VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Singapore is hosting top executives of big global companies this week at a host of conferences, marking its gradual return to normalcy and underscoring the contrast with long-time rival Hong Kong, which is sticking with some of the toughest quarantine rules in the world.

The Milken Institute's annual Asia Summit, run by billionaire Michael Milken's think tank, the Bloomberg New Economy Forum, and an event by sovereign wealth fund GIC attracted hundreds of executives vaccinated against COVID-19.

Participants were allowed entry only after clearing swab tests and were required to wear masks and comply with strict safe distancing measures, though enjoyed relatively more freedom than the country's general population in terms of eating together.

The resumption of on-site events in the Southeast Asian hub comes as Singapore is allowing quarantine free travel to at least a dozen countries including Britain, France, Germany, Australia, Canada and the United States.

On Wednesday, UBS inaugurated the Swiss bank's largest office in Asia, an event attended by its chairman chief executive officer and others in the city-state.

"Things develop, things evolve but evolve fast here in Singapore. And even with the kind of semi lockdown situation that we are currently in, if you come here, you still feel the vibe," UBS CEO Ralf Hammers said.

Top officials from Goldman Sachs, HSBC, NYSE Group, Standard Chartered, Paypal and BNP Paribas spoke at the business events in Singapore, with many likely to be making their first trip to Singapore since authorities imposed restrictions early last year..

The two-day Milken event and an evening event by GIC was attended by about 550 people, including 150 overseas executives. The Bloomberg event had over 300 attendees, with 80% flying in.

Rooms at the plush 112-room Capella hotel in Sentosa island where a one-night stay costs at least $1,600 and which hosted the Bloomberg forum were sold out.

Later this month, Singapore singer JJ Lin performs at a two-day concert that organisers expect to be at near full capacity of about 2,000 people per night, the Straits Times daily said.

Over 100 exhibitors from 12 countries are participating in a food and beverages and supply chain event currently underway, with an international jewellery show and a martial arts event taking place in coming weeks.

Despite all this, compared to Europe, Britain and the United States, Singapore still has tight COVID-19 restrictions, with dining out largely limited to two people and mandatory mask-wearing in public.

TIGHTER RULES IN HONG KONG

By contrast, Hong Kong has followed Beijing's lead in retaining strict travel curbs to curb new COVID outbreaks, prompting warnings from international business lobby groups that the financial centre could lose talent and investment.

"When you restrict travel in and out, when you restrict the ability for people to come and visit and engage, for people to leave to go engage around the world, over time, that has an impact on your economic activity," Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon told the Bloomberg event in Singapore on Wednesday.

Singapore's daily COVID-19 cases are hovering at more than 2,000 and the city-state still has strict restrictions on social gatherings, but with 85% of its 5.45 million population vaccinated, the government wants to open more for business.

Hong Kong has barely recorded any local coronavirus cases in recent months but the government hopes that its tight rules, including up to three weeks' hotel quarantine for visitors, would convince China to gradually open its border with the city.

"There's only a few cities where people want to congregate where you have that gateway of bringing global finance together and redistribute it. Hong Kong is one of those," BlackRock CEO Larry Fink told the Hong Kong FinTech Week earlier this month.

"I'm truly looking forward to physically being there in Hong Kong without a 21-day quarantine but that is a whole other story."(Reuters)

The Philippines has approved a plan to allow entry soon to foreign tourists vaccinated against COVID-19, its tourism ministry said on Friday, following moves by other Southeast Asian countries to relax travel curbs.

The coronavirus task force "approved in principle the entry of fully vaccinated tourists" from countries with low COVID-19 cases, the ministry said, adding that guidelines must be finalised.

The Philippines, known for its diving and thousands of tropical islands, saw an 83% drop in foreign arrivals last year, receiving nearly 1.4 million visitors, compared to nearly 8.2 million in 2019. Japan, South Korea and China are its biggest tourism markets.

It imposed some of Asia's tightest entry requirements during the pandemic and has been one of the region's worst hit countries in terms of cases, deaths and economic losses. Just over a quarter of its population has been vaccinated.

Neighbours Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia have also announced various degrees of reopening in recent weeks, after progress in vaccinating their local populations.

"Allowing tourists from green countries or territories that have the majority of its population vaccinated and with low infection rate, will greatly help in our recovery efforts," tourism minister, Bernadette Romulo-Puyat, said in the statement.

The Philippines includes on its "green" list of approved countries Japan, China, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and India, among others.(Reuters)

Pakistan has removed a clause from a new criminal law that had allowed chemical castration as a possible punishment for serial rapists, a government official said on Friday.

"We have amended the criminal law, and decided that the chemical castration clause will be taken out," Maleeka Bukhari, parliamentary secretary on law, told a news conference in Islamabad.

She said the decision was taken after the Islamic Ideology Council, a state-run body that interprets laws from an Islamic perspective, found chemical castration un-Islamic.

The government of Prime Minister Imran Khan hurriedly passed nearly three dozens laws in a joint session of the parliament on Wednesday, including the anti-rape criminal law.

Chemical castration, which is carried out by the use of drugs and is reversible, can be a punishment for some sex crimes in countries including Poland, South Korea, the Czech Republic and some U.S. states.

Khan said last year he wanted to introduce the penalty amid a national outcry over increasing offences and the specific case of a mother of two driving along a major highway who was dragged out of her car and raped by two men at gunpoint.

Fewer than 3% of rapists are convicted in courts in Pakistan, according to the non-profit organisation, War Against Rape.(Reuters)

Investment Minister Bahlil Lahadalia supports efforts to expedite 5G networks by telecommunications companies, especially in Makassar, South Sulawesi, given the province's vast potential to boost the national economy, especially in eastern Indonesia.

"In this pandemic era, everything changes, and everyone uses technology, and the presence of Indosat Ooredoo is a solution and the right step in advancing the economy, especially in eastern Indonesia," the minister noted in Makassar, South Sulawesi, on Friday.

Lahadalia delivered the statement during the launch of 5G Indosat Ooredoo in Makassar. The event was also attended by acting Governor of South Sulawesi Andi Sudirman Sulaiman and Director & Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Indosat Ooredoo Vikram Sinha.

Lahadalia believes that reliable and quality technology was direly needed for Indonesia's economic growth. To this end, the government and entrepreneurs, including MSMEs, required 5G technology to facilitate their activities.

He also deemed South Sulawesi as a developed province apart from Java and held huge economic potential, especially for MSMEs.

"South Sulawesi also already has adequate infrastructure. Reliable 5G is needed to support the economy across all sectors, including MSMEs," he stated.

Acting governor of South Sulawesi Andi Sudirman Sulaiman backed the notion by saying that Makassar functions as a hub city for several provinces and cities in eastern Indonesia, so the presence of a reliable 5G network is direly needed in that region.

"Of course, the 5G network is direly needed to push for (the betterment of) South Sulawesi's economy, and eventually, it will also boost the national economy in general," he stated.

Director & Chief Operating Officer of Indosat Ooredoo Vikram Sinha remarked that the launch of the 5G network in Makassar was the fourth installment after those in Solo, Jakarta, and Surabaya.

According to the company, 5G technology was urgently needed in Indonesia as a means to support Indonesia in its pursuit of becoming a digital country and also encourages national economic growth.

"We will seize the opportunity to support and assist MSMEs that are company visas to help encourage and advance the Indonesian economy," Sinha added. (Antaranews)