Day: July 16, 2022

Bank Indonesia (BI) recorded that the number of merchants utilizing its Indonesian Standard Quick Response Code (QRIS) currently stood at 19 million since being launched on August 17, 2019.

Of the total figure, 90 percent are micro, small, and medium enterprises. QRIS makes payments easier, cheaper, and faster, so that all parties are benefited.

“QRIS is one of the many initiatives we have taken to promote financial inclusion,” Senior Deputy Governor of BI Destry Damayanti stated at the G20 side event titled “Digital Finance to Support Financial Inclusion” here on Saturday.

Damayanti highlighted BI’s unwavering readiness to support financial inclusion, starting with the Indonesia Payment Systems Blueprint 2025 in place to open access for millions of people, who are still unreachable by banks and MSMEs through digitalization.

In this era, the digitalization of payment systems has proven to be a game changer. Payment systems are also the backbone for the formation of a new economic ecosystem called the digital and financial economy ecosystem.

She noted that digital economy and finance will be interconnected and integrated with each other. In recent years, technology-driven innovation of payment systems had led to the creation of economic options.

“These economic options are created through new business models, new players, the transformation of consumer behavior, economic landscape, and finance,” she pointed out.

In addition, the evolution of payments through digitalization has offered new opportunities, minimized barriers, and lowered transaction costs, she remarked.

As a result, financial services have become more affordable, accessible, and inclusive, including to the current unbanked population and MSMEs that were earlier less familiar with finance and technology.

She emphasized that with wider access, every economic actor has a more equal opportunity to develop and be creative in more inclusive growth.

 

 

Source: Antara News

Bank Indonesia (BI) and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) agreed to expand payments system cooperation and strengthen information exchange in the field of central banking, including on payments systems, digital financial innovation, and regulatory frameworks.

They also expanded cooperation on supervision within the Anti-Money Laundering and Prevention of Terrorism Financing (APU-PPT) framework.

The expansion of cooperation was carried out through the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the sidelines of the third G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) Meeting in Nusa Dua, here on Saturday.

“This MoU is an important milestone for the relationship between BI and the Reserve Bank of India. It has been a long time since the two central banks worked together, and this MoU will confirm a more solid collaboration in the future,” BI Governor Perry Warjiyo said in an official statement.

In the future, this relationship will result in beneficial achievements for the two central banks and the people of the two countries, he added.

The signing of the MoU was carried out by BI Deputy Governor Dody Budi Waluyo and RBI Deputy Governor Michael Debabrata Patra, and was witnessed by BI Governor Perry Warjiyo and RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das.

The MoU provides a good foundation for the two parties to foster mutual understanding, develop efficient payments systems, and expand cross-border payment connectivity, Warjiyo said.

These initiatives will be implemented through regular interactions discussing the latest economic and financial developments and issues, technical cooperation through joint training and seminars, and cooperation to explore cross-border retail payments system connectivity.

On the same occasion, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das lauded Indonesia’s hospitality and warm welcome in organizing the G20 FMCBG.

“The importance of cooperation in various fields considering the common goals and challenges that the two central banks face. This MoU is a step forward to implement joint efforts into a formal form,” he said.

Das also expressed the hope that the MoU would further strengthen bilateral relations between the two central banks and support efforts to achieve an accessible, inclusive, and secure financial system.

 

 

 

Source: Antara News

The ongoing Russian attack on Ukraine that started on February 24, 2022, has haunted the international community owing to factors, including the potential to trigger a severe food crisis that could lead to starvation globally.

The potential food crisis might increase since several countries depend on essential commodities produced by Russia and Ukraine, such as Egypt, which still imports 80 percent of wheat from the two nations.

Egypt, which is currently also known as the world’s largest importer of wheat, requires wheat as raw material for flatbread for their citizens’ daily consumption. Any shortage in food commodities, especially wheat, could lead the country to severe hunger crises.

Moreover, based on data from the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Russia and Ukraine dominate wheat production, with the supply reaching 40 percent of the world’s wheat requirement.

Russia, apart from Canada and Belarus, is also a major producer of potassium that is also a raw material for fertilizers in several countries, including Indonesia. With the conflict, Russia stopped exporting potassium, thereby resulting in a price increase in fertilizers in several countries.

Indonesia will also be impacted by this crisis since it still imports wheat and raw material for fertilizer.

During the commemoration of National Family Day in Medan, North Sumatra, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) said that the price of noodles and bread made from wheat might increase in the near future.

The government has readied a strategy to prevent a potential global food crisis, including through the establishment of food estates and food diversification.

Food diversification

Executive Director of the Institute for Development of Economics and Finance (Indef), Tauhid Ahmad, believes that food diversification is achievable by using sago and cassava as replacement for wheat.

However, he admits that there are challenges to this program since each region in Indonesia has different tastes and daily food consumption patterns. It is difficult to change the habit of eating bread and instant noodles and switching to other food commodities, he pointed out.

In addition, sago and cassava processing are still limited and people cannot be forced to switch to those two food commodities in a short time.

To this end, the government must make the most of local food wisdom that exists in each region and not impose dependence on rice as a staple food.

On the other hand, Professor from the Bogor Agricultural University (IPB) Dwi Andreas Santosa remarked that the imports of Indonesia’s eight main imported commodities during the 2011-2021 period had increased by nearly 20 million tons.

Santosa, concurrently serving as general chair of the Association of Seed Banks and Indonesian Farmer Technology (AB2TI), stated that the condition has reduced the welfare of domestic farmers since the government’s food development program only focuses on consumers and not producers.

The government is expected to focus more on the welfare of small farmers since with the increase in the farmers’ welfare, food production will automatically lead to lowered imports.

Mutual cooperation

However, amid all these obstacles, mutual cooperation, as an Indonesian culture, can become a solution to anticipate the food crises.

Minister of Agriculture Sahrul Yasin Limpo invited all parties from local governments, including farmers, to participate in anticipating the global food crisis, through measures, such as by increasing domestic food stocks.

On several occasions, President Jokowi also invited the public to plant various types of food crops on abandoned lands in order to mitigate the negative impacts arising from the global food chain disruption.

The community, for instance, is advised to plant fast-producing food commodities, such as cassava or corn, to support food security.

The government also established food estates to maintain long-term food security. Food estates are based on a food development concept that is implemented in an integrated manner, including in plantation, agriculture, and animal husbandry, in several areas.

Currently, there are several food estates in Indonesia, located in North Sumatra, Central Kalimantan, East Nusa Tenggara, and South Sumatra.

Food collaboration

The National Food Agency (NFA) has also held an inaugural coordination meeting with 514 cities and districts in 34 provinces to build collaboration on food stability in producing and consuming regions.

NFA will focus on inter-institutional cooperation, food availability and stability, food and nutrition insecurity, diversification of consumption, and food scarcity.

This program aligns with President Jokowi’s mandate to produce eight strategic foods — rice, cooking oil, granulated sugar, shallots, large chilies, cayenne pepper, broiler chicken, and chicken eggs — as stipulated in Presidential Regulation Number 66 of 2021.

Currently, NFA is focusing on the availability and distribution of local food to be evenly distributed to all regions. The Food Agency will coordinate producing regions with consumptive regions through cooperation between institutions, regions, and the Ministry of Transportation.

According to Head of NFA Arief Prasetyo Adi, the public should be grateful that amid the food crisis riddling several countries, Indonesia was able to meet its own food requirements and even export strategic food commodities, such as chicken eggs, to many neighboring countries.

This can be achieved due to the high availability of chicken eggs in Indonesia as a result of coordination among all parties towards achieving national food security.

Similarly, Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani stated at the 2022 Securitization Summit in Jakarta that Indonesia’s food security was safe for the last three years.

The minister addressed that in the last three years, Indonesia was still able to meet its needs at a time when various countries experienced significant spikes in food prices.

Mulyani also said that Indonesia’s food security was safe in terms of rice production and other food commodities, both for export and domestic needs. She pointed out that in the midst of the current global geopolitical situation, the government continued to build food security by collaborating with various parties.

By upholding the culture of mutual cooperation in handling food problems, it is hoped that in future, the Indonesian people can unite hand in hand to avoid a potential food crisis that could cause a negative impact on the country.

 

 

 

Source: Antara News

Deputy Minister of Trade Jerry Sambuaga invited investors from Singapore to conduct crypto business in Indonesia by highlighting the nation’s potential to become a promising crypto market.

The opportunity was wide open for investors to conduct crypto business in Indonesia, he remarked in a statement on Saturday.

However, the business transaction should still comply with applicable regulations in Indonesia, he remarked.

While attending the ABA Event themed “Community Meet and Great Session Fireside Chat on Crossborder Blockchain, Cryptocurrency and Digital Asset” between Singapore and Indonesia in Singapore, he also highlighted other potential synergies in Indonesia.

This includes conducting dissemination and holding a seminar along with the Indonesian Blockchain Association and Indonesian Crypto Asset Trade Association for providing an understanding of the utilization and benefits of blockchain technology and crypto assets.

According to Sambuaga, Indonesia and Singapore can also cooperate to secure sensitive data and digital assets that can be transacted through the cross-border overseas trade platform.

Cooperation can be forged between government institutions to anticipate the risks of digital asset loss and utilization.

Both nations can also cooperate in developing a single blockchain platform based on communication between the governments, he noted.

This aims to anticipate the loss of important data, reduce training costs, lower administration expenses, and determine a single standard that can create other financing efficiencies, he explained.

The Indonesian government is also affiliated with several blockchain projects including blockchain utilization to secure data entry, land registration, food material process tracing, commodity supply chain, border customs and patrol, budget transparency, data management between institutions, replace paper-based system, and prevent fraud.

Through the statement, Sambuaga also noted that the Indonesian government is open to companies, both domestic and overseas, to join the currently developing crypto asset market in Indonesia.

Source: Antara News

Indonesian Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati and her US counterpart, Janet Yellen, have agreed that the impact of unresolved geopolitical issues is the reason behind the ongoing food and energy crises.

“This is considering that the various impacts caused by the conflict in Ukraine have been one of the triggers for the continued soaring of world energy prices and pose challenges to the global economy,” Indrawati said in an official statement issued here on Saturday.

To overcome this, various policy options need to be explored so that global oil supplies are maintained and world oil prices can return to pre-conflict levels, she added.

Indrawati said that the handling of the food and energy crises must be accelerated since everyone has the right to access affordable food and energy.

Therefore, her ministry will discuss the US proposal on the need for discussion with the relevant ministers dealing with the energy sector.

Meanwhile, a discussion on the energy and food crises was held during a bilateral meeting between the two countries on the sidelines of the first day of the third meeting of the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) on Friday.

The meeting was the first physical meeting between the two ministers after the IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings on April 22, 2022. Both parties started the meeting by discussing energy and environmental issues, as well as each country’s policies on these issues.

Indrawati also emphasized the importance of concrete and technical strategies, not only conceptual deliberations, for supporting the shift from power plants to environmentally friendly energy sources, which require substantial financing.

One of these strategies involves the Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM) policy, which was initiated and launched by Indonesia and Asian Development Bank (ADB).

Indrawati also emphasized that the results of the third FMCBG meeting will be communicated well to the global community, in line with the spirit of the Indonesian G20 Presidency to continue to work hard and contribute to addressing the major problems of the world.

This is also a manifestation of the significance and relevance of the role of the Indonesian G20 Presidency in achieving global economic recovery with other nations, in line with the theme of the Presidency, “Recover Together, Recover Stronger”.

 

Source: Antara News

G20 nations have agreed on the majority of the results of the 3rd Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) meeting, held in Bali on July 15–16, 2022, despite tensions over the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Indonesian Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati made the remarks while delivering the results of the FMCBG meeting, which took place at the Bali Nusa Dua Convention Center (BNDCC).

Indrawati said that the meeting succeeded in agreeing on a number of initiatives, and successfully garnered support for overcoming various global economic and financial problems.

“There are 14 paragraphs of the draft on the result of this two-day meeting. The majority of the results of the meeting were agreed upon by all members of the G20,” she informed.

Two paragraphs of the result draft contain the differing views of several G20 members, including on the use of the word “war” in relation to several issues, she said.

Nevertheless, the result document represents the opinions of all G20 members on the seven priority agendas discussed at the meeting, Indrawati argued.

“We call it (the differences) as an expression, a different view. In the results of the meeting, which is called the chair summary, most of the paragraphs support the issues that I previously mentioned,” she said.

At the 3rd FMCBG meeting, G20 finance ministers and central bank governors discussed seven priority agendas—the global economic situation and risks, global health, international financial architecture, financial sector issues, sustainable finance, infrastructure, and international taxation.

On the global economic situation and risks, the G20 finance ministers and central bank governors discussed the impact of Russia’s aggression in Ukraine, particularly on the threat of energy, food, and financial crises.

Indrawati said that Indonesia, as the leader of the meeting, was aware of the sensitive situation created by the Russia-Ukraine conflict, considering that two strong G20 countries—namely Russia and the United States, which is supporting Ukraine—had adopted opposite stances.

Indonesia and other G20 members, however, must still place the G20 as the world’s largest economic cooperation forum that has a long history of resolving various global problems.

“All G20 members also agreed to continue maintaining existing cooperation in the spirit of multilateralism,” she said.

The Indonesian Finance Minister then emphasized that the focus of the two-day meeting was not merely on the tensions in Ukraine, but on the seven priority economic agendas drawn up by Indonesia.

 

 

Source: Antara News