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Tag: Indonesia

  • President makes three pleas to creative industry entrepreneurs

    President makes three pleas to creative industry entrepreneurs

    Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has made three pleas to the industry entrepreneurs while inaugurating the Inacraft Exhibition 2017.

    “I have made three pleas to craft and creative industry entrepreneurs in Indonesia to keep their products on spec or meet the buyers specifications, keep the budget or price at a reasonable rate, and timely delivery of the products,” he stated at the Jakarta Convention Center on Wednesday.

    Inacraft exhibition, which will be held from April 26 to April 30, will exhibit products from 1,392 local and foreign participants. This year, Inacraft has taken Yogyakarta as the icon, under the concept “Magnificent of Yogyakarta” and the theme “From Smart Village to Global Market.”

    The second plea from the president was regarding the packaging of the products.

    “Do not forget the packaging. Make the best you can and make it interesting. This is important because most of time, the packaging is what attracts the buyers,” he added.

    His third plea was to deliver the goods on time.

    “The delivery to the consumers could be made easier with various logistics infrastructures that we already have,” he stated.

    Jokowi also pushed the entrepreneurs to make use of the governments people credits program (KUR).

    “I understand the entrepreneurs problems regarding capital. Therefore, I remind the people of the KUR program, which has an interest rate of nine percent only. Hence, the products should be made better to make the investment bigger. I think our credit programs have a competitive interest rate too,” he reiterated.

    Indonesian Exporter and Handicraft Producers (ASEPHI) data, the committee of the exhibition, remarked that the Inacraft 2017 attendees included 65.95 percent of independent individuals, 24.5 percent from the Tourism Department, 8.7 percent from BUMN, and the rest 6.07 percent from other countries such as Myanmar, Japan, Pakistan, Poland, and India.

    This year, Inacraft has set a target of retail business increase of 10 percent, which reaches Rp142 billion, commercial contract of US$12 million, and around 200 thousand buyers from various countries.

    Some of the products exhibited include batik, fashion apparels, accessories, jewelries, and other crafts.

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  • Jokowi Strengthen Economic Ties with Hong Kong

    Jokowi Strengthen Economic Ties with Hong Kong

    President Joko Widodo, also known as Jokowi, has planned to strengthen bilateral cooperation between Indonesia and Hong Kong during a working visit to Hong Kong scheduled on April 30, 2017, after attending the ASEAN Summit in the Philippines on April 28 and 29, 2017.

    “We want to encourage Hong Kong business owners to invest in Indonesia, particularly in the field of infrastructure and creative industry,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Arrmanatha Christiawan Nasir said during a press conference in Jakarta on Tuesday, April 25, 2017.

    As one of the largest economy in the region, Indonesia aims to strengthen economic ties with Hong Kong. Delegations of both countries will sign two memorandums of understanding on business collaborations and partnerships in the culture sector.

    Indonesia will also push an agenda to expedite negotiations related to the ASEAN-Hong Kong Free Trade Agreement, which is expected to increase the intensity of trades between ASEAN and Hong Kong.

    In 2016, the realization of Hong Kong’s investment in Indonesia reached USD 2.25 billion, significantly increasing from those realized in previous years that stood at around USD 691 million. The trade value between the two countries climbed to USD 3.9 billion in 2016 from USD 3.8 billion in 2015.

    President Jokowi will also discuss protections for Indonesian citizens in Hong Kong.

    “The President also pays attention to protections for our migrant workers. There are 172,000 Indonesian migrant workers in Hong Kong,” Armanatha revealed.

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  • Giant ships begin to make a call at Jakarta’s Tanjung Priok

    Giant ships begin to make a call at Jakarta’s Tanjung Priok

    PT Jakarta International Container Terminal (JICT) in Tanjung Priok said it has entered a new era when it succeeded in serving a giant ship, the Otello of Frances Compagnie Maritime dAffretement – Compagnie Generali Maritime (CMA-CGM).

    “The ships of CMA-CGM are the largest ever making a call at Tanjung Priok,” Chief Executive of JICT, Gunta Prabawa, said here on Monday.

    Earlier, JICT was similarly successful in providing fast services for 2 other giant ships of CMA CGM – the Titus and Tancredi – with port productivity at the JICT of 27-30 Mph.

    Gunta described the visits by the giant ships as a new era of the appearance of more giant ships at the Jakarta port indicating that JICT has been ready to provide world class port services.

    “Global shipping companies have allowed their ships to berth at Tanjung Priok as they have confidence in our services,” Gunta said.

    The 334 meter long Otello had unloaded 1,551 TEUs of container goods at Tanjung Priok, he said.

    He said CMA-CGM has reached an agreement with PT JICT by opening new shipping service called the Java South East Asia Express Services/ Java SEA Express Services/ JAX Services.

    The weekly service will take the route of Tanjung Priok – West Coast (Los Angeles & Oakland) of the United States.

    “The first service of JAX Services began on 9 April, 2017 by the Titus of CMA-CGM. Indonesian exporters and importers are expected to utilize the service,” Gunta said.

    Earlier this month, President Joko Widodo said large ships would began to berth at Jakartas Tanjung Priok port after continued improvements in services by the port operator.

    “Soon or next week there will be a ship measuring 10,000 TEUS to call at Tanjung Priok,” Jokowi said when officially commissioning an access toll road to the countrys largest port.

    The president attributed the success in attracting large ships to Tanjung Priok to improved service including a significant cut in dwelling time.

    The dwelling time, needed for unloading, has been cut short to 3.5 days now from earlier up to six days. Long dwelling time had discouraged ships from making a visit to Tanjung Priok as it would mean losing time and an increase in berthing fee.

    The president himself stepped in to improve services, cut the red tape and simplify all procedures that reduce illegal levies earlier rampant at the port.

    The president said he hoped improvement in the port service would make Indonesia more competitive and the seas transport cost would be cheaper to and from Indonesia as large cargo ships could sail directly to and berth at Tanjung Priok.

    “The flows of goods could be much faster via Tajung Priok. Transit is no longer needed for imported container cargoes in Singapore,” he said, adding large container ships could be berthed at Tanjung Priok.

    Previously large ships carrying container goods for Indonesia have to make a transit in Singapore to unload the cargo to be loaded gain on smaller ships as Tanjung Priok could not yet accommodate large container vessels.

    The new access road would contribute to improving services at the port , Jokowi said, adding “This also helps improve the countrys competitiveness.”

    He said an estimated 3,600 containers would be transported via the 11.4 kilometer access road everyday.

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  • Jokowi optimistic of witnessing 10% growth in automotive industry

    Jokowi optimistic of witnessing 10% growth in automotive industry

    Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) is optimistic that the automotive industry would attract more investors and grow over 10 percent annually.

    “Indonesias automotive industry is more competitive now and is growing on an average of more than 10 percent,” he remarked in Bekasi on Tuesday.

    President Jokowi expressed optimism in his remarks at the opening ceremony of PT Mitsubishi Motor Krama Yudha Indonesia (MMKI) at the Greenland International Center, Central Cikarang, Bekasi District, West Java.

    “With such a large market, I am certain that more investments will flow into the automotive sector of Indonesia, as we have a large market, and greater the investments, more employment opportunities will be available,” he emphasized.

    President Jokowi lauded Mitsubishi Motors commitment to increasing its investment by setting up a new plant in Indonesia, which will be able to offer jobs to around three thousand people.

    “This can provide employment to some three thousand people. Once again, three thousand job opportunities,” the president pointed out.

    Hence, Jokowi is committed to easing the flow of investments, particularly in the automotive sector, considering its impacts on the economic growth.

    “The inflow of investments will create more job opportunities, and it means more people will have jobs,” he stated.

    However, the president highlighted the importance of the quality of human resources to meet the high standards of the automotive industry.

    He pointed out that the government is taking steps to boost economic development by providing skilled manpower through vocational schools.

    “Here, we will strengthen vocational education, vocational schools, as well as vocational training, entrepreneurship, and the labor market,” he affirmed.

    “The government will continue to implement policies that link and match or job matching between vocation and the industry,” the president noted.

    Investment in industry will also allow the transfer of technology and knowledge to Indonesia. Hence, President Widodo has urged the employees to use the opportunity extensively.

    “I hope you will also pay attention to the transfer of technology and knowledge. Continue conducting trainings for the local human resources, and it will be better if the Japanese work ethics, such as high discipline, can be imbibed by Indonesian human resources,” he said.

    “Do not hesitate to involve the Indonesian people in creating new innovations, as they are all actually smart,” added Jokowi.

    In addition, President Jokowi is optimistic that the automotive industry would begin developing its export market.

    “The local or domestic market is large, but we also need to focus on the export market to achieve a balance,” he pointed out.

    Some VIP guests also attended the opening ceremony with President Jokowi, including Minister of Industry Airlangga Hartarto, Minister of State Secretary Pratikno, Head of the Investment Coordinating Board Thomas Lembong, Vice Minister of Finance Mardiasmo, Vice Governor of West Java Deddy Mizwar, and Chairman of Mitsubishi Motors Carlos Ghosn.

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  • Indonesia`s inflation predicted to be low in April

    Indonesia`s inflation predicted to be low in April

    Bank Indonesia predicted that the countrys inflation would not be too high this month with falling prices of foodstuffs amid harvest time .

    “The inflation in April is expected to be not too high as a result of the harvest time,” head of the Monetary Economic Policy Department of the central bank Dody Budi Waluyo said.

    The administered prices might increase as a result of the governments plan to raise the electricity tariff in June this year, but falling prices of foodstuffs would keep the inflation low, Dody said here on Thursday.

    Last month, the country had a deflation of 0.02 percent as said by the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS). BPS said the deflation was also attributable to falling prices of a number of foodstuffs like rice, red chili, garlic, eggs and fresh fishes.

    “The significant decline in the prices of a number of main foodstuffs resulted in the deflation in March,” BPS said.

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  • Indo and India see strong growth in processed food retail

    Indo and India see strong growth in processed food retail

    Global innovation within the processed meat, poultry and fish categories has increased over the years and many markets with the highest growth potential are from the Asia Pacific region. New research from global market intelligence agency Mintel reveals that Asia is home to the world’s fastest growing retail markets for processed meat, poultry and fish, with Indonesia and India playing key roles across these categories.

    Indonesia is currently among the fastest growing processed meat and poultry markets globally with a CAGR of 26.7% between 2011 and 2015, followed by India* (22%), Vietnam (15.5%), China (13.9%), and Brazil (10.9%). Mintel estimates Indonesia’s processed meat and poultry market reached a value of IDR 16 trillion in 2016**, while India is estimated to have reached a value of INR 11 billion. Vietnam, China and Brazil have estimated retail values of VND 10 trillion, CNY 275 billion, and BRL 12 billion, respectively.

    Meanwhile, India* is one of the fastest growing retail markets for processed fish and seafood globally, growing at a CAGR of 24.9% between 2011 and 2015, while Indonesia has seen a CAGR of 19.5%, with Turkey (11.8%), South Africa (11.2%) and Russia (10.8%) rounding out the top five growth markets. In 2016**, Mintel estimates India’s processed fish and seafood market reached a value of INR 2,422 million, while Indonesia is estimated to have hit IDR 32 trillion, Turkey TRY 372 million, South Africa ZAR 3 billion and Russia RUB 148 billion.

    In the five years between 2011 and 2015, Thailand also experienced a positive CAGR of 9.4% for the processed fish and seafood market and a CAGR of 7.5% for the processed meat and poultry market. In terms of retail market value for 2016**, Thailand’s processed fish and seafood market is estimated to have reached THB 65 billion and its processed meat and poultry market, THB 60 billion.

    Driven by a surge in innovation activity, the global processed meat, poultry and fish markets saw an 18% increase in product launches in 2016, compared to 2014, according to Mintel Global New Products Database (GNPD). In 2016, Asia Pacific was the second most active region globally in terms of processed meat, poultry and fish new product development (NPD), accounting for 24% of processed meat, poultry and fish product innovations, led by China, Thailand, South Korea, Vietnam and the Philippines.

    Patty Johnson, global food and drink analyst at Mintel, said: “The need for convenience is the key driver behind Asia’s growing processed meat, poultry and fish retail markets in Indonesia, Thailand and India. Demand for processed and ready-to-eat foods, particularly frozen foods, is growing across Asia as increasingly time-pressed consumers have embraced the convenience of the freezer and of microwave cooking. Aligned with consumer interest in the region, processed meat, poultry and fish product innovation in 2016 saw strong focus on convenience claims, such as ease of use and microwaveable.”

    Indeed, according to a consumer study*** conducted by Mintel, over two in five (43%) metro Indonesians and 39% of metro Thais aged 18 and over tend to shop closer to home or work due to a lack of time. Furthermore, over one in four (28%) consumers in Indonesia prefer to buy smaller, bite sized or convenient packs as they can eat these anytime, anywhere, rising to over one in three (37%) Indonesians that fall within the monthly household income bracket of IDR 15,000,000 and above. In Thailand, as many as one in five (22%) consumers prefer to buy smaller, bite sized or convenient packs for the same reason.

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  • PT Telkom launches TV-based video calling

    PT Telkom launches TV-based video calling

    Indonesia’s PT Telkom has soft-launched the market’s first TV-based video communications service, in collaboration with Huawei.

    The IndiHome Video Call service will allow subscribers to PT Telkom’s triple-play IndiHome fiber broadband, telephony and TV service to also use their TV to place video calls.

    The service combines IPTV and IMS functionality, incorporating a set-top box with integrated video communication capabilities and a webcam to support video communication between TV and TV, TV and smartphone as well as smartphone and smartphone.

    IndiHome Video Call supports high-definition video with a resolution up to 720p as well as HD voice.

    PT Telkom plans to launch the service commercially in the East Java, Bali and Nusa Tenggara area by the middle of next month.

    “With the soft launching of IndiHome Video Call, we hope that the presence of IndiHome may be useful to the community of East Java, Bali, and Nusa Tenggara,” PT Telkom’s district executive vice president for the region Suparwiyanto said.

    “IndiHome is easy and practical, a complete digital solution as well as a positive entertainment.”

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  • Woodland India eyes Japan, South Korea

    Woodland India eyes Japan, South Korea

    Footwear and apparel firm Woodland India plans to enter the Japanese and South Korean markets in the next 12 months.

    Owned by the Aero Group, the company is also expanding at home with plans to add 120 exclusive outlets across India by the end of next year.

    Woodland India MD Harkirat Singh says the company also plans to grow its presence in multi-brand outlets.
    He says the company clocked revenue of Rs 1200 crore (US$279.9 million) in the last fiscal year and is seeking growth of 15 to 20 per cent going forward.

    Woodland, which makes most of its products in house, is also looking to add to its employee strength.
    Currently, the company has 600 exclusive outlets apart from presence in 5000 multi-brand stores in India.

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  • Marina project in Labuan Bajo to cost Rp300 billion

    Marina project in Labuan Bajo to cost Rp300 billion

    Tourism Minister Arief Yahya said construction of marina port for tourist boats in Labuan Bajo, Flores, would need Rp300 billion.

    The port would facilitate growing number of international tourist boats visiting that area, the minister told reporters here on Friday.

    Arief Yahya was here to attend a meeting to strengthen tourism cooperation between the East Nusa Tenggara provincial administration and a US operator of international tourist boats, Carnival.

    The meeting took place on board the Pacific Eden that landed on the Benoa port, Bali, on Thursday.

    Also attending the meeting include Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, Transport Minister Budi Karya Sumadi and East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) Governor Frans Lebu Raya.

    Arief said the budget for the marina project in Labuan Bajo, which is one of the countrys 10 priority destinations would include fund from the state budget and the private sector.

    “With the fund we would build a big and long port in Labuan Bajo to allow international pleasure boats to land there,” the minister said.

    He said around the same amount of budget has also been set aside by the government in cooperation with the private sector for development of an airport named Komodo Airport in Labuan Bajo.

    The airport is named after the Komodo island, the habitat of Komodo, the ancient giant lizards, found only in the Indonesian island, which one of World wonders.

    NTT Governor Frans Lebu Raya said the Central Government supports the tourism cooperation with Carnival.

    “The central government would built the marina, to be completed in 2019, at Labuan Bajo and various other supporting facilities to make Lbuan Bajo a “home port” for international pleasure boats,” he said.

    Labuan Bajo would be the main gate for tourists coming on board pleasure boats to visits tourist objects in Flores, Lembata, Alor and Sumba, he said, adding the port is designed to be able to accommodate tourist boat with thousands of passengers.

    The port would contribute to economic development in that area with thousands of foreign tourists expected to visit and land at the port when it is operational, he said.

    The problem so far is NTT has no modern marine to accommodate international tourist boats, he said.

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  • AirAsia Indonesia to serve new international routes

    AirAsia Indonesia to serve new international routes

    Low-cost airline AirAsia has announced plans to open new international routes to India, Japan, Macau and Shenzhen.

    A Denpasar – Kuala Lumpur – Mumbai route will be opened on May 19, with seven flights a week; a Bali – Narita route will be served four times a week; a Jakarta – Macau service will become available on Aug. 17 this year, followed by a Jakarta – Singapore – Shenzen route on Oct. 17.

    “AirAsia is number one when it comes to bringing overseas tourists to Indonesia. The airline contributes 25 percent, while the airline that takes the second spot only contributes half of that,” Tourism Minister Arief Yahya said during a recent visit to the AirAsia Indonesia offices.

    “We’re targeting to bring two million overseas tourists to Indonesia […] We’re going to add more flights to every destination, especially China and India. Currently, AirAsia Indonesia has 22 Airbus A320 and two Airbus A330 aircraft, and we’re going to add two more airplanes,” said AirAsia Indonesia CEO Dendy Kurniawan.

  • Indonesia raises bet on lucrative cruise industry

    Indonesia raises bet on lucrative cruise industry

    The shimmering sound of Balinese music played by a local gamelan group welcomed the Pacific Eden cruise ship as it approached Benoa Port in Bali on Thursday Guided by a tugboat, the 219-meter-long vessel, operated by P&O Cruises Australia, needed 30 minutes to smoothly dock at the port that sunny afternoon.

    Carrying over 1,000 tourists, mostly Australians, Pacific Eden has made a breakthrough in Indonesia’s tourist industry as it became the first cruise ship ever docked at a local port.

    “This makes a huge difference in the experience of our guests,” P&O Cruises Australia president Sture Myrmell said to government officials invited onboard to celebrate the historical milestone.

    Despite its potential in coastal and maritime tourism, Indonesia has been struggling to tap into opportunities of cruise ships coming to the archipelago.

    Previously, incoming cruise ships preferred to moor off shore mainly due to technicalities, such as lack of supporting infrastructure and the absence of a reliable under-water topographic maps, known as bathymetric charts. Passengers who want to go ashore were then transported on small boats.

    In the case of Pacific Eden, the docking was made possible after the government completed the bathymetric chart for Benoa water and after state-owned port operator PT Pelabuhan Indonesia (Pelindo) III, which manages Benoa Port, upgraded the facility to a cruise terminal.

    “We sent supporting data about Benoa waters to P&O executives so their ship captains could devise strategies on how to enter the port safely. Their presence here proves that we have finally convinced them about safety,” Pelindo III general manager for Benoa Port Ardhy Wahyu Basuki said.

    Last year, Indonesia welcomed 11.5 million foreign tourists, with those from China topping the list at 1.43 million arrivals.

    President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has set his sights on developing the tourism sector. His administration hopes for 20 million foreign tourist arrivals in 2019, with this year’s target standing at 15 million.

    The number of tourists entering the country by cruise ships has shown progress, but still only makes up a tiny fraction of the total incoming foreign tourists.

    Last year, visiting cruise ships made 350 stops in Indonesia, down from 400 stops in 2015, said Tourism Minister Arief Yahya. The number of passengers onboard, however, increased by 30 percent to 260,000 from 200,000.

    “This shows that there is a changing trend in which passengers prefer to travel on mediumsized cruises instead of small ones,” Arief told reporters, underlining the importance of port infrastructure upgrades to accommodate such a trend.

    Apart from huge, lavish vessels, the cruise business is known to attract high spenders. A family of four, for example, should pay A$7,200 (US$5,400) to stay in a Pacific Eden suite room and enjoy a 12-night journey to popular tourist destinations, such as Bali, Lombok and Komodo National Park.

    According to data from Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), there were 23.2 million people traveling on cruise ships in 2015, with the United States accounting for the most passengers at 11.3 million, followed by Germany, Australia and China. The figure is predicted to increase to 25.3 million this year.

    Arief did not mention the government’s short-term target for incoming cruise passengers. He, however, pointed to Thursday’s inaugural docking as momentum for the government to propel the industry, including by upgrading port infrastructure on Bali, which the government expected to become a regional cruise hub, as well as by reviewing cost structures that might hamper the industry’s growth.

    Indonesian ports currently charge a cruise ship between $60,000 and $100,000 daily for docking fees, much higher than regional competitors that can charge as low as $20,000 per day, Arief said.

    “This has dragged down our competitiveness in the sector,” he said. “Thus, deregulations and infrastructure upgrades should go hand-in-hand to boost the sector.”

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  • Sales of Indonesian Coffee in Italy Expected to Rise

    Sales of Indonesian Coffee in Italy Expected to Rise

    Indonesian Ambassador to Italy Esti Andayani targets economic growth of Indonesia-Italy investment and trade to rise 25 percent during her term of office in Rome.

    “25 percent is the overall figure, yes, both in investment trade,” Esti said in Jakarta (15/4).

    In 2015, the total of Italy investment realization reached US$ 97,99 million that made it the tenth largest investor in Indonesia. Based the data of Foreign Affair Ministry, the trade volume of both countries was US$ 3,82 billion with Indonesia’s surplus as much as US$ 433 million.

    Esti said that coffee is the main commodity promoted in Italy. Its export is worth US$ 58,8 million or the third largest export after palm (US$ 975 million), and resin (US$ 93 million).

    Esti claimed to have prepared a number of strategies to draw the attention of Indonesian coffee exporters to Italian market, one of which is by means of integrated promotion through participating in annual “World Tourism Expo” in Italy.

    “Well, tourism here not only promotes the place, but also everything, including coffee,” she added.

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  • Gurmeet Choudhary approached for Indonesian TV Show

    Gurmeet Choudhary approached for Indonesian TV Show

    Gurmeet Choudhary, who was last seen onscreen in “Laali Ki Shaadi Mein Laaddoo Deewana” has been approached to feature in an Indonesian television show. The actor says it came as a surprise to him.

    “It came as a pleasant surprise. The makers recently flew down to India to meet me and narrated me the concept of the show they are planning to make there. I liked the idea and will take a final call on the show soon,” Gurmeet said in a statement.

    The actor’s show “Geet – Hui Sabse Parayi” recently released in Indonesia (in Indonesian language) and has been hugely appreciated by the people there. He also starred in bollywood films like “Khamoshiyan”.

    According to sources, Gurmeet loved the idea and is considering the offer. He is expected to fly to Indonesia in May for the final discussion on the TV show.

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  • Telkomsel demonstrates FDD Massive MIMO

    Telkomsel demonstrates FDD Massive MIMO

    Indonesia’s Telkomsel has completed the market’s first FDD Massive MIMO demonstration as part of its 5G evolution roadmap.

    The operator teamed up with Huawei to conduct the demonstration, which achieved five times the capacity of traditional FDD LTE 2×2 MIMO.

    Since Telkomsel started building its network at the end of 2014, the operator’s LTE userbase has reached more than 19 million. The large number of concurrent users and Indonesia’s scarce spectrum resources will inevitably lead to network congestion in high-traffic areas, the companies said.

    In anticipation of congestion issues, Telkomsel and Huawei have established a joint innovation center focused on the research of high-capacity pre-5G network solutions such as Massive MIMO.

    “Telkomsel has always aimed to bring the best MBB experience to Indonesian users by leveraging on cutting edge technologies. Multi-antenna technology fully meets our requirements for improving  customer experience,” Telkomsel network director Sukardi Silalahi said.

    “Massive MIMO can increase the capacity without adding sites and spectrum, thus reducing the cost per bit. I am very satisfied with the demonstration results today.”

    He pledged to continue working with Huawei at the Joint Innovation Center to explore other network technology breakthroughs.

  • Facebook Disrupted International Fake Account Operation in Indonesia

    Facebook Disrupted International Fake Account Operation in Indonesia

    Facebook on Friday said it disrupted an international fake account operation that was firing off inauthentic ‘likes’ and bogus comments to win friends it would then pound with spam.

    Facebook’s security team spent six months fighting to neutralize what they saw as a coordinated campaign, according to Shabnam Shaik, a company security manager.

    ‘Our systems were able to identify a large portion of this illegitimate activity — and to remove a substantial number of inauthentic likes,’ Shaik said in a blog post.

    ‘By disrupting the campaign now, we expect that we will prevent this network of spammers from reaching its end goal of sending inauthentic material to large numbers of people.’

    The ring used accounts in a number of countries including Bangladesh, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia. The group tried to mask its activities with tactics like connecting with the social network through ‘proxy’ servers to disguise where ‘likes,’ posts or other communications were originating, according to Shaik.

    Facebook said the campaign aimed to trick people into connecting as friends they would later target with spam. The company said it had derailed the operation early enough to spare users that fate.

    The leading social network this week said it has started weeding out bogus accounts by watching for suspicious behavior such as repetitive posts or torrents of messages. The security improvement was described as being part of a broader effort to rid the leading social network of hoaxes, misinformation and fake news by verifying people’s identities.

    ‘We’ve found that when people represent themselves on Facebook the same way they do in real life, they act responsibly,’ Shaik said. ‘Fake accounts don’t follow this pattern, and are closely related to the creation and spread of spam.’

    Under pressure to stymie the spread of fake news, Facebook has taken a series of steps including making it easier to report such posts and harder to earn money from them.

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