Tag: regional investment

Posted on

Forbes Releases List of Young Achievers in Asia, Indonesia Donates 30 Representatives

The Asia-Pacific region has had its challenges over the past year. From travel restrictions issues to supply chain disruptions. But this hasn’t stopped young entrepreneurs in the region from coming up with new ideas, building on success, and in some cases starting their own businesses. This year, the 30 Under 30 Asia Awards released by Forbes shows a lot.
Quoting Forbes, Saturday (28/5/2022), more than 4,000 nominations were submitted to enter this year’s list, a record for the list in Asia. 22 countries and territories are represented on the list. In detail, the ranking of countries based on the highest number of citizens on the list is India (61), followed by Singapore (34), Japan (33), Australia (32), Indonesia (30), and China (28). Collectively, 90 of the 300 entries on this year’s list are from Southeast Asia, a region where the startup ecosystem is on the rise and attracting global VC money.
Indonesia, however, can be considered a hotbed for startups in Southeast Asia. According to a report by Google, Temasek, and Bain, e-Conomy SEA 2021 published in November, US$ 4.7 billion or Rp68.3 trillion (exchange rate of Rp14,539) VC money entered Indonesian startups in the first half of 2021.
Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia notes that Indonesian entrepreneurs make up 10% of the entire list, most of them building businesses to serve an increasingly tech-savvy population of 274 million. Debeasinta Budiman and Garret Koeswandi did just that.

May 28, 2022, DetikFinance
(https://finance.detik.com/berita-ekonomi-bisnis/d-6099804/forbes-rilis-daftar-pemuda-berprestasi-di-asia-ri-sumbang-30-wakil)

Posted on

Indonesia Rises $3.25 bln in its Biggest Global Sukuk Sale

Indonesia has raised $3.25 billion by selling U.S. dollar-denominated Islamic bonds with 5-year and 10-year tenures, the country’s biggest global Sukuk issuance, the finance ministry said on Wednesday. The 5-year notes carry a coupon of 4.40%, while the 10-year notes have a 4.70% coupon, below the sovereign’s initial price guidance, it said in a statement. Total order books reached $10.8 billion.
“The issuance… is the biggest global Sukuk transaction by the government in history, an accomplishment achieved amid intraday (market) volatility,” the ministry said.
Indonesia usually taps the global Sukuk market once every year. Last year it sold $3 billion worth of Islamic bonds. Those bonds carried much lower coupons compared with notes with similar maturities offered on the most recent sale.
The 5-year and 10-year bonds sold in 2021 carried 1.5% and 2.55% coupon rates, respectively. Most of the buyers of the new issuance were from Asia and the Middle East. CIMB, Deutsche Bank, Dubai Islamic Bank, HSBC, and Standard Chartered Bank were the joint lead manager and joint book-runner for the transaction. HSBC and Standard Chartered Bank were also joint green structuring advisors. BRI Danareksa Sekuritas dan Trimegah Sekuritas Indonesia acted as co-managers.

May 26, 2022, The Jakarta Post
(https://www.thejakartapost.com/business/2022/05/26/indonesia-raises-325-bln-in-its-biggest-global-sukuk-sale.html

Posted on

Energy Industry Leaders Push for Indonesia’s Energy Transition

Indonesia needs to tap into renewable energy sources, particularly geothermal and solar energy sources, as one of the world’s most populous country and a major global emitter is decarbonizing its economy. “Demand and potential for renewable energy in Indonesia are soaring, it is expected that the Indonesian energy demand will increase considerably,” Coordinating Economic Affairs Minister Airlangga Hartarto said during a JakPost UpClose webinar on Tuesday.
“By the end of 2060, we will put all kinds of renewable energy, including geothermal power and hydropower, in the system. If we still need more, it will come from wind and solar,” Edwin Nugraha Putra, executive vice president of electricity system planning at PLN.
PLN is currently developing a geothermal power plant with an installed capacity of 590 megawatts (MW), consisting of 360 MW generated by PLN and 230 MW generated in collaboration with state-owned geothermal company PT Geo Dipa Energi and state-owned Pertamina Geothermal Energy.
Indonesia, which has the world’s largest geothermal reserves, aims to achieve a geothermal power capacity of 3.35 gigawatts (GW) by 2030, as outlined in its 2021-2030 Electricity Procurement Plan (RUPTL). Data from the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry data show that only 9.2 percent of the country’s 23.7 GW geothermal potential, or 2.18 GW, has been harnessed to date, while 1.33 GW has been allocated for expansion plans through to 2035.
Low offtake tariffs remain the unaddressed challenge to developing geothermal power plants in Indonesia, experts say, after the recent launch of a state-funded well-drilling program addressed the issue of high production costs, experts say.
Jiro Tominaga, Indonesia’s country director at the Asian Development Bank (ADB), said changing certain policies was key to pushing Indonesia’s energy transition to achieve a 23 percent renewable energy mix by 2025. These included cutting fossil fuel subsidies, setting electricity tariffs that supported renewables, and encouraging private sector investments. The ADB has been supporting Indonesia’s energy transition since 2012, contributing over $3 billion in funding.

May 25, 2022, The Jakarta Post
(https://www.thejakartapost.com/business/2022/05/25/energy-industry-leaders-push-for-indonesias-energy-transition.html)

Posted on

Jokowi Meets Elon Musk After Nickel Talks

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo met Tesla Inc Chief Executive Elon Musk on Saturday in Texas to discuss potential investments and technology, Indonesia’s government said in a statement. The meeting between Musk and Jokowi came after a round of working-level discussions on a potential investment in Indonesia’s nickel industry and supply of batteries for electric vehicles, Indonesian officials told Reuters.
Representatives from Tesla were in Indonesia last week for meetings regarding a potential battery-related investment, Indonesian officials and two people familiar with the talks have said. Indonesia for years has been trying to secure a deal with Tesla on battery investment and potentially for Musk’s SpaceX aerospace company. Indonesia for years has been trying to secure a deal with Tesla on battery investment and potentially for Musk’s SpaceX aerospace company.
“There could be room for partnerships in many things because Indonesia has a lot of potentials”, Elon Musk said.
Indonesia has the world’s biggest nickel reserves, and Jokowi is keen to develop a nickel-based EV industry at home – from making nickel metal to producing battery components and assembling electric vehicles. In the past, he has also urged Musk to consider a rocket launch site in Indonesia. Two deals over the past month have given new momentum to Jokowi’s push to develop an EV-related industry at a time when global automakers have been scrambling to secure supplies of battery materials and reduce their reliance on China.
A consortium led by South Korea’s LG Energy Solution Ltd, the global No. 2 maker of EV batteries, announced plans last month to invest $9 billion in Indonesia as part of a deal that would include everything from nickel refining to producing battery cells in Indonesia. LG’s larger rival, China-based Contemporary Amperex Technology, a Tesla supplier, announced a $9 billion Indonesia investment in April.

May 15, 2022, TheJakartaPost
(https://www.thejakartapost.com/business/2022/05/15/jokowi-meets-elon-musk-after-nickel-talks.html)

Posted on

Cianjur, Indonesia Saves World’s 2nd Largest Treasure, Only Used 9%

Survei Pendahuluan dan Eksplorasi known as WPSPE) in the Cipanas Region, Cianjur Regency, West Java Province. The following is the official statement from the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources regarding the offered Geothermal WPSPE:

  • WPSPE Name : Cipanas
  • Geothermal WPSPE Location : Cianjur Regency, West Java Province
  • WPSPE area : 3,180 Ha
  • Potential : 85 MWe (Reserve)

It is hoped that the development of geothermal energy into a source of electrIndonesia has a ‘treasure’ in this case new renewable energy resources (EBT) in the form of geothermal or geothermal in the Cipanas area, Cianjur Regency, West Java. Currently, the 2nd largest treasure in the world has only been worked on by Indonesia, reaching 9.5%. The Geological Agency of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) noted that Indonesia’s geothermal resources as of December 2020 reached 23,965.5 Mega Watts (MW) or around 24 Giga Watts (GW). Meanwhile, the United States is ranked number one for geothermal resources, reaching 30,000 Mega Watts (MW).
The plan to work on geothermal energy sources in Cianjur is marked by the bidding of the Geothermal Preliminary and Exploration Survey Assignment Area (Wilayah Penugasan city in the country will increase. The reason is, until the end of 2021, the installed capacity of the Indonesian Geothermal Power Plant (PLTP) was recorded at only 2,276.9 Mega Watt (MW), only an increase of 146.2 MW from the total installed capacity in 2020 which was 2,130.7 MW.
This means that the total installed capacity of PLTP RI until the end of 2021 is only about 9.5% of the total existing resources. Thus, there is still a lot of geothermal potential in the country that has not been exploited.

May 14, 2022, CNBC Indonesia
(https://www.cnbcindonesia.com/news/20220514121424-4-339032/cianjur-pendam-harta-karun-terbesar-2-dunia-baru-dipakai-9)

Posted on

Jokowi Woos Investors in Meetings with US Congress, Businesses

President Joko Widodo met with United States officials and businesses ahead of the ASEAN-US Special Summit, trying to woo potential investors to Indonesia and the region while stressing the importance of ASEAN for peace and prosperity. Jokowi and several other ASEAN leaders met with US businesses at the Intercontinental Willard Hotel in Washington, DC.
The President told the business leaders that as the president of the Group of Twenty this year, Indonesia wanted to make sure that the upcoming G20 Summit could catalyze global economic recovery, especially for developing countries.
“This will need strong partnership between governments and business communities. I hope that CEOs of US companies can build concrete cooperation in the G20 with ASEAN, especially in Indonesia. Indonesia had potential in raw industries, green energy, as well as the digital economy, being one of the largest nickel-producing nations and the second-largest producer of stainless steel. Indonesia is also home to copper and bauxite as materials for aluminum, which could become the backbone for renewable energies such as lithium batteries and electric vehicles and other sources of green energy such as hydro, solar, and geothermal powers” Jokowi said.
“We are making sure to produce important commodities for environmentally friendly electricity generators. We invite American businesses to invest in Indonesia,” Jokowi said.

May 14, 2022, TheJakartaPost
(https://www.thejakartapost.com/indonesia/2022/05/14/jokowi-woos-investors-in-meetings-with-us-congress-businesses.html)

Posted on

Pertamina and Chevron Sign Cooperation of Rp146 Trillion

Minister of Investment/Head of the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) Bahlil Lahadalia revealed the investment value of the collaboration between PT Pertamina (Persero) and Chevron Corporation through its subsidiary, Chevron New Ventures Pte. Ltd. The total deal is worth US$ 10 billion or equivalent to Rp146 trillion (exchange rate of Rp14,600/US$). This investment is to encourage the optimization of Indonesia in promoting new and renewable energy.
“Geothermal is one of our mainstays that has been driven so far. Incidentally, Chevron and Pertamina have had good relations for decades. This will optimize the total investment of US$ 10 billion for the next 10 years,” he said at a press conference, quoted by Antara. from the Presidential Secretariat YouTube channel Friday (13/5/2022). Bahlil believes that if the agreement is carried out, then Indonesia’s goal to become the center of the downstream industry for new and renewable energy can be achieved.
For information, PT Pertamina (Persero) with its subsidiary Chevron Corporations, Chevron New Ventures Pte. Ltd. has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to explore potential low-carbon business opportunities in Indonesia.

May 13, 2022, DetikFinance
(https://finance.detik.com/energi/d-6077075/bahlil-buka-bukaan-kerja-sama-pertamina–chevron-rp-146-triliun)

Posted on

Indonesia Ranks Third in ASEAN on Manufacturing PMI Uptick

The mood of the local manufacturing industry has improved slightly over the past month to rise above most other ASEAN countries, a report released on Thursday shows.
Indonesia’s manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) booked a monthly increase of 0.6 to 51.9 in April, while Thailand’s rose 0.1 to the same level, according to a report published by HIS Markit, a subsidiary of financial information firm S&P Global.
The two countries rank third among ASEAN states according to the latest manufacturing PMI. The report also shows that Indonesia’s rate of improvement was the fastest since January, which it attributes to increased economic activities as a result of relaxed COVID-19 restrictions. The report is based on a survey of manufacturing purchasing managers who were asked whether business conditions had improved or worsened over the past month on several indicators, including customer orders, supply deliveries, and employment levels.
Singapore and the Philippines top the list, with the former booking an astounding 3.1-point month-to-month (mtm) increase in its manufacturing PMI to 58.1, while the latter increased 1.1 points to 54.1. Meanwhile, Vietnam’s manufacturing PMI remained unchanged at 51.7 while Malaysia saw a 2- point mtm increase to 51.6. The overall manufacturing PMI for ASEAN grew 1.1 points to 52.8 in the seventh consecutive month of improving figures.

May 6, 2022, TheJakartaPost
(https://www.thejakartapost.com/business/2022/05/06/indonesia-ranks-third-in-asean-on-manufacturing-pmi-uptick.html)

Posted on

Palm Oil Board Confident Export Ban Could End in May

Indonesia should be able to tackle its cooking oil shortage in the next few weeks and lift an export ban on palm oil and its refined products in May, an industry body said on Thursday, a day after a last-minute policy U-turn sparked more alarm for markets. The world’s top palm oil producer expanded an export ban on raw materials for cooking oil to include shipments of crude palm oil and most of its refined products just hours before it took effect at midnight Wednesday, in an attempt to secure domestic supply and bring down soaring prices.

Sahat Sinaga, the senior official at the Indonesian Palm Oil Board, said that decision had shocked the industry, but that he was confident the supply issue could be resolved not long after the Muslim festival of Idul Fitri in early May. He added that a palm oil export target of 34 million tonnes in 2022 would be met. Asked about the timeline suggested by the palm oil board, Trade Ministry senior official Veri Anggrijono said “we are all hoping this can be solved quickly”.

A trade ministry regulation on Wednesday said the export policy would be reviewed monthly, or as often as needed, while Chief Economics Minister Airlangga Hartarto said it could be lifted when bulk cooking oil recedes to 14,000 rupiahs ($0.97) a liter nationwide. Previous measures to tame prices had failed due to distribution problems, not supply shortages at factories, Sinaga said. “It will be a great success. It won’t take long. After Eid, the market will be flooded,” he said.

Markets had shown relief when Indonesia’s chief economic minister said on Tuesday the ban would only cover refined, bleached, and deodorized (RBD) palm olein, but a day later authorities announced other products would be included. That had an immediate impact on global vegetable oil prices, sending palm oil futures in Malaysia up by 9.8 percent. The jitters spilled over into markets on Thursday as the ban took effect.

Trade Minister Muhammad Lutfi said the decision was taken after careful consideration and monitoring the cooking oil supply daily.  “I hope we all understand the urgency of this policy,” Lutfi said.

April 29, 2022, The Jakarta Post

(https://www.thejakartapost.com/business/2022/04/29/palm-oil-board-confident-export-ban-could-end-in-may.html)

Posted on

Best Stock Exchange in the Asia Pacific: IDX Composite

Indonesian financial market trading, including the stock market aka IDX Composite in April 2022 officially ended on Thursday (28/4/2022), wherefrom April 29 to May 6, 2022, JCI trading was closed due to Eid long holiday 1443 H. Throughout April this year, the IDX Composite recorded a fairly good performance, where the index of the country’s stock exchange rose to 2.23% point-to-point. In fact, the IDX Composite’s performance in April was the best in the Asia-Pacific region, where the majority recorded a correction. Only the IDX Composite and the Malaysian stock exchange (KLCI) recorded positive performances in April this year.   

            The IDX Composite’s bright streak in April this year was supported by net purchases by foreign investors, where foreigners continued to hunt for Indonesian stocks throughout this month, even though market sentiment continued to fluctuate. Throughout April this year, foreigners have been chasing Indonesian stocks up to Rp40.87 trillion in all markets, with details of Rp17.73 trillion in the regular market and Rp23.14 trillion in the cash market and negotiations.  

            Indeed, from its movement, the IDX Composite also tends to be volatile due to market sentiment which tends to fluctuate throughout April this year. However, the JCI has never touched the psychological level of 6,900 this month. Even in April this year, the IDX Composite still set a record high (all-time high/ATH), where the highest level of the IDX Composite is currently at 7,276.19, which was created on April 21.

April 29, 2022, CNBC Indonesia

(https://www.cnbcindonesia.com/market/20220429153647-17-336097/bursa-saham-terbaik-di-asia-pasifik-ihsg)