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Tag: Indonesia

  • Greenpeace Claims HSBC Helped Financing Deforestation

    Greenpeace Claims HSBC Helped Financing Deforestation

    Greenpeace International launched a new report on Tuesday, January 17, 2017, accusing British HSBC of supporting deforestation. The report stated that British HSBC provided financial services to palm oil companies that are causing rainforest destruction and human rights abuses in Indonesia.

    The report titled “Dirty Bankers: How HSBC is financing forest destruction for palm oil“, claimed that HSBC has been involved in arranging US$16.3 billion of loans and credit facilities to six palm oil firms. In addition, the is also said to have raised US$2 billion bonds for these firms.

    The palm oil companies listed in the report are Malaysian firm IOI; Indonesian Bumitama Agri and Salim Group; Singapore incorporated Goodhope Asia; Hong Kong-based and Singapore-listed Noble Group; and Korea’s Posco Daewoo Corporation.

    Greenpeace argued that HSBC has violated its policies of responsible lending by helping to finance the above-mentioned companies.

    Annisa Rahmawati, Greenpeace Southeast Asia senior campaigner said that although HSBC claimed to be a respectable bank with responsible policies on deforestation, “somehow these fine words get forgotten when it’s time to sign the contracts.”

    Not only HSBC, the report also listed several other banks claimed to be related to case studies in the report, including Japan’s Sumitomo and Tokyo Mitsubishi banks; Singaporean bank DBS; and the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ).

    Despite the heavy criticism, the report did acknowledge HSBC as a “relatively progressive” bank that has shown a willingness to engage with criticism, and noted that the bank has a responsibility to set high standards for the rest of the sector.

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  • EazyDiner plans to dig into online restaurant booking in Indonesia, Thailand

    EazyDiner plans to dig into online restaurant booking in Indonesia, Thailand

    EazyDiner, a restaurant booking and reviews platform, is in talks with potential investors to raise a fresh round of funding to expand its international footprint in the New Year.

    The two-year-old company, which was co-founded by media personality Vir Sanghvi and six professionals with a background in food, beverages and hospitality sectors, has targeted Indonesia and Thailand as its next two markets.

    While company officials declined to share details of the upcoming equity financing round, they confirmed plans of entering the South East and South Asian markets over the next 12 months.

    EazyDiner launched services in Dubai in December. The startup, which combines the services of Google-owned dining guide Zagat, NYSE-listed restaurant review firm Yelp and Priceline-owned restaurant booking service OpenTable, is also backed by two consumer-focused venture capital firms, DSG Consumer Partners and Saama Capital.

    The funding and expansion come when investor interest in India’s broader foodtech space has waned, with the startup ecosystem littered with the still-smoking embers of ventures that promised to deliver exceptional dining experiences to the notoriously fickle-minded and priceconscious Indian consumer.

    The combination of wafer-thin margins on offer, coupled with low entry barriers and lack of sustainable business models, saw investors curtail their appetite for the ventures.

    EazyDiner has charted a different path for itself. The platform, which also provides content and reviews, operates one of the country’s largest dining loyalty programmes as well. “We were never, and in fact, will never get into food delivery. The economics just don’t make sense, at least in a market like India…We believe it requires a very different skill-set,” pointed out Aman Kapur, one of the cofounders.

    EazyDiner has raised about $4 million in funding till date and counts Gurpreet Kohli, former managing director of Chrys Capital, as one of its early backers. The company operates in seven locations – the National Capital Region, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Pune, Chennai and Goa.

    “The focus is to go deeper into our existing markets and really establish our footprints in each of them rather than just go on an unrestrained growth across geographies,” pointed out Shruti Kaul, another cofounder.

    The platform lists about 2,000 restaurants, with more than 500 spread across NCR. EazyDiner has provided most establishments with its proprietary SaaS-based table reservation platform and has a guaranteed inventory with the rest, enabling them to provide bookings to consumers on an immediate basis.

    Gurgaon, where the company is headquartered and where it first launched operations, has played a critical role. The NCR’s startup hub, which rivals Bengaluru in its concentration of the country’s new economy ventures, has played a significant part in its growth.

    “Gurgaon, possibly, deserves its own mention alongside Mumbai and Delhi. It’s the third-largest contributor after the two metros,” said Kaul. According to her, Gurgaon contributes 15% of the company’s business across the country, outpacing Bengaluru. “For a small suburb, it’s huge. We have about 275 restaurants in Gurgaon on our platform, ranging from luxury establishments to budget restaurants,” Kapur said.

    According to both founders, emergence of the Haryana city as a startup destination has played a role in defining, as well as evolving, consumer behaviour, particularly when it comes to dining habits. “The ability to experiment there is phenomenal and probably much more than the other metros… We also see that people living to working in Gurgaon, while traveling, indulge in a lot more cross-dining than any other city in India,” Kaul said.

    Analyses drawn from consumer behaviour in one of its earliest markets has prompted the founders to look for similar characteristics in every new area it enters. “We’ve actually learned alongside the consumer and the company’s grown even as the consumer has evolved and experimented,” Kapur said.

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  • Indosat Ooredoo ready to launch 4.5G technology

    Indosat Ooredoo ready to launch 4.5G technology

    PT Indosat Ooredoo is ready to launch its 4.5G technology in 2017 that is two times faster than its 4G predecessor, said a company spokesman.

    “We have been developing the 4.5G technology since 2012 and we are ready to launch this year, starting with the introduction of new technological infrastructures such as modernized BTS (Base Transceiver Station) in several regions,” according to its Group Head of Network Strategy and Solution, Yune Marketatmo, on Wednesday.

    Singapore and Malaysia are already ahead of Indonesia in launching the 4.5G technology, along with some European and Middle Eastern countries.

    Marketatmo also noted that in order to prepare for its introduction, the company has been working to place 4.5G data centers in several areas around Java since 2016, while the headquarters will be in Jakarta.

    “The data centers will be built in strategic locations close to customers so they can communicate easily and take advantage of this new technology,” he added.

    Marketatmo further explained that existing customers who are currently using 4G would be automatically upgraded to 4.5G. This will also apply to mobile devices that are compatible with the 4.5G technology.

    Indosat Ooredoo currently has 81.6 million customers and the company saw an increase of their data usage by 114.2 percent compared to previous years.

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  • KBank keen to buy Indonesian banks

    KBank keen to buy Indonesian banks

    The regulations require foreign banks to buy more than one bank, and that the targets must not be strong institutions.

    KBank president Pipit Aneaknithi said yesterday that the bank currently had partnerships with two banks in Indonesia, and was prepared in terms of facilities and capital to establish its own footprint in the Indonesian market.

    While Indonesia has very high potential for KBank and the takeover of local banks is an option, the requirement that foreign banks have to purchase more than one bank is something that it might not be particularly comfortable with, he said.

    The Bank of Thailand acknowledges this concern, he said, adding that market entry via the Qualified Asean Banks (QAB) scheme is another potential solution for KBank.

    The bank is therefore interested in applying for QAB status if the scheme’s framework is implemented.

    Meanwhile, the establishment of a physical branch in Indonesia is likely to be more difficult than doing so in Vietnam, which is another focus country for KBank, the president said.

    The best solution right now for KBank is therefore seen as the continued partnership with two local banks in Indonesia, he explained.

    Elsewhere in Asean, KBank currently has physical branches in two markets, one each in Cambodia and Laos.

    The Cambodian branch will be officially opened on February 8, with the Vientiane branch in Laos due to be opened later this year.

    With the presence of a physical branch in a foreign market not always the best solution, and the cost of establishing such an operation today a major matter, partnering with local banks is a tangible way to conduct business, he said.

    However, the difficulty is whether the bank and its partners have the same policy direction and share a similar interest in accommodating clients, he added.

    KBank, meanwhile, has been active in terms of international banking business in the past seven years by focusing on China, where it is upgrading to local banking this year.

    The market share of KBank in trade finance between Thailand and China has risen from 5 per cent to 15 per cent in seven years, Pipit said.

    He said the next step for KBank in tapping a regionalised trade-finance market dominated by China would be for the bank to facilitate financial services to Thai clients for business between one foreign country and another. “We should open a letter-of-credit service to our clients in China who want to run a business in Myanmar,” he said by way of example.

    Furthermore, KBank must embrace the digital platform in order to integrate its regional operating model.

    Under its banking-platform plan for 2016-2017, KBank must be able to service cross-border mobile transfers, multicurrency transactions and cross-border direct settlement, he stressed.

    KBank yesterday reported a 2016 net profit of Bt40.17 billion, some 1.77 per cent higher than the previous year’s level.

    The bank and its subsidiaries set aside a loan-loss reserve of Bt33.75 billion at the year’s end, up 28 per cent from Bt26.37 billion the year before.

    The higher reserve reflects the rise in non-performing loans last year, from 2.7 per cent to 3.32 per cent.

    Lending growth, meanwhile, supported net interest income, for which KBank recorded year-on-year growth of 5.5 per cent to Bt89.67 billion.

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  • Tax office to summon Google to clarify data on revenue

    Tax office to summon Google to clarify data on revenue

    Director General of Tax Ken Dwijugiasteadi gave an assurance on Wednesday that he would summon Google representatives to confirm data that it submitted regarding the companys revenue in Indonesia.

    “I have the data, so I will ask for their confirmation on whether the figures that they submitted are accurate,” said Dwijugiasteadi.

    He did not mention when the summons would be made, but the agenda for the meeting has been decided due to Googles history of tax avoidance. The authorities have requested for a copy of electronic data relating to revenues from advertisements.

    He also hoped that Google will respond to the summons so the process of paying income tax on their revenues, which had already been significantly delayed, can be completed quickly.

    Dwijugiasteadi said that every company that operate and collect revenues in Indonesia are obliged to meet their tax obligations and contribute appropriately by paying the correct taxes to the state.

    “Regulations must be met and my job is to enforce them accordingly. I do not threaten or use force,” he added.

    The head of the Jakarta regional office of the Directorate General of Tax, Muhammad Haniv, said that Google has yet to submit additional financial reports that they requested regarding revenue collected in Indonesia.

    “We cannot fully trust their statements as we are still waiting for further supporting documents. Their income from sources such as pay per click and other applications are yet to be accounted for,” he added.

    He further questioned Googles reluctance to be listed as a permanent company in Indonesia as the company is already operating many of its servers in the country.

    “They already have servers in Indonesia. That is the physical evidence. Being permanently established requires a physical presence,” said Haniv.

    According to the Directorate General of Tax, Google was registered as a legal entity in Indonesia at Tanah Abang Tax Office III in Central Jakarta as a foreign investment company in September 15, 2011 as subsidiary of Google Asia Pacific in Singapore.

    Based on Indonesian income tax law, Google must be declared as a permanent company and all its revenue or income within Indonesia must be taxed.

    However, Google has rejected further tax inspections from the authorities and it will not take the status of a permanent company, despite its revenue being in the trillions with the majority coming from advertisements.

  • University of Hong Kong sees increase in Indonesian student applications

    University of Hong Kong sees increase in Indonesian student applications

    Shopping, entertainment and leisure may be the three words synonymous with Hong Kong. However, those are no longer the only reasons for Indonesians to visit the region as it has become a destination to pursue higher education.

    Phillip Beh, chairman of the University of Hong Kong (HKU) Undergraduate Admissions Committee told on Saturday that the university had seen an increase in applications from Indonesian students since it opened its first undergraduate admission interviews in Indonesia in the academic year of 2014/15.

    Beh said on average 200 applications are received from Indonesian students annually. However, applicants face tight competition as only 400 international students are accepted into the university each year. At present, there are about 90 Indonesian students enrolled in HKU, mostly majoring in Food and Nutritional Science and Risk Management.

    Pinto ‘Pipin’ Rasika Tasdyata (center-left) and Jelita Amidjaja (center-right) talking with other Indonesian students who act as observers in HKU’s open house, undergraduate admission interviews at South Jakarta, Saturday.(JP/Masajeng Rahmiasri)

    Jelita Amidjaja, alumni of BPK Penabur 1 High School Jakarta currently studies Actuarial Science in HKU. She chose Hong Kong mainly because of its reputation as the melting pot of Asian and Western culture, besides its proximity to mainland China which allows her to study Chinese culture. “Right now, China is a strong country, so you would want to learn about the culture,” she said.

    Pinto “Pipin” Rasika Tasdyata studies Business Administration (Internal Business and Global Management) in HKU.  She said that what appealed to her about Hong Kong apart from its culture was the business prospects of the region. “It is the business hub that people recognize. I know Hong Kong and China will grow,” she said.

    Global university ranking publication, QS World University Rankings ranked HKU at 27th place in its 2016 world rankings, while UK-based education publication, Times Higher Education puts HKU in third position in its international outlook in 2016. Apart from its academic reputation, Indonesian students Pipin and Jelita also aim to gain future opportunities via HKU’s connections.

    “It is a very connected university. There are opportunities that I can get from there, from internships, overseas partners, and many more,” Pipin said, adding that the university also sends daily emails to students containing news about internships and various opportunities.

    Indonesian parents who send their children to HKU take into consideration the relative tuition fees. Taman Djojomitro, a parent who accompanied his son to HKU’s open house last Saturday highlighted the study cost comparison with the United States, “It’s quite expensive to study in America, especially when the exchange rate is Rp 13,000 to the dollar now.”

    Yearly tuition fees for international students in HKU start from HK$146,000 (US$18,824). With accommodation fees within the range of HK$12,000 to HK$26,000 plus living costs of approximately HK$40,000 per year, it is a significant difference to what normally constitutes average spending when studying abroad. According to QS World University Rankings, the average total cost of studying in a public university in the US currently averages $39,890 for international students.

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  • Indonesia seen holding rates on rupiah, inflation concerns

    Indonesia seen holding rates on rupiah, inflation concerns

    Indonesia’s central bank is widely expected to keep its benchmark policy rate unchanged on Thursday as it monitors the rupiah’s movement at a time of global uncertainty and price pressures at home.

    Bank Indonesia (BI) cut its benchmark six times last year, by 150 basis points, to 4.75% to aid economic growth. During 2016, the inflation rate was low, current account deficit comfortable and the rupiah relatively stable.

    All 22 analysts in a Reuters poll predicted the central bank will leave the main rate unchanged on Thursday.

    “BI’s monetary policy easing cycle may have come to an end,” the World Bank said in a report published on Tuesday.

    It said the space for easing is more constrained than in October – when BI made its last trim – “given US interest rate normalisation and downward pressure on the rupiah”.

    Capital Economics said BI is also likely to consider risks of higher inflation due to government plans to hike some liquefied petroleum gas prices and electricity tariffs.

    “BI expects this to push inflation towards the top of its target range, weakening the case for further monetary loosening,” the consultancy wrote on Monday.

    Higher Inflation Seen

    Earlier this month, BI deputy governor Perry Warjiyo said that although the central bank has room for more easing, it needs to “calibrate” an expected acceleration in inflation when deciding its main rate.

    He said inflation may rise to 4.6% in 2017 due to adjustments in administered prices, from 3.02% in December.

    Warjiyo, hinting at a hold on Thursday, said BI may prefer to use liquidity management tools to support economic growth, while its main policy rate will be used to maintain financial market stability.

    Some analysts said South-East Asia’s largest economy still needs loosening to lift sluggish growth, which slowed to 5.02% in the third quarter and may slow again to 4.97%, according to BI’s forecast.

    Out of seven analysts who gave views for the benchmark at the end of March, three saw BI making a 25-basis-point cut to 4.50% while the other four projected no change.

    Taimur Baig, Deutsche Bank’s chief Asia economist, said “Indonesia’s economic turnaround, which seemed apparent in the first half of last year, appears to have stalled” and that might prompt BI to cut before April.

    DBS economist Gundy Cahyadi also sees a cut, but not until 2017’s second half.

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  • Insurer Sun Life Indonesia values qualified agents

    Insurer Sun Life Indonesia values qualified agents

    Life insurer Sun Life Indonesia aims to have more qualified agents to market their products rather than just make the numbers, the company top executive has said.

    The firm gathered on Friday 1,000 of its most high-achieving agents for the annual “Year Start” event in Jakarta to brief them of the insurer’s vision this year and to ensure them to be ready to face a more competitive insurance industry.

    “We are launching several new initiatives in 2017, which are designed to improve our marketing agents’ productivity and to also encourage them to develop their skills and capacity,” Sun Life president director Elin Waty said.

    She added that the agency’s contribution reached around 55 percent of the firm’s insurance distribution last year and the company planned to have a similar share this year.

    The insurer uses a contract maintenance system, which obliges its agents to achieve certain targets or their contracts will be terminated to ensure the company has capable agents.

    “If this contract maintenance system wasn’t implemented, my agents would probably number 100,000,” Elin said.

    Currently, Sun Life has around 10,100 agents nationwide, a steady increase from its 9,000 agents in 2015.

    “We aim to do better in 2017 by focusing on our human resources, technology and brand,” said Sun Life Asia president Kevin Strain.

  • Chinese tourists visiting Bali up 41.28 percent in number

    Chinese tourists visiting Bali up 41.28 percent in number

    The number of visits by Chinese tourists to Bali rose 41.28 percent to 907,028 in the first 11 months of 2016 from 642,000 in the same period in 2015.

    “Most of them flew directly to Bali via the Denpasar International Airport of Ngurah Rai with only 886 of the visits by sea as passengers of tourist boats, head of the Provincial Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) Adi Nugroho said here on Thursday.

    He said Chinese made up 20.22 percent of the total number of 4.48 million visits by foreign tourists to Bali in the January-November period of 2016.

    China is now the second largest country of origin of foreign tourists to Bali after Australia.

    Adi Nugroho said the number of visits by Australian tourists to Bali in the same period totaled 1.04 million, up 19.46 percent from 876,748 visits in the same period in the previous year.

    Australia accounted for 23.35 percent of the total number of visits by foreign tourists to Bali topping other countries, he added.

    Meanwhile, tourism observer Tjokorda Gde Agung said Chinese, who had come in throngs for holidaying in Bali could soon overtake Australians in number.

    “It is very likely especially with the growing number of direct flights between Denpasar and Chinese cities,” Tjokorda said.

    The nations flag carrier Garuda Indonesia itself already served regular flights directly between Bali and China, he said.

    “The direct flights would certainly contribute greatly to growing number of Chinese tourists to Bali,” he said.

    The 41.28 percent increase was the second highest after a 60.59 percent increase recorded in the number of Indian visitors to Bali in the same period.

    The number of visits from 10 largest countries of origin all increased excepting from Malaysia and South Korea.

    With the trend , the target of 5.5 million visitors to Bali set for 2017 is expected to be easily reached.

    Indonesia hopes to draw more Chinese tourists to meet its target of 20 million visits by foreign tourists in 2019 from the target of 12 million in 2016.

    China has become a potential tourism market. A record high of 133 million Chinese tourists were estimated to make outbound trips by the end of 2016, according to the report released by the China Tourism Academy and the financial services company UnionPay International.

    The figure would mark an 11.5 per cent rise from 2015.

    Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan remain the top choices for mainland tourists, according to a report.

    Chinese tourists are increasingly getting involved in leisure activities and learning about local lifestyles when traveling overseas rather than just shopping, according to the report.

    Chinese tourists spent US$104.5 billion overseas in 2015, up 16.6 per cent from 2014, and a growing number of foreign countries including Indonesia are relaxing their visa requirements for Chinese tourists to tap their purchasing power.

    Tourists from China along with many other countries are offered visa free travel by Indonesia.

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  • Trump’s Indonesian Business Partner to Attend Inauguration

    Trump’s Indonesian Business Partner to Attend Inauguration

    The Indonesian business partner of President-elect Donald Trump will be attending next week’s inauguration and also plans business meetings with Trump family members, his spokesman said Friday.

    Trump’s ties to Hary Tanoesoedibjo are among the many conflicts of interest he could face as the 45th U.S. president. The property billionaire’s presidency is shaping up to have unprecedented potential to muddy U.S. national interests with his personal business interests.

    Tanoesoedibjo, usually known as Tanoe, is the founder of media and real estate conglomerate MNC Group and also has political aspirations in Indonesia.

    The ethnic Chinese and Christian businessman has founded a political party and has said he wants to be president, though that is unlikely in Muslim-majority Indonesia because of historical antipathy to its tiny Chinese minority and the country’s current climate of rising religious intolerance.

    MNC’s corporate secretary Arya Sinulingga said that Tanoe and his wife were invited to the Jan. 20 inauguration and before that will have business meetings including with Trump’s two oldest sons.

    “He will meet his business partners ahead of the inauguration to bolster some business deals,” Sinulingga said.

    Tanoe’s company plans to start building two resorts in Indonesia this year that Trump’s business is associated with through management and licensing deals.

    A planned “six star” luxury resort on the tourist island of Bali would be the first hotel in Asia under the Trump Hotel brand. The second planned resort is in West Java’s Sukabumi, about 100 kilometers (62 miles) southwest of the capital Jakarta.

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  • Household consumption key to achieving economic growth in 2018

    Household consumption key to achieving economic growth in 2018

    The head of Indonesias National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas), Bambang Brodjonegoro, has said household consumption and inflation will be the key to achieving higher economic growth in 2018.

    “To ensure consistent growth, the best recipe is to maintain the rise in household consumption, while keeping the growth at five percent or more,” Bambang said as he provided directives at a Bappenas consultation gathering in Jakarta on Friday.

    According to Bambang, household consumption will rise only when consumers have confidence about economic outlook and spend money.

    Bamang stressed that the central and regional governments should be able to ensure a perception of a normally-running economy so that people are willing to spend money.

    “If people spend money (to shop), it means household consumption is increasing, which boosts economic growth. When people shop, retail trade increases, large trade also rises, and the economy registers growth,” explained Bambang.

    Meanwhile, inflation itself should be kept as low as possible. According to Bambang, controlling inflation was the most effective way of maintaining purchasing power.

    If inflation is allowed to erode purchasing power, he added, the growth in household consumption will also be affected.

    When it comes to inflation itself, three factors can have an impact. These are a rise in food prices, change in government-set (administered) prices and core inflation. As far as core inflation is concerned, it is the task of Bank Indonesia to control the availability and demand for money. The administered price falls under the central governments authority.

    Bambang reminded that at times, two aspects can be controlled but food prices can become volatile. As a result, inflation seems higher than it should be.

    “This becomes a matter of concern in the region. Of course, there are no specific instances in the region about dealing with inflation, and response should be coordinated. But it needs to be consistently ensured that inflation should be kept as low as possible by maintaining food price stability and meet the peoples food needs,” Bambang concluded.

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  • Indonesia expects more investment from Japan

    Indonesia expects more investment from Japan

    Indonesia is hoping for more investment from Japan after the scheduled meeting between President Joko Widodo and Japans Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

    This was said by Thomas Lembong, the chief of the Indonesian Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM), here on Friday.

    Shinzo Abe is scheduled to arrive in Indonesia for a two-day state visit on Sunday and Monday.

    The BKPM chief said Japan has so far been the countrys second biggest investor, focusing mainly on the infrastructure sector.

    “Projects such as power plants and Jakartas mass rapid transport system are funded by Japanese investment. In terms of investment, Japan is indeed one of our important clients,” he said in a press statement.

    Thomas Lembong said investment relations between the two countries have so far been going very well.

    “I think the Japanese premiers visit will be good for us. I also visited Japan five weeks ago and met with Japanese representatives from their chamber of commerce as well as many investors. Both countries have close relations. Japan has been an investor in Indonesia for decades now, and has been the second or the third biggest investor in the country,” he added.

    He stressed that Japanese investors have been involved in many infrastructure projects in 2016, such as power plants and the Surabaya-Sorong sea toll road project, both operational now.

    In 2017, Japanese investors plan to also invest in the real estate and property sectors.

    “Discussions have been also on about starting a medium-express train service from Jakarta to Surabaya in East Java and Japan seems interested in it. A Patimban port development project located towards the east of Jakarta and close to the automotive industrial cluster is also on the anvil. All Japanese automotive industries are there. If a big port is available there, it will make our automotive exports more efficient. The Patimban project will also be funded by the Japanese investment,” he revealed.

    Saribua Siahaan, the BKPM Japan investment promotion official, explained that a Japanese company operating in the property sector is cooperating with a local partner to realize its plan to develop housing projects across Indonesia.

    The low-cost residential development program will cater to low-income people and will match the governments one-million houses development program.

    He pointed out that Japanese investors entering the real estate and property sectors will have different market targets.

    “Some plan to carry out property development particularly catering to expatriates and middle-class and higher strata, while others target workers in industrial zones. Right now, we are still coordinating with the BKPM office in Jakarta to facilitate a big Japanese group that has signed an agreement with a housing company in Indonesia,” he informed.

    Besides discussing investment in the manufacturing sector, Japanese Prime Minister Abe would also discuss investment in the Indonesian governments other prioritized sectors.

    PM Abe plans to bring along a number of executives from companies wishing to invest in Indonesia.

    Based on BKPM data, Japan had invested US$1.6 billion in 425 projects until the third quarter in 2016 to make it the second biggest investor in Indonesia.

    This was a significant increase from US$917.27 million in 399 projects in the same period in 2015.

    Cumulatively, from January to September 2016, Japans total investment realization had reached US$4.4 billion.

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  • Banten`s exports up 28.43% in value

    Banten`s exports up 28.43% in value

    Banten recorded a 28.43% increase in exports to US$941.27 million in November 2016 from the same period a year earlier.

    The increase was attributable mainly to 27.08 percent in the exports of commodities other than oil and gas, according to the regional office of the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS).

    The exports in November also rose 20.01% from US$784.34 million in October that year, head of the regional BPS office Agoes Soebeno said here on Friday.

    Cumulatively, exports in the first 11 months of 2016 were valued at US$8,387.89 million, up 0.91% from the same period in 2015. Exports of oil and gas rose 89.82% and those of commodities other than oil and gas rose 0.71%.

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  • Bank Indonesia forecasts current account deficit at 1.8% of GDP

    Bank Indonesia forecasts current account deficit at 1.8% of GDP

    Bank Indonesia (BI) had forecast that the countrys current account deficit last year would fall to 1.8 percent of the national gross domestic product (GDP) as compared to 2.06 percent a year earlier.

    The decline in the current account deficit would chiefly be the result of steady trade surplus, BI Deputy Governor Perry Warjiyo stated here on Friday.

    According to the Central Statistics Agency, the country had recorded a trade surplus of US$840 million in November 2016, although it fell from $1.21 billion a month earlier.

    “Hence, we forecast the current account deficit in the fourth quarter of 2016 to reach 1.9 percent of the GDP,” Warjiyo remarked at the BI Head Office.

    Current account is an indicator of the exports of goods and services from a country to other nations and vice versa. Current account is divided into current accounts of goods and services.

    When current account is in deficit, it means that imports are larger than exports. If the current account deficit steadily falls, exports and imports are improving.

    On the other hand, the declining current account deficit will improve the balance of payment (NPI), which comprises current account, capital and financial account, and foreign exchange reserves.

    “Indonesias foreign exchange reserves at the end of December 2016 rose to $116 billion, suggesting that the NPI will be positive (surplus), coupled with large foreign capital inflows,” Warjiyo added.

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  • Indonesia’s seaweed exports estimated to shrink 30 percent in 2016

    Indonesia’s seaweed exports estimated to shrink 30 percent in 2016

    The Indonesian Seaweed Association (ARLI) estimated that the countrys exports of seaweed shrank 30 percent in value from US$205.4 million in 2015.

    ARLI general chairman Safari Azis attributed the decline to weak demand amid the global economic crisis and U.S. policy in organic products.

    “In 2016, (seaweed exports) dropped around 30 percent . There was issue in 2016 that the United States would exclude processed seaweed from its list of organic products,” Safari said in a discussion here on Tuesday.

    Based on statistic data at the Marine and Fisheries Ministry, the countrys production of seaweed totaled 1.12 million tons in 2015. Around 21 percent or 236,900 tons of the production were exported to various countries including 97 percent in raw material and 3 percent in processed products.

    The exports of raw seaweed were valued at US$160.4 million and exports of finish products of seaweed was worth US$45 million or 22 percent of the total value.

    In 2016 , in the first 8 months , exports of raw seaweed totaled 121,500 tons valued at US$80 million ; and exports of processed products of seaweed totaled 4,000 tons valued at US$25.4 million.

    Apart from the report that the United States would exclude processed products of seaweed from its list of organic products, there are many factors hampering exports of that commodity, such as export restriction and plan to slap export tax on seaweed.

    “The government plans to impose an export tax of 20-40 percent on raw seaweed . The plan, however, has been shelved. The export tax was planned without consultation with the business players,” Safari said.

    The government is expected to offer incentives for the business players especially investors in seaweed cultivation and industry, he said.

    ARLI predicted that in 2017, exports of seaweed would increase both in raw material and processed products.

    ARLI also hopes more support from the government to develop and boost business in seaweed in the upstream as well downstream asn integrated industry.

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