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Darmin: Indonesia Once 2nd Largest Global Sugar Exporter, Now Importer

03

Aug

Darmin: Indonesia Once 2nd Largest Global Sugar Exporter, Now Importer

Indonesia has always had in demand plantation commodities from around the world, starting from spices, coffee, tea, sugar, rubber, to palm oil (Crude [...]

Darmin: Indonesia Once 2nd Largest Global Sugar Exporter, Now Importer. Indonesia has always had in demand plantation commodities from around the world, starting from spices, coffee, tea, sugar, rubber, to palm oil (Crude Palm Oil/CPO). Since 500 years ago, European sailors have sailed the ocean in search of spices from Maluku.But there are no plantation commodities that can stay high for long. Spices also ended their golden era since the 17th century. Now, it is no longer a valuable leading commodity in the world.`Historically, Indonesia has had several leading commodities. So, 500 years ago, European countries raced to come to the east to find a leading commodity known as spices. As a result, the world was divided by the Portuguese and Spanish. We were the owners of the spices that were being hunted by countries. But today, spices such as history are no longer the mainstays,` said Darmin at the Borobudur Hotel, Jakarta, Wednesday (3/8).As with spices, sugar which was once the mainstay of Indonesian exports in the 1930s is also no longer a favourite. `We were also ranked as the worlds number two sugar exporters before independence. But today do you know how much sugar we import every year? 3.5 million tonnes,` Darmin said.Now we have palm oil. The question is, will palm oil experience the same fate as other plantation commodities which were once the favourites in the world? Darmin said that this was the challenge, how to develop palm oil so that it is a sustainable commodity.`We have had commodities that have come and gone, will palm oil follow the same path? Of course we do not want that to happen. Palm oil is the mainstay of millions of people, just like rubber. The challenge for us is whether we are able to establish a mainstay commodity plantation that is sustainable,` he said.One of the steps that can be taken so that Indonesian palm oil can be sustainable, can be in continuous demand and accepted by the world market, is to get Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO) certification. With the ISPO mandate, all palm oil companies in Indonesia must meet environmental, social and economic standards.`ISPO is a standard that we have agreed to make it a credible, respected and internationally accepted standard. I have heard a suggestion that the validity of ISPO should be increased, I think this is appropriate to make it easier for us to implement it nationally,` he added. (dtf)
http://www.medanbisnisdaily.com/news/read/2016/08/03/249299/darmin-dulu-ri-eksportir-gula-no2-dunia-sekarang-impor/#.V6GZtBJna1s

Farmers Dismayed by Nugie’s Negative Campaign against Palm Oil

02

Aug

Farmers Dismayed by Nugie’s Negative Campaign against Palm Oil

The invitation was made by Nugie during the WWF-Indonesia #DoubleTigers Campaign at Senayan City Mall, Jakarta, last Saturday (July 30). "If it's [...]

Farmers Dismayed by Nugie’s Negative Campaign against Palm Oil. The invitation was made by Nugie during the WWF-Indonesia #DoubleTigers Campaign at Senayan City Mall, Jakarta, last Saturday (July 30).
`If it's true and there's written proof, we will immediately report it to the police (Jakarta Police),” said Secretary General (Sekjen) of Apkasindo Asmar Arsjad, Monday (August 1).
According to Asmar, Nugie's actions are a reflection of a public figure who is not nationalistic.
“Don't be a provocateur to the people to be against palm oil. If he is against palm oil, from now on he shouldn't brush his teeth with toothpaste, don't shower with soap, don't shampoo his hair, don't eat chocolate, don't eat fried food, because they all use palm oil as a raw material,” said Asmar.
Asmar said that oil palm is a strategic national commodity that supports around 30 million people in Indonesia. In 2015, the export value of palm oil reached 18.64 billion US dollars.
Vice Chairman of Commission IV of the Indonesian Parliament, Herman Khaeron, said that Nugie's actions contradict the efforts made by the government.
The DPR and palm oil stakeholders in Indonesia are promoting the product overseas to convince the international community that Indonesian palm oil is produced in accordance with environmentally-friendly plantation practices. (Noverius Laoli)

Editor: Sanusi
Source: Kontan

http://www.tribunnews.com/bisnis/2016/08/02/petani-kecewa-dengan-kampanye-negatif-nugie-soal-sawit

Malaysia to ease banking expansion cost in Indonesia

02

Aug

Malaysia to ease banking expansion cost in Indonesia

The facilitation is achieved after the signing of a bilateral agreement between Indonesia and Malaysia within the framework of ASEAN Banking [...]

Malaysia to ease banking expansion cost in Indonesia. The facilitation is achieved after the signing of a bilateral agreement between Indonesia and Malaysia within the framework of ASEAN Banking Integration Framework (ABIF), which is planned to be held in Jakarta, this afternoon. `Indonesian Banking will be treated equally as domestic bank (in Malaysia) not as a foreign bank (foreign bank) anymore,` he said. The equal treatment is in accordance with the principle of cooperation in ABIF, which is reciprocal and the principle of fairness to reduce inequality. ABIF is a derivative framework of ASEAN Framework Agreement on Services Financial Services Liberalization (AFAS-FSL). In accordance with the ABIF framework, Mulya continued, banks in Indonesia that will be allowed to establish a banking company in Malaysia are banks included in the `Qualified ASEAN Bank` (QAB) category. He explained that, in accordance with the agreement between Indonesia and Malaysia, the QAB category is a bank that has strong capital, a bank that implements good corporate governance (GCG), and a bank whose assets are controlled by domestic participants. `With such requirement, the most feasible is Commercial Bank Business Activities (BUKU) IV,` he said. Bank included in BUKU IV is a bank that has a core capital of more than Rp30 trillion. Currently, there are only four banks in Indonesia that are included in BUKU IV, namely Bank Mandiri, Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI), Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI), and Bank Central Asia (BCA). Mulya ensured that three banks, namely Mandiri, BRI, and BNI, have expressed their interest to expand to Malaysia. `Only BCA is not interested,` he said. However, the establishment of a company by the three banks depends on the readiness of each bank. The reason is, the three banks will not only establish a branch office, but also a subsidiary company in Malaysia. With this ABIF framework agreement, the costs charged to Indonesian banking will also be cheaper. The capital requirement charged remains at 300 million Malaysian Ringgit.  However, said Mulya, the administration fee for Indonesian banks will be reduced from 10.4 million Ringgit to 5.2 million Ringgit. Then, the cost in the payment system such as Automated Teller Machine (ATM) that is collected is reduced from 4 Ringgit per transaction to 1-2 Ringgit per transaction. However, for annual contributions, the costs charged will be more expensive than Malaysian domestic banks, which is 144 thousand Ringgit compared to 42 thousand Ringgit.  According to Mulya, this must be understood because Indonesian banking will later only enjoy the banking infrastructure that has been built by Malaysia. The negotiation for cooperation between Indonesia and Malaysia within the ABIF framework has taken six years since 2011.  In fact, for a long time, two Malaysian banking giants, namely Maybank and CIMB Niaga, have expanded the Indonesian market, which is the largest market in ASEAN. Meanwhile, Indonesian banking is often complicated and charged with high costs if they want to expand their business to Malaysia. `Malaysias provisions differentiate which are foreign banks and which are domestic banks. Therefore, we seek ABIF so that reciprocity will occur,` he said.
Editor: Ruslan Burhani
http://www.antaranews.com/berita/576247/malaysia-akan-ringankan-biaya-ekspansi-perbankan-indonesia

Reference price for CPO product falls 5.02 percent

01

Aug

Reference price for CPO product falls 5.02 percent

"The CPO reference price is currently declining again and is below the US$750 export tax threshold. For this reason, the government has imposed an [...]

Reference price for CPO product falls 5.02 percent. `The CPO reference price is currently declining again and is below the US$750 export tax threshold. For this reason, the government has imposed an export tax (BK) of zero US dollars per metric ton for the August 2016 period,` said Director General for Foreign Trade of the Ministry of Trade Dody Edward in a press release received on Friday.This represents a decrease of US$35.74 compared with the July 2016 period which was US$711.98 per metric ton. The determination is listed in the Regulation of the Minister of Trade (Permendag) Number 50/M-DAG/PER/7/2016 concerning the Determination of the Reference Export Price (HPE) for Agricultural and Forestry Products Subject to Export Tax.The CPO export tax for August 2016 listed in Column 1, attachment, PMK 136 of 2015, is at zero US dollars per metric ton, which is the same as the CPO export tax for the July 2016 period at US$0/metric ton.Meanwhile, the reference price for cocoa beans in August 2016 has increased by US$35 or 1.15 percent from US$3,043.95 per metric ton to US$3,078.95 per metric ton.This has an impact on the determination of the HPE for cocoa beans which has also increased by US$34 or 1.2 percent from US$2,743 per metric ton, so that for the August 2016 period it is US$2,777 per metric ton.The decrease in the reference price and HPE for cocoa beans is due to the decline in the international price of this commodity.However, the cocoa bean export tax has not changed compared with the previous period, which was 10 percent, as listed in column 3 attachment II of PMK 75 of 2012.
Editor: Ruslan Burhani
http://www.antaranews.com/berita/575818/harga-referensi-produk-cpo-turun-502-persen
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PT RNI and PTPN urged to accelerate the realization of 114,000 tonnes of “Raw Sugar” Imports

27

Jul

PT RNI and PTPN urged to accelerate the realization of 114,000 tonnes of “Raw Sugar” Imports

Ministry of Industry had issued recommendation for import of 114,000 ton raw sugar before for five State-owned Enterprises, namely PT Rajawali [...]

PT RNI and PTPN urged to accelerate the realization of 114,000 tonnes of “Raw Sugar” Imports. Ministry of Industry had issued recommendation for import of 114,000 ton raw sugar before for five State-owned Enterprises, namely PT Rajawali Nusantara Indonesia (RNI), PTPN IX, PTPN X, PTPN XI, and PTPN XII.
Panggah said, one of the efforts to decrease the price of granulated sugar that has now reached Rp 16,000 per kilogram (kg) is to increase the supply.
`Yes, the recommendation that we have issued will be realized right away. Not much has been realized yet,` said Panggah when met after coordination meeting at the Office of Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs, Jakarta, Tuesday (26/7/2016).
Panggah admitted that it is very difficult to find supply of raw sugar because world production decreased due to climate change La Nina.
Raw sugar supplying countries such as Thailand and Brazil also experienced production decrease.
As a result, the price of raw sugar also experienced increase of around 25-28 percent per ton.
Therefore, Panggah hopes that the State-owned Enterprise that had obtained import recommendation can realize it before September 2016.
`Earlier, the Coordinating Minister expects that the price of granulated sugar can be Rp 12,500 per kg at the end of the year,` concluded Panggah.

Writer
: Estu Suryowati

Editor
: M Fajar Marta

http://bisniskeuangan.kompas.com/read/2016/07/26/160621826/pt.rni.dan.ptpn.diminta.percepat.realisasi.impor.114.000.ton.raw.sugar.

Is This the New Composition of the Working Cabinet, the Result of Round Two of Reshuffle?

27

Jul

Is This the New Composition of the Working Cabinet, the Result of Round Two of Reshuffle?

Based on the results of Kompas's research, there are nine new names that are included into the ranks of the Working Cabinet. Meanwhile, there are [...]

Is This the New Composition of the Working Cabinet, the Result of Round Two of Reshuffle?. Based on the results of Kompas's research, there are nine new names that are included into the ranks of the Working Cabinet. Meanwhile, there are four ministers who have shifted their positions.
 
The following is a complete list of all names who President Jokowi will induct today:
1. Budi Karya Sumadi
Budi has been placed as the Minister of Transportation to replace Ignasius Jonan. Before becoming the Minister of Transportation, Budi was the President Director of Angkasa Pura II.   
2. Archandra Tahar
Archandra Tahar has received the President’s trust Joko Widodo as Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM). Archandra replaces Sudirman Said who is no longer part of the cabinet.
Archandra is an alumnus of the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) and was one of the proponents of the Offshore Masel Block. He also owns a firm in the United States.
3. Airlangga Hartarto
Airlangga Hartarto has been given the position as Minister of Industry, replacing Saleh Husin. Airlangga is a representation of the Golkar party, which recently stated its support for the government.
4. Prof. Muhajir
Prof. Muhajir is a former Rector of the Muhammadiyah University of Malang. President Jokowi has given Muhajir his trust to hold the position of Minister of National Education, replacing Anies Baswedan.
5. Eko Putro Sanjoyo
Eko Putro Sanjoyo is a politician from the National Awakening Party (PKB). He has replaced his fellow party member, Marwan Jafar, who was removed from the position of Minister of Development of Disadvantaged Regions, Villages, and Transmigration.
6. Asman Abnur
Asman Abnur is a representative of the National Mandate Party (PAN). Before Golkar, PAN had also earlier stated its support for the Jokowi-Jusuf Kalla government. Asman will be inducted as Minister of State Apparatus Empowerment and Bureaucratic Reform, having replaced Yuddy Chrisnandi.
7. Sri Mulyani Indrawati
Sri Mulyani has now returned to Indonesia after working in the international world as the World Bank’s Managing Director. She has now received a mandate from President Joko Widodo as Minister of Finance, replacing Bambang Brodjonegoro.
8. Enggartiasto Lukita
Enggar is a politician from the Nasdem party and also an entrepreneur. He was once the Chair of Real Estate Indonesia (REI). He has now received a mandate from President Jokowi to become the Minister of Trade, replacing Thomas Lembong, who has been moved to the position of Head of the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM). 
9. Wiranto

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