Day: September 8, 2021

The Religious Affairs Ministry has launched the Free Halal Certification Program (Sehati) to facilitate and support micro and small enterprises (MSEs) so they can help improve the national economy.

“I welcome and appreciate this program. During this time of pandemic, where the business climate is (not doing so good), the presence of free halal certification for micro and small enterprises has become an oasis that fosters hope,” Religious Affairs Ministry Yaqut Cholil Qoumas said while launching the program on Wednesday.

Halal certification is meant to ensure micro and small businesses players meet both hygiene as well as halal requirements and to build a positive image of halal certification in Indonesia, the minister informed.

The global community today equates halal products with quality and hygiene assurance, the minister noted. Thus, it was not so surprising that the development of halal products has continued to increase, even becoming a global lifestyle, he added.

“The Sehati program is aimed at micro and small enterprises, because most of them do not have halal certification. Through this free halal certification, it is expected that more micro and small enterprises can penetrate the global halal market,” he elaborated.

Meanwhile, acting head of the Halal Product Assurance Agency (BPJPH), Mastuki, said Sehati is a collaborative program between BPJPH and ministries, agencies, local governments, agencies, and private players. The goal is to provide free halal certification to micro and small enterprises, he added.

“The priority for micro and small enterprises, apart from being a mandate of Government Regulation No. 39 of 2021, also aims to encourage and stimulate the national economy, which is mostly supported by micro and small enterprises players,” Mastuki said.

The Sehati program initiative is based on the fact that many ministries, institutions, agencies, local governments, state- or region-owned enterprises, and the community allocate budgets for facilitating the halal certification of micro and small enterprises, he added.

In 2020, the Religious Affairs Ministry set aside a budget of Rp8 billion (more than US$560 million) for halal certification of around 3,179 micro and small enterprises, Mastuki disclosed. The same year, at least 36 local government offices assisted micro and small enterprises obtain halal certification through the Halal Product Assurance Agency, he added.

“This number is indeed still low when compared to the number of micro and small enterprises that have mandatory halal-certified products. The data we have gathered shows that 13.5 million micro and small enterprises are in the category of being subject to halal-certified obligations,” he informed.

This year, the Halal Product Assurance Agency is collaborating with ministries, institutions, and agencies once more so more micro and small enterprises can obtain halal certificates, he said.

“Hopefully, the facilitation in the form of financing can be channeled properly, according to the target, and the benefits can be taken by as many micro and small enterprises actors as possible,” he added.

Source: Antara News

The COVID-19 pandemic, which has restricted people’s mobility, has impacted the tourism sector’s sustainability in the country.

According to Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy, Sandiaga Uno, the tourism sector has experienced a difficult period during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In order for the tourism sector to survive and continue to contribute to the national economy, the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy has launched a program for developing five super priority tourist destinations, he said.

This is part of the ’10 New Bali’ program launched by the government. The destinations selected for the program are later expected to foster a creative economy which can greatly benefit local residents, the minister said.

The super priority tourist destinations are Labuan Bajo, East Nusa Tenggara; Mandalika, West Nusa Tenggara; Lake Toba, North Sumatra; Likupang, North Sulawesi; and Borobudur, Central Java.

The government is aiming to complete the five tourist destinations by the end of 2021 after pushing back the initial deadline, which was the end of 2020, the minister said.

The tourism destinations are targeted to attract domestic tourists with their own uniqueness, Uno said. Data has pegged domestic tourist spending on travel abroad at Rp150 trillion, he noted.

Through the presence of five new super priority destinations in strategic national tourism areas, the government hopes to take the opportunity to reallocate some of the domestic tourism spending to be used for traveling abroad.

The tourism format presented by tourism actors and the creative economy has also been changed by implementing the concepts of personalized, customized, localized, and smaller size travel packages, Uno said.

Personalized tours mean tours that are private or limited to families, while customized tours involve tourism actors preparing itineraries that meet the needs of tourists, such as green open spaces, beaches, or even preparing local cultural experiences through tourism villages, he explained.

Localized tours refer to tours prepared for the domestic community that can be presented without venturing far from home, while small size tours are organized for tourist attractions that do not accommodate many people so visitors can explore more things at the tourism destination, he added.

“These local tourism stakeholders are focusing on providing health and safety-based tourism for tourists. I am sure the number of domestic tourists will return and with the increase in CHSE (Clean, Health, Safety, and Environment) certification. We will push so that 34 million creative economy actors can not just survive, but seize the opportunity to bounce back amid this pandemic,” Uno said.

One of the five super priority tourist destinations, Likupang, was initiated as a Special Economic Zone (SEZ). With an area of 197.4 hectares, the SEZ was built in East Likupang sub-district, North Minahasa.

A two-hour drive from Manado, Likupang has several beaches with white sands and picturesque scenery, namely Pulisan Beach and Hill and Paal Beach, Uno said. This area is also close to Lihaga Island and Gangga Island, which are known for their snorkeling and diving spots; not to mention Likupang Beach, which is home to a rare species of green turtle; it is also a habitat for Maleo and Black Macaques, the minister added.

Not only is it an attractive option for sports and marine tourism, tourists can enjoy special local dishes, such as rica-rica chicken, woku fish, various types of processed fish, and tinutuan porridge, which contains vegetables such as spinach, kale, basil, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, and corn, Uno noted.

There is also goroho banana, similar to banana chips, served with chili sauce, which is best consumed with a cup of coffee or tea, he added. Tourists can also enjoy a snack called panada, made of fried bread stuffed with shredded tuna, he continued.

Proud to Travel Indonesia

Through the Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and Investment, the government has continued to accelerate the recovery of the tourism sector and the creative economy. To that end, the government has been promoting the ‘Proud Traveling Program in Indonesia’ (Bangga Berwisata Indonesia/BWI).

Coordinating Minister Luhut B Pandjaitan said the main problem in the tourism sector has been the decline in the number of domestic trips and the reduced value of spending per trip by domestic tourists. Therefore, the program is expected to build a sense of pride and ownership in traveling in the country. This is aimed at encouraging longer stays and higher travel expenditure, he added.

“It is estimated that domestic tourism will recover one-two years faster than overseas tourism. International tourism will recover at the end of 2022 or early 2023. Therefore, the development of five super priority tourism destinations must be accelerated so that when tourism recovers, tourists can enjoy qualified destinations,” Pandjaitan said.

The government is also promoting the tagline #DiIndonesiaAja (Stay In Indonesia), hoping it will resonate with the public. Tourism has declined 70 percent and trust in travel is low, therefore, tourism recovery must focus on domestic tourists, especially millennials, he added.

“According to the President’s direction, we will focus on tourism recovery to be carried out in five DPSPs as well as a trial run. Creative economy products will also be launched as well as efforts made to continue to innovate, adapt, and collaborate with the Proud Traveling concept in Indonesia,” Minister Uno said.

The campaign is synergized with the ‘Proudly Made in Indonesia National Movement’ (Bangga Buatan Nasional/Gernas BBI), which was first inaugurated by President Joko Widodo in May 2020.

The campaign aimed to encourage the public to buy products made by local MSMEs to support the sustainability of their business during the COVID-19 pandemic, Uno said.

The movement continued in 2021 and was officially launched through a ceremony at I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport, Bali on January 11, 2021. Later, it was expanded to Sulawesi with the theme #PelangiSulawesi, which was officially launched on August 26, 2021, he informed.

Themed “From Sulawesi to Abroad”, the movement aims to promote tourism potential and MSMEs in Likupang, North Minahasa, North Sulawesi, the minister said. The government has built a culinary and souvenir hawker center in Likupang to help MSMEs market their superior products in the tourism area in an effort to support the economy of the Likupang community, he added.

Digital Financing

To support the BWI Program, the government is continuing to encourage digital payments, even for small things, such as for the use of toilet facilities. Digital payments using the QR Code, namely the Indonesian Standard Quick Response Code (QRIS), are being carried out to encourage transparency and reduce cash-based risks.

QRIS was developed by the payment system industry and Bank Indonesia to make the transaction process with QR Codes easier, faster, and secure. Through #PelangiSulawesi, Bank Indonesia hopes to increase the use of QRIS so that the digitalization target in North Sulawesi can soon be realized.

Through QRIS, all payment applications from any provider, both bank and non-bank, that are used by the public can be used in all shops, merchants, stalls, parking lots, tourist tickets, donations (merchants) bearing the QRIS logo.

“Let’s not forget to use QRIS, which until July 31 (2021), has reached 459,346 merchants throughout Sulawesi, an increase of 114 percent (yoy),” Governor of Bank Indonesia, Perry Warjiyo, stated.

He explained that the increased use of QRIS cannot be separated from the synergy and collaboration that is increasingly being strengthened between BI, tourism players, banking, especially BNI as a top brand, the government, and the Sulawesi’s National Craft Council.

BNI took part in #PelangiSulawesi by curating and providing assistance to 111 MSMEs that have products with global competitiveness, including cloth craft products, processed foods, and coffee, he said. Most MSMEs that passed the curation have been registered by BNI in various marketplaces such as Blibli, Bukalapak, and Shopee, he added.

BNI deputy president director Adi Sulistyowati said that Gernas BBI 2021 is in line with BNI’s focus on supporting the MSME sector through a series of activities, which include the Entrepreneur Heroes Program, the Business Idea Festival, the MSME Digital Market, the BNI Trade Forum, and Xpora, which seek to help Indonesian MSMEs become more advanced and developed in terms of globalization and digitization.

“Through the Xpora program, BNI offers an integrated digital solution that will help MSMEs to carry out export transactions in the global market with three main features, namely go productive, go digital, and go global,” Sulistyowati explained.

BNI has also held a number of webinars entitled ‘UMKM Go Export’, ‘MSME Partnership with Marketplace’, ‘Tips for Selling Online’, and ‘Education of Cashless Transactions with QRIS’, he said.

To enliven #PelangiSulawesi, BNI is also providing promotional offers to credit and debit card users. The promos range from 85 percent discounts to zero percent installments in different marketplaces.

Source: Antara News

The linking of natural gas transmission pipelines in Java and Sumatra will increase the growth of national industry and economy, an official from the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry has said.

“It will greatly assist industrial growth in Sumatra and Java, thereby increasing national economic growth,” director general of oil and gas at the ministry, Tutuka Ariaji, said during a webinar entitled ‘Tackling Future Energy Demand through Innovation and Collaborations’, which was accessed from here on Wednesday.

Currently, the government is accelerating the construction of two strategic natural gas transmission pipeline projects, comprising the 255-km Cirebon-Semarang section on Java Island and the 386-km Dumai-Sei Mangkei section on Sumatra Island, he informed.

The sections will further extend the linkage of the gas pipelines of the two islands, Ariaji said.

The construction of the Cirebon-Semarang pipeline section will be undertaken in two stages — the Semarang-Batang segment will be built in 2022 and Batang-Cirebon segment in 2023, he said. The project will be financed by the state budget, he added.

The Downstream Oil and Gas Regulatory Board (BPH Migas) has proposed an investment of Rp1 trillion for the construction of the natural gas transmission pipeline for the Semarang-Batang segment in next year’s budget plan, Ariaji said.

However, BPH Migas is open to funding through the state budget or a public-private partnership (KPBU) scheme for the Batang-Cirebon segment project, he informed. The estimated budget for the segment is Rp1.89 trillion, he added.

Meanwhile, the transmission pipeline construction project for the Dumai-Sei Mangkei section has been carried out since 2014 and will be re-adjusted prior to the termination of gas supply from the Corridor Block to Singapore in 2023, he informed.

The transmission pipeline construction on the island of Sumatra is intended to meet domestic needs, especially the demand of the industrial sector and for power generation, he noted. Thus, the gas exploration with a capacity of 300 million standard cubic feet per day from the Corridor Block will no longer be exported to Singapore or other countries, he added.

“In Java regions, the Cirebon-Semarang pipeline is expected to be built in the next few years. The government also plans to construct the Dumai-Sei Mangkei pipeline to connect the gas network from North Sumatra to East Java,” Ariaji said.

The government is committed to encouraging the increase of reserves, oil and gas production, as well as optimizing the use of natural gas for domestic needs, which are currently recorded at 63.9 percent, he added.

According to the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry, the realization of natural gas’s contribution to the national energy mix last year was 19.36 percent. Furthermore, it is targeted to increase to 22 percent in 2025.

Currently, the potential national gas reserves have reached 62.4 trillion cubic feet (TCF), with 43.6 TCF of proven reserves that can be produced over the next 20 years, Ariaji said.

As much as 85 percent of the total potential is located in the eastern regions of Indonesia, thus infrastructure development is key for maximizing the potential of the commodity to support the energy transition and encourage national economic growth, he added.

Source: Antara News

The government is targeting to help 32 million micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) enter the digital market system by 2024, Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, has said.

“We have a target until 2024, there are 32 million MSMEs to enter the digital system,” the minister said at the launch of the ‘Proud of Made in Indonesia Products (Gernas BBI) 2021 Movement for Aceh Variety’ in Banda Aceh on Wednesday.

Strengthening MSMEs to enter the digital system is the goal of the Gernas BBI program, he added.

So far, all ranks from tourism, MSMEs have done a pretty good job in accelerating the digitization of MSMEs, Pandjaitan noted.

“Now I think the team work, both from the tourism team and the MSMEs, has gone quite well. I think it is almost 15.5 million (SME onboarding), so I think it is pretty good,” he said.

In particular, Aceh must make good use of all the natural potential that exists in the Tanah Rencong area for the tourism sector, marine fisheries, plantations, and the energy development sector, he added.

“Aceh is great, it has a farm like Gayo coffee, with an area of more than 50 thousand hectares, super rich in fish, quite a lot of tourism and energy, but I entrust it so that we work well together,” Pandjaitan remarked.

He visited Aceh on Wednesday for the launch of ‘Gernas BBI for Aceh Variety’ which was themed ‘The Special Aroma of Aceh’s Culinary, Fish vs. Coffee’.

The event was also attended by Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (KKP), Sakti Wahyu Trenggono, Governor of Aceh, Nova Iriansyah, member of the House of Representatives from Aceh TA Khalid, member of the Regional Representatives Council (DPD) from Aceh, Abdullah Puteh, and Governor of Bank Indonesia, Perry Warjiyo.

‘Gernas BBI for Variety Aceh’ is a continuation of the Gernas BBI program that has been carried out since 2020 to increase the potential of Indonesian MSMEs. The Gernas BBI for Aceh was themed ‘Special Aroma of Culinary Aceh #Indonesian Sea Market’.

Through the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Gernas BBI enlisted KKP’s leading MSMEs with the aim of increasing fish consumption and MSME products in the marine sector.

Source: Antara News

Youth and Sports Minister Zainudin Amali has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the chairman of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin), Arsjad Rasjid, for the development of the domestic sports industry.

According to the ministry, the domestic sports industry is not taken seriously, thus there are not many local products from the industry which can compete in the international market.

According to ministry data, around 250 companies are engaged in the sports industry; however, only one company has been certified so far.

“It is not easy for our industry to be able to enter the international market since it is the international federation of the respective sports which determines the certification and standardization of the products,” the minister said in a virtual press conference.

He said he hoped that the collaboration with Kadin would help companies engaged in the sports industry to meet international standards and become certified so that people will no longer hesitate to use domestic services and products. Many parties still used foreign services and products at the 2018 Asian Games and Asian Para Games, Amali said. Hence, if it meets international standards, the sports industry can be a promising sector as athletes from many sports disciplines are competing professionally, he added.

Moreover, the number of sports industries meeting international standards will also have an impact on national economic growth since the production of sports goods and equipment will also increase, he pointed out.

“I think this is a challenge as well as an opportunity to encourage and nurture the industry. Hence, I hope Mr. Rasjid’s chairmanship in Kadin will be able to increase at least 10 standardized sports industries certified by international federations. Thus, we can be proud to use our products at international level competitions,” Amali said.

Meanwhile, Rasjid said he expects Kadin along with the entrepreneurs to contribute to building the sports industry as well as help the nation emerge from the economic challenges created by the pandemic.

“Today, we face the challenge of realizing the Indonesian sports industry together, thus it can compete domestically and internationally to support our domestic economy,” he remarked.

Source: Antara News