Indonesia News Gazette

Kominfo provides basecamps or training centers in 10 areas

Jakarta (ANTARA) – The Ministry of Communication and Informatics (Kominfo) has offered training to micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to support them in actively selling their products on online platforms.

“Kominfo provides basecamps or training centers in 10 areas. Phase 1 was held on July 3-4, 2021, Phase 2 on August 1-2, and Phase 3 from August to November 2021. The last phase will take place from November to December this year,” the ministry’s acting Director of Digital Economy, Directorate General of Information Applications, I Nyoman Adhiarna, noted in a press statement, here on Wednesday.

The 10 training areas aforementioned are the 10 Priority Tourism Destinations (DPP): Toba Lake (North Sumatra), Tanjung Kalayang (Belitung), Thousand Islands (Jakarta), Borobudur (Central Java), Bromo Tengger Semeru (East Java), Tanjung Lesung (Banten), Mandalika (West Nusa Tenggara), Labuan Bajo (East Nusa Tenggara), Wakatobi (Southeast Sulawesi), and Morotai (North Maluku), and the two provinces of West Java and Yogyakarta.

The ministry has targeted this training program to ramp up 26 thousand MSMEs to actively sell their products on digital platforms.

This training program involves 90 facilitators, who will provide material on actively selling online, including uploading photos and providing product descriptions, interacting with customers, and sales transactions.

The government is optimistic that this program would help to increase online sales transactions of MSMEs.

For the training program, the ministry has prepared five modules: social media, e-commerce platforms, financial technology, point of sales (PoS), and Industry 4. The ministry has developed these modules in collaboration with the Faculty of Computer Science, the University of Indonesia.

Kominfo will also provide free phone credit for internet access, online training, and the free Jubilo aggregator application, so that MSME players can monitor sales at various market locations.

The application additionally functions as a point of sales (PoS) application, thereby nullifying the need for MSME players to open e-commerce applications one by one to monitor sales.

The phone credits offered are equivalent to five training sessions held by video conferencing and using the app. If the participants still encounter problems, then the supervisor will visit them directly.

This program applies to all MSMEs that produce their own products though barring retailers. Types of businesses included in this program are those in the areas of food and beverage; textiles and apparel; furniture; leather craft; and handicrafts.

Implementation of the training will involve the local Kominfo offices. For complete information, MSME players can contact the Directorate of Digital Economy at telephone number 021-3451363 and email tu.ditedig_aptika@kominfo.go.id.

Source: ANTARA News

Jakarta (ANTARA) – The Jakarta administration-owned company (BUMD), PT Jakarta Propertindo (Jakpro), disclosed on Wednesday that it works with the Jakarta Experience Board to secure two thousand Sinovac doses for employees and the capital city’s residents to support mass vaccination efforts.

To avail the vaccination facility, Jakarta residents and Jakpro employees can register through the ‘Jaki’ application or go to Gedung Serbaguna Cendrawasih, Cengkareng, West Jakarta, the company informed.

“This vaccination (program) is being conducted from 21-23 July (2021). We are targeting to vaccinate 650 people per day,” head of secretary division, PT Jakpro, Nadia Diposanjoyo stated in a press statement.

Jakpro said it has initiated the vaccination program to support the government’s efforts to build herd immunity among people. The company said it is also trying to help minimize COVID-19 cases, especially in Jakarta.

“We hope our vaccination program can help the government to vaccinate at least 7.5 million Jakarta residents by the end of August (2021),” Diposanjoyo said.

Jakarta residents began to queue up for the vaccine facility from 9.20 a.m. on Wednesday morning. Several hand-wash chambers and distanced seating were provided at the venue, and vaccine recipients were required to wear a mask, in accordance with the health protocols.

Jakarta Experience Board’s product development head, Muhammad Rayhan Islamy, confirmed at least 200 people waited in line at the venue to get vaccinated on Wednesday.

“Approximately 180 to 200 people had queued (up for the vaccination drive),” Islamy said.

He further informed that residents holding a non-Jakarta identity card (KTP) can enroll for the vaccination program through the ‘Jaki’ application.

Persons holding Jakarta KTP can directly walk in to the venue, while children between 12-17 years need to bring a copy of their family card (KK) to get vaccinated, he said.

In view of a spike in COVID-19 cases since June this year, the Jakarta administration is targeting to vaccinate at least 7.5 million people, including children aged between 12-17 years, in an effort to build herd immunity.

As of Wednesday, 6.6 million people in Jakarta have successfully received the first vaccine dose.

Source: ANTARA News

The ministry will encourage a number of efforts to more actively attract investors to Indonesia. Starting from facilitating access to licensing and banking to providing comprehensive services to investors until they start production.

Jakarta (ANTARA) – The Indonesian government, through the Ministry of Investment should aggressively attract foreign and domestic investment amid the pandemic, executive director of the Association of Indonesian Entrepreneurs Research Institute (Apindo), Agung Pambudi, has said.

“The Ministry of Investment should be aggressive to attract investment for job creation and Economic Value Added increase, in order to rise from the downturn caused by the pandemic,” he advised in a statement released in Jakarta on Wednesday (July 21, 2021).

According to Pambudi, the implementation of the Omnibus Law will also have a crucial effect on national economic growth, especially in investment realization. The new law as well as vaccination efforts, which are aimed at creating herd immunity, will be key to economic acceleration during the pandemic, he said.

“Incoming investments will need time to be realized, for example, administration, infrastructure, and institutional matters. So, hopefully, the vaccine program will (help the nation) overcome the pandemic so that there will be additional real economic activities afterward,” Pambudi elaborated.

Moreover, a number of industrial sectors that are the ministry’s focus, such as export-oriented manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, automotive, infrastructure, and mining, will take a relatively long time to operationalize, he added.

The Investment Ministry is expecting to encourage investment in the innovation and technology sectors since those sectors will be able to provide long-term added economic value, while improving the competency of national industries, he informed.

The ministry has successfully pulled in investment of US$350 million from one of Cargill’s global food companies for the next three years, he pointed out.

The investment plan comprises a US$50-million business expansion and a $100-million corn processing plant in East Java that will be commercially operational by early 2022, he said.

Also, work on a $200-million palm oil refinery in Lampung has started and is targeted to be completed by the end of 2022.

“The ministry will encourage a number of efforts to more actively attract investors to Indonesia. Starting from facilitating access to licensing and banking to providing comprehensive services to investors until they start production,” Pambudi said.

The ministry’s efforts will be supported by incentives, such as tax holidays, tax allowances, exemptions on customs duties for machinery and raw materials imports, he added.

A super deduction tax will also be offered to investors who absorb more labor and organize vocational programs to push research and development.

Source: ANTARA News

Jakarta (ANTARA) – Chairman of the Association of Indonesian Entrepreneurs (Apindo) Hariyadi Sukamdani has asked the government to implement fiscal consolidation through social security programs and incentives for businesses to increase people’s purchasing power.

Such a policy can ease the burden on society, if the emergency public activity restrictions (PPKM) are extended beyond July 26, 2021, he said. So far, business players have not felt the benefits of the tax relief offered by the central and local governments, he said.

“Tax relief from the government is for income tax payment for taxpayers (PPH 25) and for workers (PPH 21). The incentives utilization has been taken by many, but it has not been that useful for affected industries,” Sukamdani said at an online press conference in Jakarta on Wednesday (July 21, 2021).

Companies still need to file taxes under PPH 25 despite incurring losses, he pointed out. The reason is that income tax payment (PPH 25) is collected monthly, while profits and losses of businesses are reported at the end of the year, he explained.

The increase in non-taxable income (PTKP) to Rp200 million under PPH 21 in 2020 did not help many entrepreneurs, Sukamdani observed.

The reason was that employees’ income in companies affected by COVID-19 was not up to Rp200 million, he said.

“The companies that benefited from the tax relief were the unaffected ones,” he added.

Meanwhile, in relation to taxes collected by local governments, he said that each local government applies a different taxation policy. But, in general, only a few local governments are offering tax reliefs to employers, he added.

“Local taxation varies. Some give discounts on Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT). Like in Jakarta, the government gives a 20-percent discount, but only at the end of the year. The relief is not maximal because some companies have paid before due,” Sukamdani remarked.

Earlier on Tuesday, President Joko Widodo said he had decided to extend the PPKM until July 25, 2021. If the trend of cases continued to decline then, the government would gradually lift the restrictions, he added.

Source: ANTARA News

Jakarta (ANTARA) – Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno, the tourism and creative economy minister, concurrently Tourism and Creative Economy Agency’s head, is optimistic that the “Indonesia Spice Up The World” event would boost the country’s culinary industry.

Uno noted in a statement here on Tuesday that his ministry fully supported the promotion event initiated by the coordinating minister for maritime affairs and investment by sending a supporting delegation to the United States in the near future.

“This program has been well-designed for a long time. There was a choice between being postponed or implemented with some adaptations. I choose adaptations to ensure that our economic recovery is not delayed. Hence, we will not be fully physically present but hybrid,” he explained.

“Indonesia Spice Up The World” is one of the government’s main programs involving cross-ministerial and institutional efforts aimed at expanding the marketing of Indonesian spice products or processed food and spices.

In addition, the program is focused at boosting Indonesia’s culinary industry by developing Indonesian restaurants abroad or as part of our gastrodiplomacy efforts.

The minister cited data that Indonesia’s export value of processed and fresh spices had clocked growth averaging 2.95 percent over the last five years. In 2020, the export value was recorded at US$1.02 billion.

The “Indonesia Spice Up The World” promotion event is being organized until 2024, with the objective of boosting the export value of spices and herbs to US$2 billion and increasing the presence of four thousand Indonesian restaurants abroad.

Uno noted that the United States is a big market for the Indonesian spice and culinary sales, constituting 20-25 percent of Indonesia’s spice exports.

Source: Antara News

Jakarta (ANTARA) – Indonesia’s poverty rate can be curbed if the poverty eradication program is focused on the country’s most populated island of Java, according to Chief of the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) Margo Yuwono.

“Java has a very large population,” Yuwono noted in a press statement on Tuesday.

The BPS reported that the country’s poverty rate had reached 10.4 percent in March 2021, with 27.54 million out of the country’s population of 270 million living in poverty.

Yuwono highlighted that in order to reduce the poverty rate, all related authorities should focus attention on factors, such as controlling prices, providing social assistance to vulnerable people, and boosting the public’s income through various stimuli.

The social protection program launched by the government in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic can contribute to lowering the poverty rate in due course of time, the BPS chief noted.

“In essence, (we should think of) how to ensure that the social assistance will reach the targeted recipients and will be used properly,” he emphasized.

The BPS announced earlier that the number of Indonesians living in poverty had fallen by 0.01 million to reach 27.54 million in March 2021, from 27.55 million in September 2020, as several economic sectors recovered.

Accordingly, the poverty rate dropped to 10.14 percent in March 2021, from 10.19 percent in September 2020, the BPS chief noted at an online press conference in Jakarta last Thursday. However, as compared to March 2020, the number of poor increased by 1.12 million in March 2021, he stated.

The number of poor in urban areas rose by 138.1 thousand to reach 12.18 million in March 2021, from 12.04 million in September 2020, Yuwono pointed out.

Consequently, the poverty rate in urban areas increased by 0.01 percent to reach 7.89 percent in March 2021, from 7.88 percent in September 2020, he noted.

In contrast, the number of poor in rural areas fell by 145 thousand to reach 15.37 million in March 2021, from 15.51 million in September 2020, Yuwono stated.

Thus, the poverty rate in rural areas declined by 0.10 percent to reach 13.10 percent in March 2021, from 13.2 percent in September 2020, he noted.

The BPS chief attributed the drop in the number of poor people in rural areas to the success of various development programs, including village fund disbursement.

Source: Antara News

Jakarta – State-owned postal company PT Pos Indonesia began doling out Social Cash Transfers (BST) to DKI Jakarta residents on Monday.

“According to the instructions from the PT Pos Indonesia Head Office, the distribution of BST will be carried out from July 19 to July 27, 2021,” head of the Central Jakarta Post Office, Syafrizal, said in a statement received here on Monday.

At least 300 thousand Indonesian rupiahs will be doled out to each beneficiary family (KPM) per month under BST, he informed. In July this year, recipients will be provided a two-month quota of Rp600 thousand, accumulated from May and June, he added.

The targeted recipients in Central Jakarta are residing in eight sub-districts, Syafrizal said.

Cash will be distributed in Cempaka Putih sub-district on July 19-20, 2021, Gambir sub-district on July 21, Menteng sub-district on July 22, and Sawah Besar sub-district on July 23, he informed.

Meanwhile, cash will be disbursed in Kemayoran sub-district on July 24-25, 2021, Senen sub-district on 26 July, and Tanah Abang sub-district on July 27, he said.

DKI Jakarta residents will be able to check their status and whether they are registered as recipients by clicking on the social aid tab on the corona.jakarta.go.id web page, he added.

The recipients will be monitored through their family card number (KK), Syafrizal said. Based on data, 55,346 families in the Central Jakarta area are eligible for the social aid, he added.

To qualify for the aid, BST recipients will need to register for the 2020 basic necessities social aid program and not for the Family Hope Program (PKH) and/or Non-Cash Food AID (BPNT) program, he said.

Registered recipients will receive an invitation at least one day before the aid disbursal from the designated regional officer, he said. If residents do not attend on the first schedule, they will be rescheduled to the second schedule or third schedule, after the distribution of the first phase is completed in the five areas of DKI Jakarta and the Seribu (Thousand) Islands, he added.

Source: Antara News

Jakarta – The Indonesian government is preparing to increase the social protection budget under the national economic recovery (PEN) program by Rp33.98 trillion to Rp187.84 trillion from Rp153.86 trillion, an official has said.

The increase in the social protection budget is the result of the expansion and extension of the social protection program in response to the enforcement of public activity restrictions (PPKM) from July 3, 2021, head of the Fiscal Policy Board at the Finance Ministry, Febrio Kacaribu, said in a written statement released on Monday.

“The extension and expansion (of the program) will help the public withstand the current situation,” he added.

The increase in the social protection budget will be used to subsidize electricity bills of households consuming 450-900 volt ampere (VA) of electricity until December this year, instead of September, as originally planned, he informed.

The subsidy on the base drinking water bills of 1.14 million business subscribers will also be extended until December, 2021, he added.

Meanwhile, the internet quota subsidy for students, teachers, and lecturers, which was originally planned to end in May, 2021, will also be extended until December, Kacaribu said.

In addition, the government will expand the coverage of the social protection program with the help of the additional budget , including extending the basic necessity card program to 18.8 million beneficiary families during the July-August 2021 period, he added. As such, the recipients will enjoy the benefit of the basic necessity cards for 14 months, he pointed out.

The social protection aid will also include rice assistance of 10 kilogram from the National Logistics Agency (Bulog) for each of the 28.8 million beneficiary families and cash assistance for 5.9 million beneficiary families, other than basic necessity card recipients and social assistance recipients, for six months, he said.

The outreach of the pre-employment card program will also be expanded to cover 2.8 million more participants, he added.

The government will also raise the number of micro businesses receiving productive assistance by 3 million, he further said. The assistance is expected to be disbursed between July and September, 2021, he added.

Source: Antara News