Day: September 7, 2022

Vice President Ma’ruf Amin has called for synergy between the central and regional governments for realizing Indonesia’s goal of becoming a global halal center by 2024.

He called for this synergy at the inauguration of the Regional Committee for Islamic Economy and Finance (KDEKS) and the new management of the Sharia Economic Community (MES) of South Sumatra, in Palembang, South Sumatra, on Wednesday.

“Faster and more cohesive action is needed from all stakeholders in sharia economy and finance, not only the central (government), but especially the regions. Apart from being ‘pockets’ of growth, the regions are also the spearheads of equitable distribution of community welfare,” he said in a press release.

According to Amin, synergy between regional governments and various stakeholders is a must because the ecosystem in regions must be built and strengthened so that various programs can be implemented well.

The vice president said he expects that the South Sumatra KDEKS management will act soon and take strategic steps, and coordinate with central and regional governments—even with other regions—to implement sharia economic and financial policies that could advance South Sumatra.

“A number of sharia economic and financial programs that have been initiated should be continued and developed. Regional potentials in the leading sectors of the sharia economy should continue to be explored,” he remarked.

“The halal product industry, sharia financial services, sharia social funds, and sharia business and entrepreneurship should be developed, including strengthening of MSMEs (micro, small, and medium enterprises) in the halal industry,” he added.

He also advised the new management of South Sumatra MES to formulate and implement their work programs as quickly and as well as possible.

“MES is also expected to be a partner of South Sumatra KDEKS in accelerating sharia economic and financial growth in South Sumatra region,” he said.

Source: Antara News

Gender and economic and social development ministers and high-level representatives from APEC economies are pushing for greater progress in women and girls’ economic empowerment, highlighting that it is important for sustainable recovery.

At the APEC Women and the Economy Forum convened in Bangkok on Wednesday, APEC members reiterated their commitment to pursuing policies and initiatives that promote inclusive, equitable, and sustainable recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, and which contribute decisively to the advancement of gender equality and women’s economic empowerment, according to a statement received here on Wednesday.

“We underline the importance of embedding the empowerment and advancement of women and gender equality in the Asia-Pacific region in line with APEC’s vision, road map, implementation plan and other relevant instruments agreed upon within the forum,” Thailand’s Minister of Social Development and Human Security, Chuti Krairiksh, said.

At the forum, Thailand’s APEC sustainability priority took center stage, with participants exploring how the forum can provide more opportunities to women and how they can contribute to sustainability, including through the bio-circular-green (BCG) economy model.

“All challenges should be and can be transformed into opportunities. Gender perspectives must be mainstreamed into our respective policies, action plans, and budgets,” Minister Chuti said.

“Importantly, all these policies, plans and budgets must be approved and implemented so that the needs of women and girls of diverse backgrounds will be addressed, and (ensure) that women and girls will have equal opportunity and equitable access to capital and markets, labor force participation, leadership positions, education and digital skills training in a changing world,” he added.

Minister Chuti also reiterated that the strengthening of collaboration and networks is vital to provide a supportive environment and that member economies need to create “an enabling environment that promotes inclusive development and empowerment of all women.”

Addressing the forum, Former Thailand Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva highlighted how women are the drivers of the economies of Thailand and many economies across the Asia-Pacific, but they are still not fairly represented in key political roles.

He also reiterated the importance of sex-disaggregated data as member economies work to integrate women’s empowerment and new economic opportunities.

“We need to do much more in terms of adopting policies that would support families,” he said.

“Women often have that difficult choice of advancing their career and balancing it with what they see as family duties, and that continues to be the greatest barrier to advancement,” he observed.

Therefore, policies that cover child benefits, paid or unpaid leave, and also getting men to shoulder their share of responsibilities in unpaid and domestic work should be prioritized, he emphasized.

“When it comes to women, we are talking about roughly half the population; there is simply no excuse why this inequity or this dimension of unfairness should continue,” he said.

“Women deserve better, the Asia-Pacific region deserves better, and the world deserves better,” he remarked.

Meanwhile, executive director of the APEC Secretariat, Rebecca Sta Maria, explained that as a forum, APEC is required by leaders, through the Aotearoa Plan of Action, to ensure growth that is high quality and inclusive, brings palpable benefits and greater health and well-being to owners and employees of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), as well as women and others with untapped economic potential.

“At the individual economy level, we need to adopt and strengthen regulatory approaches, sound public sector governance, and take other measures that support economic inclusion and well-being,” Sta Maria said.

“While at the collective level, we will build on APEC’s agenda on advancing economic, financial, and social inclusion by advancing inclusive policies, gender equality, and the economic empowerment of women, and building on APEC’s work on supporting women’s economic empowerment,” she added.

Sta Maria echoed the need for strong and reliable monitoring mechanisms to ensure that all plans and policies are implemented strategically across various sectors and levels.

At the forum, ministers and senior officials shared strategies and policies to strengthen women’s economic empowerment, especially in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, and ways to ensure women’s well-being while building a more resilient future.

Source: Antara News

The newly installed Minister of State Apparatus Empowerment and Bureaucratic Reform, Abdullah Azwar Anas, has said that he will seek to take bureaucracy to the next level with the help of digitization.

“It is undeniable that the bureaucracy must go to the next level, which is (through) digitization. What is digitization? That is digitization (in terms of) structure, culture, and competence,” he said at the State Palace here on Wednesday after his formal appointment by President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) in place of Tjahjo Kumolo, who passed away in July.

According to Anas, digitization in terms of structure, culture, and competence is key for transforming the bureaucracy.

“Plus, there is already the SPBE (electronic-based government system) and if these can be connected, the results would be maximum,” he remarked.

Regarding his agenda until 2024, he emphasized that he will meet President Jokowi’s priority targets, which include tackling poverty and stunting.

“If we divide (the task), it can be done. The point is we (must) work according to the President’s directive; (become) a bureaucracy that serves,” he said.

Another target that the President has set is integrating poverty alleviation funds reaching Rp520 trillion in 16 ministries and institutions, he added.

“The productivity of state apparatus (ASN) is important because many of them are retiring, and (tackling) this needs a joint effort by ministries, institutions, and regions,” he said.

The improvement of public services is key, such as enhancing proactive activities for supporting community needs, he added.

Furthermore, he said that he will also continue to serve as the head of the National Public Procurement Agency (LKPP) temporarily.

“We do not know yet (about the appointment for the LKPP head position); waiting for Mr. President’s directive,” the former Banyuwangi district head said.

Source: Antara News

State-owned cement maker PT Semen Indonesia (Persero) Tbk (SIG) recorded a net profit of Rp829 billion in the first half of 2022, an increase of 4.4 percent from Rp794 billion in the year-ago period.

SIG’s Corporate Secretary Vita Mahreyni said the company managed to record a good performance in the first half (January–June) amid a hyper-competitive cement market and rising fuel and energy costs.

“The positive performance was achieved by SIG in the midst of various tough challenges this year. And despite the fact that national cement demand experienced a contraction, SIG still managed to increase revenue from the domestic market by 1.8 percent,” she informed in a statement received here on Wednesday.

Demand in the domestic cement market experienced a decline throughout the first half of 2022 due to the impact of the Eid holiday after a two-year pause during the pandemic, she said.

In addition, there was a shift in public spending priorities toward vacations and other consumption domains from property and renovations.

In the midst of these tough challenges, the issuer with the stock code SMGR also took strategic steps to maintain a positive performance.

The company controlled the cost of revenue, including by securing the supply of coal at the Domestic Market Obligation (DMO) price, as well as improving efficiency in operating and financial expenses.

These efforts helped SIG maintain an EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) of Rp3.53 trillion, with the EBITDA margin increasing by 0.4 percent to 22.3 percent.

The company’s net profit margin also increased by 0.3 percent from the previous year to reach 5.2 percent.

SIG proved its resilience not only through business achievements, but also through sustainable operations, which are a part of the company’s push for competitiveness.

“This was done through various programs to support carbon emission reduction and sustainable development, as well as achieving Green Label certificates for the company’s products,” Mahreyni informed.

Source: Antara News

State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) Minister Erick Thohir visited state oil and gas firm Pertamina’s Integrated Enterprise Data and Command Center (PIEDCC) to ensure fuel oil availability although the government has not augmented Pertamina’s quota.

“Today, I directly checked to make sure the quota (of fuel oil) is safe. So, the quota number is open (transparent), and its distribution is safe and efficient,” he informed at the Graha Pertamina building here on Wednesday.

He said that the digital-based PIEDCC facility must support the on-target distribution of subsidized fuel.

Thohir further informed that his ministry is coordinating with National Police chief, General Listyo Sigit Prabowo, and has signed a cooperation agreement on synchronizing Pertamina’s fuel production and distribution data with police’s vehicle registration number data to realize the on-target distribution of subsidized fuel.

The cooperation also aims to strengthen supervision and prevent fuel hoarding, he added.

“The government did not add a quota today. So, (the quota) is opened according to the community needs,” the minister said.

Earlier, Commission VII of the House of Representatives (DPR) and the government agreed to increase the quota of subsidized Pertalite fuel by 5 million kiloliters (kl) and diesel fuel by 2 million kl, but this has not been realized yet.

On September 3, 2022, the government announced an increase in the price of Pertalite, Biosolar, and Pertamax, with the price adjustment ranging from 16 percent to 32 percent.

Ever since the price hike was announced, public consumption of subsidized fuel has dipped slightly, president director of Pertamina, Nicke Widyawati, informed.

She expressed the hope that people will be smarter in consuming energy to support the on-target distribution of subsidized fuel.

“Observing the demand and consumption aspect, energy saving effort must be made. We hope people can be smarter in using energy,” Widyawati said.

Source: Antara News

G20 members have lauded the Indonesian G20 Presidency over its sea-based action initiative to support environmental protection and climate change handling, the Environment and Forestry Ministry’s Climate Change Handling Director General, Laksmi Dhewanthi, has said.

“This initiative will continue to be promoted by Indonesia,” she added during the “Climate Corner” virtual discussion on Wednesday.

G20 is an international forum comprising 19 countries and the European Union that work together to handle major issues. Indonesia is holding the presidency of the grouping this year.

Indonesia is also planning to hold a workshop on sea-based action during the UN Climate Change Conference (COP-27) in Egypt in November 2022.

During the virtual discussion, which focused on the results of the Environment Deputies Meeting and Climate Sustainability Working Group (EDM-CSWG) and the Joint Environment and Climate Ministers’ Meeting (JECMM), Dhewanthi explained that the meetings raised three issues.

The issues comprised supporting sustainable recovery, bolstering land and sea-based actions to support environmental protection and climate change handling, as well as improving resource mobilization.

The JECMM is a new initial step for Indonesia and G20 countries to show the world that they are continuing to conduct or lead concrete actions as part of the environment and climate change handling agenda, she explained.

During the event, climate change mitigation director at the ministry, Emma Rachmawati, said that the G20 members committed to bolstering climate change adaptation during the meeting.

“Every country feels that they are very vulnerable to the impact of climate change outside of developed countries that have higher adaptation level,” she added.

To this end, several commitments within the Glasgow Climate Pact, which was the result of COP-26 last year, have been strengthened once more.

Source: Antara News

Indonesia wants to become a major power in blue economy development at the global level so that the blue economy can become a new source of growth, National Development Planning Minister Suharso Monoarfa has said.

“Indonesia wants to lead the blue economy development on the global agenda,” Minister Monoarfa said at the G20 Development Ministerial Meeting, according to a statement released here on Wednesday.

Indonesia will raise discussions on the blue economy during its presidency of the G20 in 2022 and leadership of ASEAN in 2023, he added.

This is because Indonesia has potential for blue economy development, although it still needs to be developed further with the help of policies. However, blue economy itself has become a part of Indonesia’s economic transformation agenda, as stated in Vision 2045, he noted.

The development of the blue economy would drive inclusive and sustainable future economic growth at both the domestic and global levels, he opined.

“Indonesia can contribute to the blue economy to push for recovery and improve global prosperity,” the minister said.

So far, Indonesia has taken some measures to lay a good foundation for planning and implementing blue economy policies, such as the preparation of the Indonesia Blue Economic Development Framework.

The framework document was prepared with the support of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The document envisages an integrated and comprehensive approach, which takes the enormous potential of marine resources in Indonesia into account.

The ministry is currently preparing a blue economy road map that covers key strategies and initiatives for Indonesia to balance conservation and the sustainable use and management of marine and coastal resources.

“The blue economy road map is expected to facilitate collaboration across sectors and stakeholders in creating prosperity for the people,” Monoarfa added.

Source: Antara News