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The Ministry of Trade will monitor e-commerce sites that do not provide a digital space for showcasing and selling national products, Deputy Minister of Trade Jerry Sambuaga has said.

“The ministry is clear that, for Indonesian-made products, there should be an affirmative policy,” he informed after attending the Digital Economy Forum held by the Ministry of Communication and Informatics here on Monday.

“We also monitor and observe e-commerce. If they do not strive to provide an opportunity for Indonesian products on their site, this may become an evaluation material,” he said.

This aligns with the instruction of President Joko Widodo, who has expressed the wish to support micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and provide a space for Indonesian products.

“We from the Ministry of Trade are ready to facilitate this,” Sambuaga remarked.

The ministry will also observe how much support e-commerce sites provide to national products, he informed.

When it comes to regulations, the Ministry of Trade will collaborate with the Ministry of Communication and Informatics, wherein the latter will dictate more rules on the issues of data and privacy.

Meanwhile, the former will dictate rules for the commercial side such as trade, products, and business permits.

“This will certainly be collaborated by us to prioritize Indonesian products,” the deputy minister said.

After Monday’s forum, Minister of Communication and Informatics Johnny G. Plate also urged e-commerce platforms to provide more space for domestically-made products.

The quality of domestic products is a match for foreign products. However, MSME products should still be pushed in order to improve their quality.

The forum held by Plate’s ministry discussed the role of e-commerce in assisting the government’s spending policy for local products.

The event was also attended by Minister of Cooperatives and Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), Teten Masduki, as well as Indonesian E-Commerce Association (idEA) chairman Bima Laga.

Source: Antara News

The Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry has assured that fisheries stocks will be sufficient to meet the demand of the community during the holy month of Ramadan until Eid Al-Fitr and even beyond. Speaking at a press conference at the ministry’s headquartershere on Monday, Director General of Capture Fisheries, M. Zainy, said he expects fish supplies to be abundant ahead of Eid al-Fitr since fishermen will return from fishing before the holy day.

There has been an increase in the issuance of fishing permits in the first quarter of 2022 compared to the same period in 2021, he noted.

“The issued permits have almost doubled compared to the previous year. Hence, the fish stock will be abundant ahead of Eid al-Fitr,” he said.

In addition, he assured that the stocks of captured fish in the month of Ramadan will be sufficient since the supply is high.

Meanwhile, regarding the aquaculture sector, director general of aquaculture of the ministry, Tb Haeru Rahayu, said that fish stocks in the sector are sufficient and the prices are quite stable.

“Hence, people do not have to worry,” he said.

He informed that the national aquaculture production during the period from January to April 2022 is expected to reach 1.5 million tons. The most cultivated commodities include tilapia, goldfish, catfish, Pacific white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei), milkfish, and catfish.

According to the ministry’s data, the demand for fish in April and May 2022 is expected to reach 1.26 million tons and 1.38 million tons, respectively, or a total of 2.64 million tons.

Meanwhile, fish supply is projected to reach 1.4 million tons in April and 1.6 million tons in May, or a total of 2.99 million tons.

Thus, the stocks of fish in April and May or during Ramadan until Eid al-Fitr will be in surplus of 0.36 million tons.

Source: Antara News

Co-operatives and Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) Minister Teten Masduki affirmed that e-commerce in Indonesia must emulate state-owned department store Sarinah’s commitment to procuring 100 percent of their exhibited products from domestic sources.

“Sarinah, whose 100 percent of the exhibited products are made by small and medium enterprises, currently recorded a surge in their visitor numbers. I think e-commerce in Indonesia must emulate Sarinah,” Masduki stated during the Digital Economic Forum event here on Monday.

The minister remarked that the perception that only major and foreign brands could attract buyers has been disproved by Sarinah that is successful with only domestic products.

The minister pointed out that various domestic-made producers have created products with quality at par with that of foreign-made products.

The ministry is committed to providing assistance on product curation as well as cooperating and collaborating with relevant stakeholders to develop quality products made by domestic small and medium enterprises, he remarked.

“I believe Indonesia’s market is huge, and I am convinced we will not incur losses if we focus on selling only domestic products,” Masduki remarked.

The minister remarked that efforts to support small and medium enterprises’ products are consistent with President Joko Widodo’s instruction to elevate domestic products and lessen dependence on foreign-made products.

“President Jokowi has said that e-commerce must be flooded with small and medium enterprises. This is appropriate, yet it needs commitment from e-commerce operators because the markets will depend on who is the host,” he affirmed.

In concert with Masduki, Minister of Communications and Informatics Johnny G. Plate also noted that e-commerce in Indonesia must provide more space for domestic products.

“I urge the Indonesia E-Commerce Association (idEA) to push e-commerce to take internal measures necessary to ensure policies taken will advantage (domestic producers) as well as take affirmative actions to purchase domestic products,” Plate stated.

Source: Antara News

State-owned aluminium company PT Indonesia Asahan Aluminum (Inalum) and the United Arab Emirates’ largest aluminium company Emirates Global Aluminum (EGA) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on production expansion cooperation.

The strategic cooperation agreement was inked at the Dubai Expo in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), on March 31, 2022.

Inalum President Director Hendi Prio Santoso, in a statement on Monday, stated that the signing was a strategic step for the company to expand aluminum production to 400 thousand tons per year by 2024 as well as to encourage integrated and sustainable downstreaming of the aluminum industry.

“We believe that this collaboration will lead to a renewal, thanks to the application of modern smelting technology owned by EGA at Inalum. We also look forward to other great achievements with EGA in the aluminum industry ecosystem in Indonesia, both the existing and new projects in the future,” he remarked.

In line with the MOU, Inalum and EGA will conduct a feasibility study on the use of EGA technology at the Inalum Kuala Tanjung smelter in North Sumatra to increase production to 400 thousand tons per year.

The agreement also mentions exploring EGA’s investment to improve the supply chain of the aluminum industry. The MoU is also expected to explore new potentials in the aluminum processing industry sector that has not yet been developed in Indonesia.

EGA is a world-class aluminum smelting and processing company that has developed its own technology in aluminum smelting.

Meanwhile, Inalum is committed to undertaking strategic project development initiatives for the aluminum industry, including the reduction furnace technology improvement project, optimization of the Kuala Tanjung aluminum smelter, the smelter-grade alumina refinery project in Mempawah, and the construction of the Remelt IAA aluminum.

Given the huge potential of the aluminum market share, both domestically and regionally, Inalum continues to strive to realize the development of a national aluminum industry cluster and collaboration with PLN to create energy availability in North Sumatra.

EGA President Director Abdulnasser bin Kalban noted that the agreement further deepens the company’s cooperation with Inalum, which is based on the potential use of EGA technology in several development projects in Indonesia.

“Our goal is to expand our position as the technology provider of choice in our industry, developing revenue streams for EGA from technology licensing and possible further opportunities while strengthening the relationship between the two countries,” Abdulnasser affirmed.

Source: Antara News

Indonesia’s economic recovery has shown a positive trend since late January this year due to controlled Omicron spread, Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Pandjaitan has said.

“Although it had declined, Indonesia’s economic recovery was able to rise quickly and showed a very positive trend since the end of January,” Pandjaitan said in a press statement that was issued after a limited meeting on the evaluation of the implementation of community activity restrictions (PPKM) in Jakarta on Monday.

The controlled spread of the Omicron variant has allowed the economic recovery to be well maintained, he added.

This can be seen from the expenditure index, which has increased in all regions, with Bali and Nusa Tenggara reaching their highest levels since the pandemic struck, Pandjaintan noted.

According to Pandjaitan, the COVID-19 situation currently is very positive. Nationwide, in less than 3 months, daily cases have fallen steeply by 97 percent of the peak cases caused by the Omicron variant.

In addition, nationally, active cases have also declined by 83 percent from the previous peak, so currently, they are below 100 thousand, and the rate of hospitalization in hospitals has decreased to 85 percent.

The number of fatalities has also fallen 88 percent compared to the past peak of Omicron cases.

“From the data above, we conclude that the Omicron variant in Indonesia is in a controlled position,” Pandjaitan explained.

Several new sources of economic growth have emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic with the development of new trends, Minister of Finance, Sri Mulyani Indrawati, said earlier.

“Especially, the new normal lifestyle related to a healthy lifestyle and the widespread use of digital technology,” she noted.

The new normal lifestyle has led to healthcare and pharmaceutical industries and the digital economy becoming new sources of growth for the country, she noted.

In addition to the new normal lifestyle, changes in the world trade map and new investment have become the newest sources of growth after the pandemic, the minister said.

This is due to the diversification of global supply chains and the initiation of regional supply chains, which have made the machinery industry, electronics industry, communication tools industry, as well as chemical and mineral downstreaming new growth sectors for the economy.

“Indonesia is very aware of this trend and will continue to re-calibrate its policies. We hope we can place the domestic economy in the right position and will be able to take advantage for our own country in the form of resources and potential,” Indrawati said.

The green economy has become a new source of growth for countries, she noted. The green economy requires a zero-emission policy and green investment, which is expected to bring focus on the economic value of carbon and renewable energy technology in the coming years.

Indonesia is currently in discussions with many partners regarding commitments to build a green economy, especially in contributions that are determined nationally.

Indrawati said that all these new sources of growth must be tapped through a structural reform agenda to accelerate priority programs and various reform agendas in Indonesia.

Source: Antara News

The Communications and Informatics Ministry has asked online marketplaces to feature more domestically made products, especially those produced by micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and ultra-micro enterprises (Umi).

“I ask the Indonesian Association of E-commerce (idEa) to encourage national e-commerce platforms to create internal policies that are in favor and affirmative to domestic products,” Communications and Informatics Minister Johnny G. Plate said after attending the ministry’s Fourth Digital Economy Forum meeting here on Monday.

The forum discussed the role of e-commerce in overseeing government spending policies for local products.

The minister said that the quality of domestic products is not inferior compared to foreign ones. Still, local MSME products need to be improved to make their quality better.

“However, we should not wait until their quality becomes superior. We should take action starting now to spend it (our Expenditure Budget) to buy domestic products, while improving their quality at the same time,” he added.

Budget spending on local product purchases is expected to become a trend, which will not only be carried out by the government and the public sector, but also private actors.

“E-commerce (sites) are committed to supporting our domestic products to be well absorbed by the public through the digital platform,” Plate said.

In addition to asking for support for local products, he also said that Indonesia has regulations for digital platforms, including e-commerce sites.

Hence, if a platform does not follow the applicable rules, various sanctions can be enforced, including termination of access that will block the application from being used in Indonesia.

Earlier, President Joko Widodo said his government is targeting to help 20 million MSMEs enter e-commerce by 2022. The figure is expected to increase to 24 million by 2023 and 30 million by 2024.

Furthermore, the government is also aiming to spend Rp400 trillion of the state budget on buying domestic products.

Source: Antara News

Cellular operators’ decision to switch from the 3G to 4G network is correct because it can support digital transformation, Communication and Informatics Minister Johnny G. Plate said here on Monday.

“Operators’ decision to gradually stop 3G and immediately migrate to 4G is a correct decision because it aligns with and supports the acceleration of digital transformation,” he remarked.

According to Plate, supporting Indonesia’s digitalization no longer requires 3G, but 4G network.

While gradually phasing out the 3G network, the minister also urged cellular operators to prepare for 4G so that there will not be any trouble.

“What we ask is to leave behind 3G gradually while, at the same time, develop 4G. We cannot leave 3G behind, but not have 4G ready. We cannot allow this,” he stressed.

Cellular operators are gradually phasing out 3G network and starting to switch to 4G in a number of spots in Indonesia.

State-run enterprise Telkomsel, one of the biggest cellular operators in Indonesia, will migrate to 4G in 90 districts and cities during the March–May period.

In March, Indonesian Telecommunication Organizers Association (ATSI) secretary general Marwan O. Baasir said that the utilization traffic for 3G network is small and has continued to decline.

In March, the 3G traffic in Indonesia was less than 10 percent. Meanwhile, the reach of 4G network has continued to expand.

For the last several years, cellular operators have invited cellular number users to utilize 4G services because they provide a better experience.

This is because the 4G network is faster than the previous generation networks.

Once the 3G network is fully phased out, the frequency spectrum previously used by 3G can be utilized to support 4G and even 5G networks.

ATSI also informed that a number of nations have started to leave 3G behind and adopt 4G, even 5G, because they are more efficient.

Source: Antara News