Indonesia News Gazette

Jakarta (ANTARA) – Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati has forecast the national economic growth in 2021 to lie within the range of 3.7-4.5 percent on account of emergency public activity restrictions (PPKM) enforced in Java and Bali.

“The overall growth for 2021 will lie in the range of 3.7 to 4.5 percent, as the first-quarter growth was recorded at minus 0.7 percent,” Indrawati remarked during a webinar on the mid-year economic outlook here on Wednesday.

The government’s earlier growth projection lay in the range of 4.5 to 5.3 percent before the emergency PPKM was imposed due to a recent spike in COVID-19 cases.

The economic growth projection is influenced by the emergency PPKM scenario, the minister stated.

In the event of a moderate scenario in the country wherein the spread of COVID-19 is estimated to peak in the second week of July, the PPKM relaxation in the first week of August, and gradual recovery of economic activities in mid-August, then economic growth for 2021is projected to reach 4.5 percent, Indrawati noted.

Taking into account the moderate scenario, the growth forecast is pegged at 5.4 percent for the third quarter and 5.9 percent for the fourth quarter, according to the minister. “Hence, we are optimistic of the growth being above five percent in the third quarter and further increasing in the fourth quarter,” Indrawati stated.

However, if emergency PPKM is enforced in case of a serious scenario wherein public mobility plunges by up to 50 percent, COVID-19 transmission peaks until the second week of July, daily rise in COVID-19 cases is higher, PPKM is relaxed in the third week of August, and the economic activities begin to recover gradually in September 2021, then the economic growth for 2021 is projected at 3.7 percent, the minister stated.

“If it (emergency PPKM) is to last until August and normalcy is to return until September, then the growth will be 4.6 percent for the third quarter,” she noted.

The minister is upbeat about the second quarter growth hovering above seven percent since the emergency PPKM was enforced only in July.

“It seems that we are optimistic that it would reach above seven percent, and we hope that in the third and fourth weeks (of the emergency PPKM), it will remain above seven percent,” she remarked.

Source: Antara News

Jakarta (ANTARA) – More than 2.81 million people, segregated into six batches, obtained funding assistance under the pre-employment card program during the first semester of 2021, special staff of the Economic Affairs Coordinating Ministry Raden Pardede stated.

Last year, the number of pre-employment card recipients had reached 5.9 million divided into 11 batches, Pardede noted during an online discussion here on Wednesday.

In total, 65.1 million people from 514 districts and cities in 34 provinces had registered for pre-employment cards last year, he remarked.

“During the pandemic, as part of the national economic recovery and social protection programs, the government had transformed the pre-employment card program into semi-social assistance, with 5.9 million recipients in 2020 and 2.8 million recipients in 2021,” he noted. Pardede stated that of the 2.81 million pre-employment card recipients in the first semester, 2.77 million had received training, 2.71 million had completed training, and 2.66 million had obtained incentives.

“In total, Rp5.59 trillion incentives had been distributed,” he remarked.

Under the endeavors to strengthen the fundamentals of micro and small businesses, the government integrated the pre-employment card program with the smallholder business credit (KUR) program.

Through the funding assistance, graduates of the pre-employment card program on completion of training can run productive businesses through integration of the KUR program.

“To develop sustainable productive businesses, we are optimistic that the integration would have a positive impact on the creation of job opportunities,” he affirmed.

Source: Antara News

Jakarta (ANTARA) – Indonesia’s foreign exchange reserves rose to US$137.1 billion at the end of June, 2021 from US$136.4 billion at the end of May, 2021, Bank Indonesia (BI) reported.

The position of the foreign exchange reserves is equivalent to financing 9.2 months of imports, or 8.8 months of imports and servicing the government’s foreign debt, head of BI’s communications department, Erwin Haryono, said in a statement issued in Jakarta on Wednesday.

“This position is also above the international adequacy standard of about three months of imports,” he added.

The increase in the foreign exchange reserves position in June, 2021 was influenced, among other things, by the issuance of the government’s global sukuk as well as tax and service revenues, he explained.

“Bank Indonesia considers the foreign exchange reserves to be able to support external sector resilience and maintain macroeconomic and financial system stability,” Haryono said.

Going forward, BI expects foreign exchange reserves to remain adequate and become an important factor in the external resilience of the national economy, he added. (INE)

Source: Antara News

Jakarta (ANTARA) – Indonesia’s digital economy has the potential to expand further, particularly amid the pandemic, which has led people to increasingly rely on technology for activities and transactions, Minister of Trade, Muhammad Lutfi, has said.

“E-commerce, the digital economy, is not a new trend, but will become a major topic of discussion in the midst of international trade. The size of the digital economy will be bigger and more significant in the future,” the minister said while speaking at an online seminar here on Wednesday.

The value of Indonesia’s digital economic transactions reached Rp632 trillion in 2020, he noted.

Indonesia’s digital economy is expected to grow up to eight-fold by 2030, he projected.

“The digital economy will grow eightfold to Rp4,531 trillion. This will be an extraordinary growth,” he remarked.

E-commerce, which is expected to touch Rp1,908 trillion by 2030, is predicted to be the largest contributor to the digital economy, the minister said.

Next will be travel services, which are expected to reach Rp575 trillion, followed by digital media and entertainment platforms at Rp191 trillion, online transportation or ride-hailing services at Rp401 trillion, and digital finance or fintech at Rp224 trillion, he added.

Despite the bright prospects, Indonesia’s digital economy is still at an emerging level and there are still many challenges to creating a comprehensive and efficient digital economy ecosystem in the country, Lutfi noted.

The challenges include the availability of supporting technologies such as 5G connectivity, Internet of Things (IoT), cloud computing (cloud), and artificial intelligence (AI), he pointed out.

To get the latest technologies, Indonesia needs to build ICT infrastructure on a massive scale, which needs to be supported by government policies, the minister advised.

Besides, Indonesia needs adequate human resources or digital talent, he added.

The Trade Minister said the government is working to develop domestic digital talent by establishing coding schools.

“With a supportive implementation system and policies, I am optimistic that Indonesians can go global and become hosts in their own country. (…) The digital economy is inevitable, and this will eventually string Indonesia together,” he remarked. (INE)

Source: Antara News

Jakarta (ANTARA) – PT Indofarma is pursuing the production target of COVID-19 therapeutic drugs — Remdesivir, Oseltamivir, and Ivermectin — to be achieved during the July-September 2021 period in Indonesia.

“The vial form of Remdesivir (Desrem) is still imported. We are producing Oseltamivir 75 mg in capsule form in the country,” PT Indofarma President Director, Arief Pramuhanto, stated during a hearing (RDP) with the House of Representatives’ Commission VI held virtually here on Wednesday.

Remdesivir is still obtained through imports from India, and as many as 140 thousand vials are scheduled to arrive here on Sunday (July 11), he confirmed.

The additional 90 thousand vials will also arrive on Thursday (July 15), he noted.

“Collectively, we will receive 230 thousand vials by this month. One vial is for one inoculation,” he stated.

For the Oseltamivir type, Indofarma will produce approximately five million capsules per month until August and September 2021, Pramuhanto noted.

“We have prepared to produce eight million capsules or about 80 thousand boxes of Oseltamivir,” he stated.

Such medicines have been scheduled to be produced due to the current surge in demand, he informed.

PT Indofarma is also boosting its production capacity of the Ivermectin type of therapeutic drug for COVID-19 patients, doubling from the production in July 2021 of as many as eight million pills.

“During this month, up to eight million pills or approximately 400 thousand vials of Ivermectin will be produced, and next month, we will add some facilities to help double its production,” he remarked.

Source: Antara News

Jakarta (ANTARA) – Indonesia’s tax receipts reached Rp557.77 trillion in the first half of 2021, accounting for 45.36 percent of the target of Rp1,229.6 trillion, a Finance Ministry official said.

The tax receipts in the first half reflected a 4.9-percent increase compared to receipts of Rp531.77 trillion recorded in the year-ago period, the Finance Ministry’s expert staff for tax compliance, Yon Arsal, disclosed at an online discussion in Jakarta on Wednesday.

“This shows a relatively significant and stable rise in tax receipts. The tax receipts reflect economic development,” he observed.

Tax receipts have begun to enter a positive zone after contracting 12 percent year on year in the first half of 2020 on account of the COVID-19 pandemic, he said.

“The drop was very large. Compared to the onset of the pandemic last year, we have begun to enter the positive zone,” he remarked.

In terms of the types of taxes, only income tax in the non-oil/non-gas sector fell by 2.91 percent in the first half of 2021, he informed. Income tax receipts from the sector reached Rp303.17 trillion, or 47.52 percent of the target, he said.

Meanwhile, value added tax and luxury sales tax, property tax, and income tax from the oil and gas sector grew by 14.84 percent, 22.69 percent, and 23.54 percent respectively, in the first half of 2021, he added. Value added tax and luxury sales tax receipts in the first half of 2021 reached Rp217.66 trillion, or 41.98 percent of the target. They grew 14.84 percent compared to Rp189.53 trillion in receipts recorded in the same period of last year, Arsal said.

Meanwhile, property tax and other tax reached Rp14.63 trillion, or 53.67 percent of the target, reflecting a 22.69-percent increase compared to Rp11.93 trillion recorded in the same period last year, he added.

Income tax from the oil and gas sector reached Rp22.31 trillion, or 48.74 percent of the target, to show a growth of 23.54 percent from Rp18.06 trillion recorded in the corresponding period of last year, Arsal said. (INE)

Source: Antara News

Jakarta (ANTARA) – Realization of the national economic recovery program (PEN) budget in the first semester of 2021 had reached Rp252.3 trillion, or 36.1 percent of the Rp699.43-trillion ceiling, Raden Pardede, coordinating economic affairs minister’s special staff, stated.

“Realization of the PEN budget has continued to be accelerated and reached Rp252.3 trillion. The government has continued to push to overcome obstacles that arise in the absorption and implementation of the program,” Pardede remarked during an online discussion here, Wednesday.

The PEN budget was for the Family of Hope Program (PKH) at Rp13.96 trillion for 9.9 million poor families (KPM) out of this year’s total allocation of Rp28.31 trillion for 10 million KPM.

For the basic food cards, the realization, as of June 2021, had reached Rp17.75 trillion for 15.9 million KPM, out of the total 2021 allocation of Rp40.19 trillion for 18.8 million KPM.

The realization of direct cash assistance (BLT) in village funds in the first semester had reached Rp4.99 trillion for five million KPM from a total ceiling of Rp28.8 trillion for this year for eight million KPM.

The first semester’s realization also included for pre-employment cards that stood at Rp10 trillion for 2.8 million participants from a total ceiling of Rp20 trillion.

The PEN budget is aimed at improving the purchasing power and boosting economic recovery amid the public’s activity restrictions to curb COVID-19 transmission.

The government has also extended the implementation of governmental incentives through electricity discounts from six months to nine months for 32.6 million customers, with a budget totaling Rp7.58 trillion, comprising Rp5.67 trillion from the budget allocation in the first semester and an additional Rp1.91 trillion.

Ultra-micro productive assistance (BPUM) was also extended to nine months, until September, for additional three million new recipients and with a budget totaling Rp15.36 trillion for 12.8 million micro enterprises.

The cash social allowance assistance was extended by two months, with 10 million KPM and a total budget of Rp18 trillion comprising Rp11.9 trillion from the first semester’s budget allocation and an additional Rp6.1 trillion.

Source: Antara News

Jakarta (ANTARA) – Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Arifin Tasrif believes that reliable power supply is crucial for the oil and gas Rokan Block working area, as it provides 25 percent of the national oil production.

“Rokan Block, operated by Pertamina Hulu Rokan, needs 400 megawatts of electricity and 335 thousand barrels of steam per day,” Tasrif stated here on Tuesday.

Rokan Block in Riau Province plays a significant role in the national oil and gas industry, he pointed out.

Rokan Block covers an area of 6,220 square kilometers with 96 oil fields, of which three — Bekasap, Minas, and Duri — contain abundant oil reserves.

The oil reserves potential in Rokan Block is expected to reach some two billion barrels and has become a reliable source for the government to achieve its target of one million barrels of oil production in 2030. The oil and gas block will be handed over from Chevron Pasific Indonesia (CPI) to PT Pertamina Hulu Rokan, as CPI’s production-sharing contract for the Rokan Block will expire on August 9, 2021.

In a bid to ensure power supply to Rokan Block, state-run electricity firm PT PLN has acquired 100 percent of the share in the 300-megawatt-capacity power plant operated by PT Mandau Cipta Tenaga Nusantara (MCTN).

“Through the acquisition, PLN will ensure reliable power supply. Hence, it would not affect production in Rokan Block,” he remarked.

PLN will divide power supply to the Rokan Block into two stages: the transition period and permanent period.

During the transition period, the company will utilize all equipment of MCTN to supply electricity to Rokan Block for the next three years.

PLN will connect the Rokan Block power system to a permanent Sumatra regional power system.

Source: Antara News