Category: Economy

MotoGP Mandalika 2022 has been completed. Although accompanied by several notes, this event is expected to be a revival of Indonesia in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. MotoGP has finally returned to Indonesia after 25 years of absence. Held at the Pertamina Mandalika International Street Circuit, Sunday (20/3/2022), the race was delayed by an hour due to heavy rain.

Indonesia’s great success at the inaugural Mandalika MotoGP event invited a lot of praise. Moreover, the organizers of the Mandalika Grand Prix Association (MGPA) were criticized for having circuit problems in the pre-season test session last February. Although it is recognized that the name of the inaugural event can not be separated from several shortcomings outside the race, such as the supporting facilities around the circuit are not fully 100 percent.

However, Indonesia still has a year to improve before the 2023 race. What is certain is that with the Mandalika MotoGP, the Indonesian economy, especially Lombok, has faltered due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Plus, the Mandalika MotoGP was also questioned because, at the beginning of the pandemic, there were restrictions on activities in the country and also in many countries. However, amid Indonesia’s efforts towards endemic status, the primary class motorcycle race was able to be held.

            “The Mandalika MotoGP is momentum for Indonesia’s economic revival, especially tourism. Therefore, it is hoped that next year, MotoGP can be even better,” said Angkasa Pura Logistik President Director Danny P Thaharsyah.

March 21, 2022, detikSport

(https://sport.detik.com/moto-gp/d-5992745/semoga-motogp-mandalika-jadi-momentum-kebangkitan-indonesia)

IDX Composite opened green by 0.48% to 6,951.35 on Wednesday (16/3/2021). IDX Composite continued to rise at 09.20 PM with an appreciation of 0.77% and moved at the level of 6,967.81.

The shares that were bought the most by foreigners were PT Bank Negara Indonesia Tbk (BBNI) and PT Bank Central Asia Tbk (BBCA) with a net buy of Rp38 billion and Rp68 billion, respectively. Meanwhile, the shares most sold by foreigners were shares of PT Merdeka Copper Gold Tbk (MDKA) and PT PP Tbk (PTPP) with a net buy of Rp11 billion and Rp6 billion, respectively.

From abroad, investors will be watching the release of Japan’s trade balance data as of February 2022 at 06.50 AM. The market consensus compiled by Tradingeconomics predicts that the trade balance of the Land of the Rising Sun will still return to a deficit of JPY 112.6 billion.

Meanwhile, in the US, market consensus predicts that US oil stocks will decrease by 0.97 million barrels, from the previous period’s position of 1.86 million barrels. Then, gasoline stocks are also expected to fall by 1.73 million barrels as of March 11, from the previous decline of 1.41 million barrels. This data will also be observed by investors because the level of oil inventories will also affect the price of petroleum products, which in turn can have an impact on inflation.

March 10, 2022, CNBC Indonesia

(https://www.cnbcindonesia.com/market/20220316092025-17-323159/didukung-asing-ihsg-kembali-hijau-mencoba-pepet-7000)

Bambang Susantono and Dhony Rahajoe officially became the Head of the Authority and Deputy Head of the IKN Nusantara Authority. Bambang and Dhony were inaugurated by President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) at the State Palace, Central Jakarta. After the event was over, Jokowi congratulated the inaugurated officials. It was only then followed by the officials present.

KSP explained the reasons why Bambang Susantonodan and Dhony Rahajoe were chosen to be the leaders of IKN Nusantara. The factors of experience and professionalism are both major considerations. “If you look at his experience, they are a pretty good combination in terms of professionalism. Pak Bambang has expertise in the fields of transportation, infrastructure, and transportation. Then he has experience in the field of management and international institutions. For Mr. Dhony, he has experience in managing BSD. Satellite city, which is arguably quite successful.” said the Main Expert Staff of the Presidential Staff Office (KSP) Wandy Tuturoong

The Finance Ministry has issued a new regulation to steer the proceeds of the second tax amnesty toward renewable energy development and certain processing industries. Finance Ministerial Decree No. 52/2022 states that 332 such industries may receive more of the proceeds than others. These include geothermal power production, power generator manufacturing, meat processing, furniture making, crude palm oil processing, and ceramic manufacturing.

The decree is a derivative of Finance Ministerial Regulation No. 196/2021 that offers lower tax rates of 6 to 12 percent on declared assets on the condition that they go either into government bonds (SBN) or direct investment in renewables or processing industries. A higher rate of 8 to 18 percent is payable on declared assets that go into any other industries or financial instruments. Neilmaldrin noted that the investments had to be made by September 2023 and with a minimum holding period of five years for the amnesty to apply. Taxpayers were also allowed to switch between investing in the 332 industries and investing in government bonds, under certain terms and conditions.

The tax office reported that 17,754 taxpayers had signed up for the tax amnesty as of Feb 28. They had declared Rp18.73 trillion (US$1.31 billion) in assets at home and Rp1.3 trillion abroad.  The taxpayers have invested in Rp1.1 trillion in government bonds and contributed Rp2.2 trillion in income tax through the amnesty program as of that date.

March 5, 2022, The Jakarta Post

(https://www.thejakartapost.com/business/2022/03/01/new-tax-amnesty-rule-directs-funds-to-renewables-processing-industries.html)

State-owned telecommunications firm Telkomsel and technology company GoTo Group have formed a joint venture to expand their gaming business in the Southeast Asian market. The joint venture, Majamojo, will be set up by Telkomsel subsidiary PT Telkomsel Ekosistem Digital and GoTo subsidiary PT Aplikasi Multimedia Anak Bangsa, with the former holding a majority stake. Majamojo, formally PT Games Karya Nusantara, will focus on game development for mobile platforms. The company is slated to form strategic partnerships with third-party gaming developers and create an integrated platform leveraging the variety of services in the GoTo and Telkomsel ecosystems.

“We are aiming for Majamojo to strengthen Indonesia’s gaming ecosystem in Southeast Asia,” Majamojo president director Jungwon Hahn said in a statement on Wednesday.

The mobile gaming business in Southeast Asia has grown by approximately 180% from 2014 to 2017, according to data from gaming market research companies Newzoo and Niko Partners. The companies also predict that the mobile gaming business will continue to see rapid growth in the next five years. Tokyo-based market research company Shibuya Data Count estimated the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of the gaming industry in the region at 8.5% in the period of 2020 to 2025.

GoTo strategic partnership head Reggy Susanto said he expected the joint venture to strengthen Indonesia’s gaming industry and facilitate the development of homegrown digital talent. “[Majamojo] has tremendous resources to become the largest gaming company in the region,” Reggy said in the same statement.

Gaming is one of the few industries that grew in 2020 despite the pandemic-induced economic slowdown. Tourism and Creative Economy Ministry data show that the apps and gaming industry contributed Rp 24.88 trillion (US$1.7 billion) to the country’s economy that year, accounting for 2.19 percent of the total GDP. The gaming industry grew 4.47 percent in 2020.

Feb 24, 2022, The Jakarta Post

(https://www.thejakartapost.com/business/2022/02/24/telkomsel-goto-join-forces-to-expand-in-sea-gaming-business.html)

Indonesia should quadruple its annual investment target for new and renewable energy to more than US$8 billion by 2025 to reach energy transition goals, according to a new report published by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD). The report, Leveraging Public Funding to Incentivize Private Investment in Renewable Energy in Indonesia, cites figures according to which Indonesia spent just $1.51 billion on renewables last year. That was “just 20 percent of what it needs to invest each year from 2021 to 2025 to reach 23 percent of new and renewable energy in the energy mix by 2025,” reads an IISD press release from Friday.

The country needs to take concrete measures to incentivize investment in low-carbon energy and meet its net-zero climate goals, according to the report, which suggests that the government use state budget spending and seek international help to attract private investment in renewable energy. It also urged the government to get state-owned enterprises to align with national climate goals and to use public infrastructure funding institutions, such as Indonesia Infrastructure Guarantee Fund (PT IIGF), PT Sarana Multi Infrastructure (PT SMI), and PT Indonesia Infrastructure Finance (PT IIF), to spur project development.

The NGO, headquartered in Winnipeg, Canada, makes the case that the government’s targets are far too low to meet the stated climate goals. “With the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources projecting that $37 billion would be required by 2025 to reach the 23 percent target, the country now needs to invest over $8 billion each year. And yet, the government currently targets $2.1 billion average annual investments.

”To mobilize private investments in green energy, Indonesia had to “increase the clarity and traceability of current financial flows and allocation of public financing for renewable energy projects,” the IISD suggested, arguing this would increase private investor confidence and trust from international funders. “Indonesia must act now to incentivize private investments and reverse the current trend, especially because supporting renewable energy development can significantly contribute to post-COVID-19 recovery and a green transition,” Theresia Betty Sumarno, lead author of the report, was quoted as saying in the press release.

Feb 25, 2022, The Jakarta Post

(https://www.thejakartapost.com/business/2022/02/25/indonesia-aiming-far-too-low-to-reach-climate-goals-think-tank.html)