Category Archives: Trading
APEC reiterates commitment to prioritizing women’s role in economy
Jakarta (ANTARA) – The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum marked International Women’s Day by reaffirming its commitment to prioritizing and promoting the role of women in the economy.
Such commitment will be implemented through initiatives that boost their access to capital, assets and markets, skills and capacity building, leadership opportunities, voice and agency, and access to innovation and technology, according to a written statement issued by the APEC Secretariat and received here on Monday.
“When we create an enabling environment for women to achieve their economic potential and contribute actively to the global economy, it is not only empowering but also beneficial,” Rebecca Sta Maria, the APEC Secretariat’s executive director, stated.
Sta Maria further remarked that the APEC had taken serious cognizance of the inclusion of women in the regional economy and striven to advance the economic integration of women for the last two decades.
Currently, the region’s labor force constitutes approximately 600 million women, with over 60 percent engaged in the formal sector.
However, the full potential of their contribution to the economy remains untapped. Moreover, women often take on informal work, such as caretaking and other domestic activities.
APEC member economies agreed to the La Serena Roadmap for Women and Inclusive Growth in 2019. The roadmap details directions and policy actions that will guide and drive members to enhance women’s economic participation in the region that will lead to more inclusive economic growth.
Administered by the APEC Policy Partnership on Women and the Economy, the roadmap seeks to encourage actions in five cross-cutting areas affecting economic growth for women.
Those five cross-cutting areas are: first, empowering women through access to capital and markets; second, strengthening women’s labor force participation; third, improving access of women to leadership positions in all levels of decision-making; fourth, supporting women’s education, training and skills development and access in a changing world of work; fifth, advancing women’s economic empowerment through data collection and analysis.
Depending on each APEC member economy’s social, economic, political, and legal circumstances, the roadmap puts forward four targets, including having laws, policies, and regulations in place by 2030 that prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex in employment access, opportunities, and conditions.
Another target is increasing the region’s gender balance among science, technology, engineering and mathematics graduates in tertiary education, and in research and development positions.
“Now, the APEC has concrete targets, such as putting in place laws, policies, and regulations that will provide equal access to capital and assets for both men and women and increase the region’s gender balance in leadership positions,” Sta Maria stated.
Malaysia, as the APEC host this year, will continually enhance women’s participation in the economy under its second priority of inclusive economic participation.
Source: ANTARA News
BI to intensify digitalization of MSME payment system
This is a merchant that will become a source of new economics, sellers, and producers in traditional markets
Jakarta (ANTARA) – Bank Indonesia (BI) will boost digitalization of the payment system for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) using the Quick Response Code Indonesian Standard (QRIS) through the National QRIS Week.
“Now, what we are doing fast is how the Indonesian payment system will digitize the largest segment of MSMEs, with 93.4 million, that have not been touched, not only for financial inclusion but also economic inclusion,” BI Governor Perry Warjiyo stated here on Monday.
Warjiyo has invited banks, payment system associations, and other related parties to collaborate to back the efforts to digitize UMKM.
According to Warjiyo, SMEs are a source of economic growth and absorb significant labor in the midst of the era of declining globalization, specifically in the midst of the trade war and the Coronavirus outbreak that had impacted the economy.
Warjiyo pointed to some three million businessmen or merchants in the country using QRIS.
Through the National QRIS Week, he is optimistic of an increase in the number of businesses using the digital payment system.
To support this effort, the Central BI will hold a massive campaign, through 46 representative offices of BI in the country.
“This is a merchant that will become a source of new economics, sellers, and producers in traditional markets,” he stated.
In addition to MSMEs, the tourism and retail sectors are the sources of strong economic growth in future.
Warjiyo had earlier outlined Indonesia’s Payment System (IPS) 2025 Visions to ensure the current trend of digitalization develops within a conducive digital economic and financial ecosystem.
The visions are a response to the recent proliferation of digitalization that has significantly altered the risk landscape, through cyber threats, monopolistic competition, and shadow banking that could undermine the effectiveness of monetary controls and stability of the financial system and sound payment systems, according to a statement.
The statement was delivered during an international seminar titled, “Digital Transformation of the Indonesian Economy” held on Monday in Jakarta.
The IPS 2025 Visions are: First, reinforce the integration of the national digital economy and finance to ensure the proper functioning of the central bank mandate in money circulation, monetary policy, and the stability of the financial system, as well as financial inclusions.
Second, work for faster digital transformations within the banking industry to sustain the banks’ role as a primary institution in the digital economy and finance, through the implementation of open-banking standards, as well as the deployment of digital technology and data in their financial products and services.
Third, ensure the interlinks between Fin-Tech and banks to contain the escalation of shadow-banking risks through the regulation of the use of digital technology (e.g. Application Programming Interface-API), business relations, and business ownerships.
Fourth, indemnify the balance among innovation, consumer protection, integrity, and stability, as well as fair competition, through the implementation of digital Know Your Customer (KYC), Anti-Money Laundering and Combatting the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT), data/information/public business openness, and the deployment of Reg-tech and Sup-tech for reporting, regulatory and supervisory tasks.
Fifth, safeguard national interests on the cross-border use of the digital economy and finance through the obligation of domestic processing of all onshore transactions and domestic partnerships for all foreign players, under the consideration of the principles of reciprocity.
Source: ANTARA News
COVID-19 has impacted Indonesia’s investment activities: BKPM
Jakarta (ANTARA) – The Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) drew attention to the fact that investment activities in Indonesia had been affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19) global outbreak.
Operational activities of several firms were impacted by a plunge in transaction activities, particularly those having trade relations or receiving material supplies from nations, with high infection rates, such as China and South Korea, BKPM spokesman Rizal Calvary Marimbo noted in a statement here on Friday.
“However, the BKPM still recorded investment interest flowing into Indonesia. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the value of investment realization can be measured after the announcement of the realized value of investment in the first quarter of 2020 in April,” he explained.
The BKPM has expressed concern over the threat of COVID-19 becoming a global pandemic. The spread of COVID-19 has had an impact on the global economy, especially in terms of industry, trade, investment, and tourism. Indonesia, which is part of the global supply chain, could not avoid the impacts.
“The BKPM guarantees that it will make continued efforts to boost Indonesia’s investment climate by simplifying regulations for ease of doing business,” he remarked.
Various supporting instruments, such as investment escort aspects, business incentives, and field assistance, will continue to be provided by the agency, led by Bahlil Lahadalia.
Source: ANTARA News
COVID-19 has impacted Indonesia’s investment activities: BKPM
Jakarta (ANTARA) – The Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) drew attention to the fact that investment activities in Indonesia had been affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19) global outbreak.
Operational activities of several firms were impacted by a plunge in transaction activities, particularly those having trade relations or receiving material supplies from nations, with high infection rates, such as China and South Korea, BKPM spokesman Rizal Calvary Marimbo noted in a statement here on Friday.
“However, the BKPM still recorded investment interest flowing into Indonesia. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the value of investment realization can be measured after the announcement of the realized value of investment in the first quarter of 2020 in April,” he explained.
The BKPM has expressed concern over the threat of COVID-19 becoming a global pandemic. The spread of COVID-19 has had an impact on the global economy, especially in terms of industry, trade, investment, and tourism. Indonesia, which is part of the global supply chain, could not avoid the impacts.
“The BKPM guarantees that it will make continued efforts to boost Indonesia’s investment climate by simplifying regulations for ease of doing business,” he remarked.
Various supporting instruments, such as investment escort aspects, business incentives, and field assistance, will continue to be provided by the agency, led by Bahlil Lahadalia.
Source: ANTARA News
Indonesia’s digital economy projected to emerge 9th-largest globally
Jakarta (ANTARA) – Communication and Informatics Minister Johnny G. Plate explained that Indonesia was projected to become the ninth-largest digital economy in the world by 2030.
This was conveyed by Plate while delivering a keynote address at the US-Indonesia Society Gala Dinner (USINDO) in Washington D.C., the United States, on Thursday (Feb 13).
“Undoubtedly, the world is now changing, from the physical to digital space, so Indonesia must prepare to transform itself in a digital era,” Plate noted in a statement received in Jakarta, Friday (14/2).
“Indonesia has a very dynamic digital landscape, wherein currently, 171.2 million people actively use the internet and with 355.5 million cellular subscriptions. A total of 26 million SMEs are projected to go online in 2022,” Plate stated.
On the same occasion, the minister pointed out that Indonesia, with a quite large digital market, is projected to emerge as one of the countries, with the highest economic growth, both regionally and globally.
Johnny affirmed that the government had four unicorns and one decacorn.
Moreover, at least eight startup companies are ready to become the next Indonesian unicorn.
The minister noted that these companies had grown extraordinarily into influential business companies, as they were currently generating employment and economic opportunities for Indonesia and entrepreneurs.
Furthermore, Johnny stressed that efforts to expedite the digital investment process are in line with President Joko Widodo’s vision of creating a prosperous and sustainable Indonesia.
“A strong ICT ecosystem will create positive effects that will strengthen economic resilience and support the development of human resources,” Plate stated.
The minister further expounded that large-scale development of ICT infrastructure in Indonesia had been conducted, undeniably on sustainable development by working with the private sector.
“We have built an over 348,000-km national optical fiber backbone, both land and submarine cables, and nearly 480,000 Base Transceiver Stations (BTS) throughout the country. In addition, five multi-functional satellites have orbits to cover the blank spots (3T region),” he stated.
The government has also developed 5G technology to stay abreast of the fast-moving global world.
Hence, the government remains proactive in ensuring that Indonesians remain connected to one another through the development of 5G technology.
“This is our priority, as we have a responsibility to meet the demand for the 737MHz spectrum by 2020 and will increase to 1,310 MHz before 2024,” the minister revealed.
Meanwhile, the communication and informatics ministry plays a crucial role in the development of digital human resources, so it becomes a joint task to channel greater attention to boosting superior digital talent.
“We have the national movement for digital literacy. This movement has reached at least 75,000,000 people in the last two years,” Plate stated.
“At a higher level of digital skills, this year, we have provided 60,000 slots of digital talent scholarship as well as 300 slots of digital leadership academy,” he revealed.
Thousands of slots are also offered by our partners, such as CISCO, Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Amazon, IBM, Oracle, Huawei, and ZTE.
Furthermore, Plate highlighted the government’s efforts to simplify regulations and policies in realizing the vision of Forward Indonesia, including the Draft Law on Personal Data Protection (UU PDP) and the Omnibus Law Bill that has currently been submitted to the Indonesian Parliament.
Source: Antara News
