GENERAL NEWS AND HEADLINES

House, govt meet to discuss omnibus bill
Kompas (https://tinyurl.com/us22m73)

The House of Representatives Legislation Body (Baleg) and the government held a working meeting today at 2 p.m. to discuss the latter’s stance on the deliberation of the contentious job creation bill, as many have advocated for its postponement amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Baleg had invited the relevant ministers to the meeting, namely Law and Human Rights Minister Yasonna Laoly, Coordinating Economic Minister Airlangga Hartanto, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani, Home Minister Tito Karnavian, Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya, Agrarian and Spatial Planning Minister Sofyan Djalil and Manpower Minister Ida Fauziah.

The meeting was open to the public and accessible through the House’s social media and television broadcast.

No decision has been made at the time of writing.

 

New Jakarta deputy governor to be inaugurated tomorrow
Media Indonesia (https://tinyurl.com/wnfd272)

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo will officially inaugurate the Jakarta deputy governor-elect Ahmad Riza Patria of the Gerindra Party on Wednesday afternoon, as confirmed by the Home Ministry's regional autonomy director general Akmal Malik earlier today.

Akmal added that matters regarding protocols of the inauguration, which will reportedly be held online, and formal invitations for government officials would be arranged by the Presidential Palace.

Riza, a former lawmaker, was elected as the new Jakarta deputy governor on April 6 after securing 81 of 100 votes.

 

Bali has no intention of applying large-scale social restrictions
The Jakarta Post (https://tinyurl.com/tvztp5l)

Despite the increasing number of COVID-19 cases in Bali, the island has no intention of implementing large-scale social restrictions (PSBB) similar to those enforced in Greater Jakarta to stop the virus transmission.

Bali Governor Wayan Koster claimed that Bali had yet to encounter a situation necessitating such restrictions, given that the province had not seen a high number of local transmissions.

He went on to say that Bali at the moment was not at the level of Jakarta, which is the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak in Indonesia with a high number of local transmissions. Koster said he was certain that the number of local transmissions in Bali was still low.

Koster claimed that only eight of 81 cases recorded as of Monday had been caused by local transmission.  

 

BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS NEWS AND HEADLINES

Govt targets 4.5 to 5.5 percent economic growth, 3 to 4 percent budget deficit in 2021
CNBC Indonesia, (https://tinyurl.com/sw98wrm); Bisnis Indonesia, (https://tinyurl.com/ro5xgj3), (https://tinyurl.com/r992akh); Antara, (https://tinyurl.com/v8pxtwy) 

Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati has outlined an optimistic target for economic growth in 2021 within the range of 4.5 to 5.5 percent amid strong pressure on the national and global economy from the COVID-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, the budget deficit is set in the range of 3 to 4 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), far below the budget deficit limit of 5 percent as stipulated in Regulation in Lieu of Law (Perppu) No. 1/2020. “The government will pursue budget discipline starting from next year,” Sri Mulyani explained in Today video conference.

 

Jokowi warns public of tough times ahead
Kontan, (https://tinyurl.com/t52fmot); Bisnis Indonesia, (https://tinyurl.com/tdbpfs5); Detik, (https://tinyurl.com/v2nv5p9) 

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has warned the public to prepare for tough times ahead, as economic growth in 2020 is predicted to fall sharply due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Jokowi also said that international institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have revised down their global economy projections, including a global economic contraction of 2.8 percent in the worst-case scenario. During a virtual ASEAN Summit (KTT ASEAN) attended by President Jokowi today, Vietnam’s foreign minister urged the organization to revise down the region’s growth projection from 4.7 percent to 1 percent, Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi explained.

 

Moody’s downgrades Inalum’s outlook, maintains credit rating
Kontan, (https://tinyurl.com/rljmkuj) 

Credit rating agency Moody’s Investor Service has downgraded state-owned mining holding company Indonesia Asahan Aluminium’s (Inalum) outlook from stable to negative but has kept its bond credit rating at Baa2. “The negative prospect reflects the weak operations of Inalum’s subsidiaries, caused by a contraction in margins as commodity prices fall. Capacity expansion in the company’s downstream operations is also weakening,” Moody’s vice president and senior analyst Nidhi Dhruv wrote in a statement on Monday. The report also highlights Inalum’s weak liquidity position, saying the company would not be able to obtain the cash needed to fund the whole group’s capital expenditure. Nevertheless, Dhruv decided to maintain Inalum’s bond credit rating by citing the company’s low-cost, competitive and diversified mining operations in coal, gold, nickel, tin, copper and aluminum.

 

Fintech payments, agritech experience sharp increase in transactions
Kontan, (https://tinyurl.com/tx7lr28); Detik, (https://tinyurl.com/t9enuc9); Berita Satu, (https://tinyurl.com/snp3b3y) 

Despite its adverse effect on the majority of businesses, the large-scale social restriction (PSBB) policy has benefited online-based businesses, particularly financial technology (fintech) payment and agriculture technology (agritech) start-ups. Digital wallet Dana CEO Vincent Iswara said his company had experienced a 15 percent increase in transactions, specifically from e-commerce payments, cash transfers and phone credit purchases. Likewise, agritech Sayurbox has enjoyed a fivefold increase in orders for agricultural products, the company’s spokesperson Oshin Hernis said.

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