GENERAL NEWS AND HEADLINES

Protective gear to be distributed to border regions
TribunNews (https://tinyurl.com/t8blquy); The Jakarta Post (https://tinyurl.com/wy9kk75)  

The Indonesian Military (TNI) has distributed 151,000 pieces of personal protective equipment to 34 provinces across Indonesia to help medical personnel in combating the spread of COVID-19.

With the delivery, 19,000 items remain in stock as of Friday from the initial 170,000, said a commissioned officer of the military’s internal operations, Col. Inf. Aditya Nindra Pasha.

He went on to say that most of the equipment, as many as 40,000 items, had been delivered to Jakarta, considering that the city was the epicenter of COVID-19 infections in the country.

Aditya emphasized that the military would focus on distributing the equipment to provinces difficult to access, such as Papua and West Papua. He added that 36 regions dispatched their own respective teams to retrieve the protective equipment directly from Jakarta.

 

Ministry ready to refund pilgrims in face of pending haj cancellation
CNN Indonesia (https://tinyurl.com/tbkr45u)

Religious Affairs Minister Fachrul Razi said that he has prepared a refund scheme in case that the Saudi government cancels the annual haj to stem the spread of COVID-19. All funds deposited will be returned to Indonesian citizens should the haj be cancelled this year.

Fachrul gave assurances that his ministry would continue to monitor the development of Saudi’s policies regarding the haj.

Thus far, pilgrims are still scheduled to depart for the Islamic holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, on June 26.

 

Prosecutor’s offices to conduct online hearings
Media Indonesia (https://tinyurl.com/rjx5x56)

The Attorney General’s Office (AGO) has instructed all Indonesian prosecutor’s offices to conduct simultaneous online hearings as of Thursday to curb the spread of COVID-19 in Indonesia.

Fourteen prosecutor’s offices will hold online hearings, include those in West Papua, Riau, East Java, Jakarta, Yogyakarta, Riau Islands, South Sumatra, Aceh, Bengkulu, Bangka Belitung, Central Java, East Nusa Tenggara and South Sulawesi. All prosecutor’s offices in Jakarta have already started conducting online hearings.

 

Local authorities scramble to prevent wider transmission as ‘mudik’ starts early
The Jakarta Post (https://tinyurl.com/thztcot)

Authorities in Yogyakarta, Central Java and East Java are scrambling to prevent the spread of COVID-19 as workers from Greater Jakarta start returning to their hometowns in an early Idul Fitri mudik (exodus) after business had slowed due to the outbreak.

The Bantul administration in Yogyakarta province issued a circular requiring all visitors and residents entering the regency from other towns to undergo health checks at nearby health facilities and self-quarantine for two weeks.

Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo requested that local officials register those who recently returned to cities and regencies in the province and temporarily close tourist destinations, beaches, city squares and other public places. He also prohibited religious gatherings and any form of social gathering.

East Java Governor Khofifah Indar Parawansa said mudik travelers returning to the province would be among those prioritized to undergo COVID-19 tests.

 

BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS NEWS AND HEADLINES

JCI rebound continues as Rupiah appreciates
CNBC Indonesia, (https://tinyurl.com/wpo97tx); Kontan, (https://tinyurl.com/ve894hb); Investor Daily, (https://tinyurl.com/vopazqo); Kompas, (https://tinyurl.com/wgf38f5)

The Jakarta Composite Index (JCI) continued its rebound, recording an increase of 7.89 percent to the level of 4,681.38 by the end of today’s morning session. During the morning session, foreign investors recorded a net buy of Rp 38.14 billion (US$2.36 million) in the regular market. Meanwhile, the rupiah appreciated by 1.44 percent to the level of Rp 16,070 per dollar.

           

Food and beverage industry hit hardest by COVID-19
Bisnis Indonesia, (https://tinyurl.com/s45dd3s); The Jakarta Post, (https://tinyurl.com/r778vsz)  

The food and beverage (F&B) industry across Indonesia has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic as people opt to stay home rather than going out for meals, data from a payment gateway show. According to data from PT Moka Teknologi Indonesia, a homegrown start-up that provides digital cashier services to more than 30,000 merchants in Indonesia, many businesses have experienced losses due to the pandemic, including in the service and retail industries.

But the data revealed that the F&B industry had seen the largest impact. The F&B industry in Surabaya, East Java, plunged 26 percent, meanwhile, Bali experienced a decline of 18 percent, with areas in Greater Jakarta following suit, including Depok, Tangerang, West Jakarta and East Jakarta.

 

Coal plant project delays may cost developers $13.1 billion
The Jakarta Post, (https://tinyurl.com/vohxzpb)  

The delayed completion of 11 coal-fired power plants due to the coronavirus pandemic might cost developers billions of dollars in capital outlays, according to a nonprofit energy institution. San Francisco-based Global Energy Monitor (GEM) said in a report issued on Thursday that the COVID-19 lockdown had disrupted supply chains and skilled labor inflows into the 11 projects, which have a combined investment value of around US$13.1 billion. The 11 coal plants are among many foreign-backed infrastructure projects, including several smelters and the Jakarta-Bandung high speed railway, whose development has been stalled due to other countries’ emergency responses to the pandemic.

“It’s not just Chinese-backed plants that are affected. PLN is working with [Indonesian ship builder] PT PAL to develop power barges and those have also been affected as the support includes materials from China,” Djoko Rahardjo Abumanan, strategic procurement director of state-owned electricity company PLN, told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.

 

AKI chairman urges ministry to approve moratorium request
CNBC Indonesia, (https://tinyurl.com/w9n8toy) 

Indonesian Contractors Association (AKI) chairman Budi Harto said the association was still waiting for the Public Works and Housing Ministry to approve its request to delay construction projects in areas hit by the COVID-19 outbreak. He told CNBC Indonesia that property developers such as Ciputra Group and PT Intiland had already stopped their construction projects. “It is better for the government to temporarily stop or slow down [construction activities] to improve the effectiveness of its COVID-19 prevention program, because – in our opinion – the virus will be more difficult to handle, if it infects our workers,” Budi said.

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