Indonesia

Setiono Ono stops his morning wildfire patrol at a small timber dam between a logged area and an oil palm plantation near the northeast coast of the island of Sumatra. Water leaks the color of charcoal from the dam through a small canal cut to drain the peatland surrounding it. The dam, built by the local community in Riau province’s …

Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani Indrawati stressed that Indonesia’s omnibus job creation legislation had attracted praise from a number of multilateral institutions and credit rating agencies as it offered a glimmer of hope for Indonesia’s economic recovery. Moody’s concluded that in the long term, the Job Development Legislation will be able to draw investment for the economic growth of Indonesia. …

In Indonesia, it’s serious business to be seen as halal. Starbucks and KFC show their halal certification from the top clerical body of the world, even though booze or bacon are seldom associated with the franchises. But Indonesian households and companies are less picky when it comes to banking. According to the Indonesian Financial Services Agency (OJK), less than 10 …

As of yesterday, Indonesia has taken over from the Philippines as the latest pandemic hot spot of South-east Asia as it struggles to control surging Covid-19 infections, with new cases reaching 4,000 a day. The total in the world’s fourth-most populous nation reached 349,160 yesterday with 4,411 new cases in the past 24 hours-the highest in South-East Asia. 12,268 deaths, …

The administration of President Donald Trump will welcome Indonesian Minister of Defense Prabowo Subianto to the Pentagon on Friday (Oct 16) after dropping a de facto ban on his entry into the country imposed on allegations of human rights abuses. Prabowo, a 68-year-old former chief of the special forces, has long been a controversial figure in Indonesia, accused in places …

Green spaces around the Arjuna Wiwaha Monument, also known as the Horse Statue, have suffered the most damage in Central Jakarta following Tuesday’s mass anti-job development law protests. The green spaces saw the most damage, even though they weren’t as bad as they were last week. We noticed a lot of trash as well. Our workers have been working all …

Indonesian President Joko Widodo urged his ministers to brace for the potentially dangerous effects of an upcoming La Nina weather pattern that could cause flooding, landslides and agricultural production impacts. In an online meeting, Jokowi, as the president is commonly known, said forecasts from the Indonesian Meteorological Agency (BMKG) suggested that monthly rain volumes in the country could rise above …

Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) and LG Chem, two of the world’s leading manufacturers of electric vehicle ( EV) batteries, have announced that they will join projects that, according to the country’s government, could see US$ 20 billion (S$27.2 billion) more invested in Indonesia’s supply chains. Last month, the companies signed separate heads of agreement with Aneka Tambang to manufacture higher …

Indonesia plans to start administering coronavirus vaccines by depending on supplies from Chinese drugmakers at the beginning of November, as the fourth most populous nation in the world is fighting a health crisis that may lead to the first recession in more than two decades. The Coordinating Ministry for Maritime and Investment Affairs announced that CanSino Biologics, the first Chinese …

For most of the year, the Indonesian rupiah has languished at the bottom of the Asian currency rankings, but a recent revision of the investment law of the nation may help to revive its fortunes. Last week, after Indonesia passed the first omnibus law aimed at cutting red tape to raise investments and create jobs, the rupiah rose about 1 …