest rates again next month, after two consecutive 0.25-percentage-point cuts recently.

     

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  • Telkomcel launches 4G in Timor Leste

    Telkomcel launches 4G in Timor Leste

    Timor Leste’s Telkomcel has launched 4G services using equipment from technology partner Ericsson.

    Telkomcel has deployed Ericsson’s virtual EPC and LTE RAN Ericsson Radio System software to allow it to provide LTE services to its customer base.

    Ericsson also provided a hyperscale data center system for the deployment to deliver a network capable of supporting high-capacity environments and solutions.

    Telkomcel was established in 2012 by parent company Telin from neighboring Indonesia, and now has around 450,000 mobile customers from a total population of 1.2 million. The operator has been a longstanding Ericsson customer.

    “This cooperation represents a significant milestone as it further strengthens our partnership with Telkomcel and is another testament of our commitment to our customer’s success,” Ericsson president for Indonesia and Timor Leste Jerry Soper said.

    “With the availability of 4G subscriber services, the people of East Timor will be able to enjoy even more of the features of smartphones that have significantly influenced the way people live and do business.”

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  • GreyOrange installs 50th Sorter at Pos Indonesia

    GreyOrange installs 50th Sorter at Pos Indonesia

    Automation and robotics company GreyOrange has announced its 50th installation of a high-performance, advanced Sortation System for Pos Indonesia, the national postal company which distributes parcels and mail across Indonesia, the largest and fastest growing e-commerce market in South East Asia. The third largest e-commerce market globally, behind China and India, its fast-growing e-commerce market is projected to reach US$130 billion by 2020.

    GreyOrange, headquartered in Singapore, is recognised as one of the world’s top 50 robotics companies by Robotics Business Review, and specialises in the design, manufacture and deployment of advanced robotics and automation systems for distribution and fulfilment centres.

    Gilarsi W. Setijono, CEO, Pos Indonesia said, “The growth in retail and e-commerce in Indonesia has been phenomenal and it is well-timed for the Logistics industry to adopt the newest technologies. The increasing demands for fulfilment and last mile delivery – which call for higher efficiency, accuracy and traceability – have grown steadily. We needed a Sortation system that lets us handle a bigger volume so that we are able to fulfil same or next day deliveries accurately and efficiently. The GreyOrange Sortation system lets us do that.

    Nalin Advani, CEO, GreyOrange Asia Pacific said, “We are pleased that Pos Indonesia has selected the GreyOrange Linear Sorter to handle its fast increasing volumes. This Sorter is our 50th installation globally in under four years, and quite special to us. We are proud to work with the team at Pos Indonesia to design and deploy a sortation system unique for the demands of Indonesia, to deliver the highest throughput and efficiency.”

    The GreyOrange Linear Sorter, comprising advanced software and a high-speed sorter, has been tried-and-tested for a wide variety of applications to handle high-volume sortation. Within three years of its launch, customers in the e-commerce, consumer goods, apparel and retail industries have commissioned these Sorters across Asia and Latin America.

    Pos Indonesia handles parcel and mail volume exceeding 500,000 pieces a day and provides fulfilment and last mile delivery for government, state-owned enterprises, online entrepreneurs, and major e- Commerce platforms – Lazada and BukaLapak among others. The GreyOrange Linear Sorter was selected as it combines a line of high-speed conveyor – capable of handling an assortment of parcels in various shapes and sizes including polybags, plus irregular packages – and advanced software customised to handle the volume and types of parcels and mail specific to Pos Indonesia.

    Agus F. Handoyo, Mail and Parcel Director, Pos Indonesia added, “This sortation system was prearranged using a technology-driven approach. Firstly, the end-to-end digitalisation results in a system which integrates seamlessly with data used by our shippers, e-commerce companies and customers; from reading barcodes to capturing gross and volumetric weights, and digital images, which leads to faster and easier parcel traceability. In addition, customers get a better experience in terms of accuracy of delivery.”

    Getting more parcels to their right destinations is important due to the high costs of reverse logistics for parcels returns, especially in Indonesia where locations are spread over 17,000 islands.

    Meet with GreyOrange and Indonesia distributor PT Global Prima Sakti at Stand B1 at Indonesia Transport, Supply Chain and Logistics, on 10-12 October, at Jakarta International Expo Kemayoran, to see the latest high-performance products and solutions.

  • Indonesia overtakes Thailand to become Vietnam’s top car supplier in August

    Indonesia overtakes Thailand to become Vietnam’s top car supplier in August

    Tariff cuts under a regional trade deal are making cars from Southeast Asia more affordable in Vietnam. Indonesia dethroned Thailand to dominate Vietnam’s car market in August, with Toyota and Ford among the most popular brands, according to Vietnam Customs.

    Nearly 3,000 made-in-Indonesia cars flooded into Vietnam in August, compared to 438 units during the same period last year, official data showed. Most of the vehicles had nine seats and below.

    Thailand was the runner-up, exporting 2,000 cars to Vietnam, followed by China with 800 units.

    The import tariff on cars from Thailand and Indonesia was cut to 30 percent from 40 percent at the start of this year, according to tax authorities. As a result, many imported cars are now 7 percent cheaper, ranging from $18,000-19,000.

    Vietnam’s car imports in August soared 13 percent from the previous month to about 7,800 units worth $190 million, customs data shows.

    However, Thailand still leads the way so far this year, followed by Indonesia and China.

    Vietnam imported at total of 65,485 cars in the first eight months, down 5 percent on-year. Over 60 percent of those came from Thailand and Indonesia.

    The surge in imports from Southeast Asian countries is expected to continue when the import tariff on cars is abolished at the start of 2018 under the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement.

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  • Indonesia retail sales down first time in six years

    Indonesia retail sales down first time in six years

    Retail sales in Indonesia declined 3.3% in July 2017, compared to last year, according to a central bank survey released this week, marking the first drop in retail sales in nearly six years.

    Food and beverage sales, as well as home furnishing and electronic appliances were particularly weak in July, Bank Indonesia wrote in the survey report.

    The news follows a strong result in June for the month, were retail sales grew 6.3% on a yearly basis.

    The last month to show a contraction was September 2011, when sales were 5.9% below a year earlier, said BI.

    Compared to previous years, consumption has been weak in Indonesia.

    Typically, strong sales occur ahead of the holidays at the end of the Muslim fasting month, followed by a period of weak consumption. This year, the fasting month ended in late June.

    The same survey – made up of 700 retailers in 10 major cities – went on to project retail sales in August would make a come back for a 5.3% gain on last year.

    Prices are expected to increase in the next three to six months, followed by better sales in January 2018, the survey found.

  • Greyhound Cafe Jakarta opens in Grand Indonesia

    Greyhound Cafe Jakarta opens in Grand Indonesia

    Mainly Thai fusion dishes are offered at the new Greyhound Cafe Jakarta, in the Grand Indonesia mall. With a cactus display in its outdoor area, the ground-floor cafe has a mainly black-and-white theme and offers mainly Thai fusion dishes.

    A private dining area is available as well as a smoke area, and takeaway is possible.

    The Thai brand is being introduced in Indonesia by restaurant group Arena Corporation.

    Greyhound Cafe opened its 13th international outlet last December, marking its debut in Singapore.

    At the time it had 14 cafes in Bangkok plus outlets in Beijing, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur and Shanghai.

    For Greyhound, the cafe was actually an afterthought to complement to brand’s fashion line.

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  • iflix team with Fortumo for direct carrier billing

    iflix team with Fortumo for direct carrier billing

    iflix and mobile payments firm Fortumo have launched direct carrier billing for iflix users, which number about 620 million people across Indonesia, Pakistan, the Philippines and Thailand.

    Users can now subscribe to iflix and enjoy access to unlimited video entertainment by using their airtime balance or monthly phone bill to pay for the service.

    Carrier billing for iflix via Fortumo has been made available for subscribers of the mobile operators Smartfren and 3 (Indonesia), Telenor and Zong (Pakistan), Smartand Globe Telecom (the Philippines) and DTAC (Thailand).

    iflix and Fortumo expect to announce support for more carriers in Asia as well as the Middle Eastern & African region over the upcoming months.

    In the emerging markets where iflix operates, less than 10% of people own a credit card while smartphone ownership is already around 40% of the population. This means direct carrier billing allows a significantly larger portion of people the ability to pay for iflix subscriptions.

    “As we continue rapid expansion into emerging markets globally, we are confident that Fortumo will provide seamless payment integration in our markets”, said Tim Whelan, iflix global head of payments.

    iflix has leveraged Fortumo’s Payments API to expand its payment reach across its Asian markets, allowing iflix to roll out direct carrier billing for multiple mobile operators at once using Fortumo’s pre-existing integrations with the carriers.

    iflix can simultaneously use advanced features of direct carrier billing such as free trials dynamic pricing with a fully iflix-branded payment flow to increase user acquisition and payment conversion.

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  • Zilingo raises fresh funds for Indonesian expansion

    Zilingo raises fresh funds for Indonesian expansion

    Thai-headquartered fashion and lifestyle online marketplace Zilingo has raised US$17 million in a fresh investment round to fund expansion.

    Much of the funding came from Zilingo’s original investor, Sequoia India, with Burda Principal Investments (BPI), Venturra Capital, SIG, Wavemaker and Beenext also joining in.

    Zilingo is expanding across Southeast Asia and funds from this round are earmarked to strengthen its position in Indonesia.

    The concept is essentially an app-based solution which allows people to find fashion items, chat with vendors and shop online, within a country or cross-border. It targets small fashion retailers and labels and SMEs without the resources or scale to build their own online stores.

    One of the investors, Albert Shyy, principal at Burda, said he was “extremely impressed” with Zilingo’s growth and its focus on strong unit economics.

    “We believe there is a massive opportunity to build the leading fashion marketplace in the region and are very excited to join their journey.”

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