Indonesian Businesses Grind to a Halt From Mount Kelud’s Eruption

Jakarta Globe – As volcanic ash from Mount Kelud has yet to subside, Indonesian companies brace for potential losses from damaged corps, disrupted distribution and fleeing customers.

Kelud in East Java erupted on Thursday, sending millions of cubic meters of ash over Java, blocking sunlight, covering roads and suspending airline flights. Tens of thousands of people were evacuated from their homes.

Franky Sibarani, the secretary general of the Indonesian Food and Beverage Association (GAPPMI), said that the impact of eruption of Kelud would be immediate, cutting supply of foods and beverage from the impacted area.

“Our industry is vulnerable to contamination such as volcanic ashes, especially small- and medium-enterprises that rely on sun to dry their produces,” Franky told Jakarta Globe on Friday.

Malang is home for producers of raw food commodities such as vegetables, chicken and eggs.

Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Hatta Rajasa said on Friday that the eruption had a significant impact on economic activities.

“We haven’t calculated the loss, but it must be huge as the economic activities on Java island is high,” Hatta said in Jakarta.

The ash cloud from Thursday night’s eruption of Kelud has moved westward over the densely populated island, affecting cities like Solo and Semarang in Central Java and Yogyakarta.

Economies in East and Central Java, as well as Yogyakarta, produced $154 billion worth of goods and services last year, according to data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS). [Click here for full article…]

Gerindra considers Prabowo-Hatta ticket

Jakarta Post – The Great Indonesia Movement (Gerindra) Party is mulling whether to pair chief patron Lt. Gen. (ret) Prabowo Subianto with National Mandate Party (PAN) chairman and Coordinating Economic Minister Hatta Rajasa, to run in the upcoming presidential race.

Lawmaker Martin Hutabarat, a member of Gerindra’s board of patrons, said on Wednesday that the party considered Hatta to be an excellent running mate for Prabowo in the elections.

“PAN chairman Hatta Rajasa is among individuals we are considering as vice-presidential candidates for Prabowo,” Martin said.

According to Martin, the pairing of Prabowo with his Javanese and military background and Hatta’s non-Javanese, civilian, background would make a perfect combination, although the final decision will be determined by the result of the legislative election in April.

“Gerindra is working on raising public support so that we will have enough votes in the legislative election in order to nominate Prabowo as our presidential candidate,” Martin, a lawmaker from the House of Representatives Commission III overseeing law and human rights, said.

The discussion on a possible match between Prabowo and Hatta in the elections was sparked after they held a meeting last February, which quickly led to speculation that the two party leaders were working on a deal that would pave the way for a coalition in the 2014 presidential election.  [Click here for full article…]

Jakarta Is World’s Hottest Luxury Property Market

Jakarta’s luxury real estate market is once again the hottest in the world, according to a study by real estate firm Knight Frank.

Wall Street Journal – Where’s the hottest luxury real estate market in the world? Try Jakarta – for the second year in a row.

According to Knight Frank’s Prime Global Cities Index, which tracks luxury real estate markets in 30 cities around the world, prices for top homes in the Indonesian capital rose more than in any other city, up 37.7% at the end of 2013 from the year before.

 

Liam Bailey, Knight Frank’s global head of residential research, cited “very limited supply” and “very strong” demand as factors driving Jakarta’s high luxury property prices, “even if the Indonesian economy isn’t as strong as it was maybe two years ago.”

 

It’s the second year in a row Jakarta has topped the list. In 2012, the city saw its upper echelon of homes jump 38% in price from 2011.

 

The increase in Jakarta was more than double the price rise in second-ranked Dublin (17.5%) and Beijing (17.1%). Ranking No. 4 and 5, respectively, were Dubai (17%) and Los Angeles (14%). The brokerage firm, which released its quarterly update on Tuesday, defines “prime real estate” as homes that were sold in the top five percentile in terms of value.

 

Meanwhile, Singapore and Hong Kong, which were once hot real estate markets in Asia just three years ago, have cooled thanks to government measures, such as higher stamp duties, intended to restrict speculation and foreign buying. Specifically, these measures have “impacted the flow of Chinese money coming into those markets,” Mr. Bailey said. [Click here for full article…]

Survey: Public has Little Information about Election

Tempo.Co – The Indonesia Survey Institute and the International Foundation for Electoral Systems, recently released a survey result that showed that most of the public has no information about election date. The survey also showed that public requires a bunch of information concerning the upcoming general election.

“Fifty four percent of the respondents were not informed about the election date,” said Rakesh Sharma, Director of IFES Applied Research. The result also shows that 73 percent of the respondents gained only little information on the general election.

Moreover, the survey revealed that there are plenty of misconception in the election, particularly that of the election process and mechanism. The survey took place last December involving 1,890 respondents from all provinces. [Click here for full article…]

Indonesia’s tourism prospects attract more investments

eTurboNews – Indonesia’s Minister for Tourism and Creative Economy, Mari Elka Pangestu stated that investments in tourism facilities in Indonesia will continue to grow in view of the continued increase in the number of international visitors to the country as well as domestic tourists within Indonesia, and their spread to many emerging destinations.

 

In 2014, domestic tourists are expected to make 251 million trips, while 9.2 million foreign visitors are estimated to make Indonesia their choice destination.

 

Furthermore, Minister Mari Pangestu expects Investments in Tourism to grow between 10% – 20% in 2014, undeterred by Indonesia’s election year, in which this year people will vote for new legislators and as well as a new President.

 

According to the National Investment Board, in 2013 alone, 578 projects were built in the tourism sector, covering hotels, resorts, restaurants and entertainment facilities, reaching a total of US$ 602.65 million. In 2012 total investments reached USD$ 869.8 million in 406 projects, as reported by Bisnis Indonesia. [Click here for full article…]

New Indonesia Trade Law Allows Export Limits to Protect Industry

Bloomberg – Indonesia’s parliament passed into law the nation’s first trade bill that enables the government to restrict exports and imports to protect local industries.

The law was approved at a plenary session today, Pramono Anung, the parliament’s deputy speaker, said in Jakarta. The government may limit exports or imports of staple commodities to ensure local demand is met, according to the final bill distributed to reporters at parliament yesterday.

The new law highlights Indonesia’s push to limit commodity exports and food imports to develop local production and boost manufacturing capabilities in the country as the government seeks to reduce the economy’s dependence on overseas shipments for growth. Declines in commodity prices, coupled with rising imports to the world’s fourth-most populous nation, contributed to a current-account deficit last year that hurt the rupiah.

“This law underlines Indonesia’s stance of not adopting a free market,” Deputy Trade Minister Bayu Krisnamurthi said after the bill was passed. “The government has been given the right to intervene to protect its people.”

Article 54 of the trade law allows the government to restrict exports of commodities to anticipate “quite drastic” price increases in global markets or to ensure domestic supply, according to the bill. It also allows for import restrictions to develop or protect certain industries and to safeguard the country’s balance of payments.

Indonesia, the world’s biggest exporter of palm oil, thermal coal, tin and nickel ore, banned exports of mineral ores last month to force companies to build smelters to boost value-added exports. [Click here for full article…]

Prabowo, Hatta to Join Hands in Election

Prabowo Subianto. (Illustration: Kendra H Paramita)

Tempo.Co – Member of the Great indonesia Movement party (Gerindra) advisory board Martin Hutabarat, said that Head of Gerindra’s Advisory Board Prabowo Subianto, has decided to run with Chairman of the National Mandate Party (PAN) Hatta Rajasa, for the presidential election in 2014.

“We have intensified our communication with PAN,” said Martin at the Parliamentary Complex, Senayan, on Tuesday, February 11, 2014.

Martin was not worried that the collaboration between the two parties would fail to reach the 20 percent presidential threshold. He said, Gerindre is capable of reaching the target even without the help of PAN. Martin was convinced that the two figures would win the election. [Click here for full article…]

Indonesian election: Campaign banners get personal

The Interpreter – A collection of kooky campaign banners has been doing the rounds on Indonesian social media this week, showing legislative candidates comparing themselves to figures as diverse as Barack Obama, David Beckham, and DreamWorks’ Kung Fu Panda (the image on the left is taken from a collection on this forum).

Some are so outlandish we can only hope they are Photoshop jobs by Indonesian satirists like the gang at Malesbanget.com, and others appear to be out of date. But the general theme of candidates going to great lengths to distinguish themselves from the competition is a real phenomenon in Indonesian politics.

Political campaigning in Indonesia has changed in character since the introduction of an open-party list system in 2009. The system is designed to even the playing field for candidates from smaller parties, ensuring better representation across the diverse archipelago, and increase competition between candidates within the same party.

For campaigning, this has meant an increased emphasis on the candidate over the party name and increased personal spending to finance campaigns. Notice on the posters how party logos, which once dominated campaign material, have taken a back seat to superhero symbols, questionable catchphrases and attractive daughters (Australians are no strangers to such campaign techniques). [Click here for full article…]

Indonesia Claims Gains in Fight Against Corruption

VOA News – Indonesian officials say their country has made significant progress in cracking down on corruption over the past three years.

Officials Monday announced that the battle against corruption has increased both in terms of quantity and quality, with hundreds of millions of dollars being seized since 2011. The Indonesian Corruption Eradication Commission says it seized nearly $100 million from corruption crimes in 2013, up significantly from 2012.

Indonesian Attorney General Basrief Arief told VOA that his office handled 1,696 corruption cases in 2013, up from 833 in 2012.

“For 2012, we saved over $20 million from corruption. We more than quadrupled that amount in 2013 to over $91 million, an increase of almost 80%. Most of the lost public money was due to corruption in the taxation sector, including customs,” said Arief.

The Indonesia Central Statistics Agency has launched a pilot project called Integrity Zone [ZI] to combat corruption. [Click here for full article…]

John Kerry to Visit Indonesia

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. AP/Virginia Mayo

Temp.Co – United States Secretary of State John Kerry embarks on a trip this week to Indonesia, China, South Korea, and the United Arab Emirates.

The trip, which scheduled to take place from February 13 to 18, 2014, will be Kerry’s fifth visit to Asia since he became secretary of state a year ago.

“Kerry will visit Seoul, Beijing, Jakarta and Abu Dhabi to meet with senior government officials and address a range of bilateral, regional, and global issues,” State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a statement.

In Beijing and Seoul, Kerry’s talks are expected to focus on an air defense zone declared by China last year, which covers territories claimed to be owned by South Korea and Japan. He is also expected to discuss concerns about North Korea’s nuclear program.

He will also discuss US-China and US-South Korea collaborations during the visit to each country and regional and global issues. [Click here for full article…]

Scholars, intellectuals endorse Prabowo’s bid

The Jakarta Globe – A group of university professors and intellectuals announced on Wednesday its collective endorsement of Gerindra Party presidential candidate and chief patron Prabowo Subianto, giving the retired army general another moral boost ahead of the upcoming presidential election. Former Bandung-based Padjadjaran University rector Yuyun Wirasasmita, who read the group’s endorsement during a gathering […]