VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) stated that it is focusing on programs that are aimed at empowering micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in 2023.

Kadin General Chairperson Arsjad Rasjid stated here on Tuesday that his side is focusing on the empowerment of MSMEs, as they are the foundation and basis of the national economy.

“In 2020, when Indonesia was hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, MSMEs were able to support our economy. Thus, it becomes the reason for us to focus on MSMEs’ empowerment this year,” Rasjid stated while delivering his remarks at the inauguration of the South Sumatra Kadin executive board.

He explained that in those empowerment programs, MSMEs are provided with assistance, such as through technology transfer, financing access, and market access expansion.

Rasjid highlighted that the synergy between Kadin and the government is paramount to boosting the country's economic power.

He also urged South Sumatra Kadin to support three priority programs of Kadin in 2023: the 2045 Golden Indonesia Roadmap, ASEAN Business Advisory Council 2023, and Kadin Impact Award.

Regional Secretary of South Sumatra Supriono is optimistic of the role of entrepreneurs becoming more maximal in carrying efforts to empower the community, both formally and informally.

"I hope Kadin would improve cooperation with the government amid the current economic slowdown," he stated.

Supriono is also upbeat that Kadin would serve as an example for other organizations in supporting the improvement of the community's economy by helping the government in handling various problems related to the economy in South Sumatra.

South Sumatra Kadin Chairperson Affandi Uji stated that his side is ready to become the "locomotive" for economic advancement in South Sumatra by cooperating with all sectors of the government. (antaranews)

(voinews.id) The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) noted that foreign tourist visits to Indonesia in December 2022 totaled 895,000 visits. In total, foreign tourist visits to Indonesia in 2022 will almost reach 5.5 million visits. In this regard, the Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Sandiaga Uno, Monday (6/2) in Jakarta revealed that the total number of foreign tourist arrivals to Indonesia had increased by 251.28 percent compared to 2021. The foreign tourists with the highest visit rates were from Singapore, Malaysia , Australia, Timor Leste and India.

"The number of foreign tourist arrivals to Indonesia which we initially projected at 5.2, the recorded numbers eventually reached almost 5.5 million visits, up 250% compared to 2021. Who is in the lead. Singapore first 20.55%, Malaysia 17.98%, Australia 11.42%, Timor Leste 8.4 and India 5.61%," said Sandiaga.

Sandiaga Uno added that the increase in foreign tourist arrivals was accompanied by an increase in the occupancy rate of star-class hotel rooms, by almost 57% compared to 2021. The average length of stay of guests was recorded at around 1.62 days, according to Sandiaga, also up compared to the previous year. 

In increasing foreign tourist visits to Indonesia, Sandiaga continues to encourage the ministry actors to create more innovative tour packages and add direct flights.

He will also introduce 5 Super Priority Destinations to foreign tourists, by carrying out current promotions through product placements.

"Indonesian products that are in demand, such as coffee, Indonesian culinary, there is also fashion that will be displayed in New York, later we will promote these super-priority destinations. Also through digital promotion through the Markom team which will encourage a more targeted and segmented approach, so that awareness of the 5 DSPs will increase in the markets we are targeting," said the minister.

On this occasion, Sandiaga also responded that Hong Kong had reopened its territory to foreign tourists. The Hong Kong Tourism Board is now promoting the Hello Hong Kong campaign and offering 500,000 free air tickets.

According to him, this does not make it a challenge, but an opportunity by offering direct flight packages from Hong Kong to Indonesian destinations, because Hong Kong and Indonesia destinations have very different attractions.

"Second, we want to emphasize as much as possible that there is a Proud to Travel Indonesia program, there is a possibility that if we cannot boost the movement of 1.4 billion domestic tourists, there will be a net out of our tourists, more Indonesian tourists traveling abroad than foreign tourists. who came to Indonesia. We must respond to this in a collaborative and innovative way. so that we can still attract foreign tourists but can encourage domestic tourists to be proud of traveling in Indonesia," said the minister. (VOI/Thiodor)

Ministry of Trade's Commodity Futures Trading Regulatory Agency (Bappebti) improve the people's literacy concerning crypto through the Crypto Literacy Month education program held from February 2 to February 28, 2023.

Acting Head of Bappebti Didid Noordiatmoko, in his official statement, Tuesday, expects that through the Crypto Literacy Month, the people are gaining greater awareness and are understanding the nuances of crypto assets.

This is expected to prevent them from blindly following the trend in crypto investment.

The Crypto Literacy Month program is driven by the increasing number of crypto investors in Indonesia, rising volume of crypto transactions every day, and negative issues surrounding crypto.

To this end, education concerning crypto assets in Indonesia is deemed necessary.

According to Bappebti's data, the total number of crypto investors during the 2020-2022 period has risen significantly. At the end of 2020, the number of crypto investors had reached around four million.

In 2022, this figure rose significantly to 11.2 million investors, and at the end of 2022, the number of crypto investors grew to 16.55 million.

The total transaction volume in 2021 also rose until it reached Rp859.4 trillion throughout 2021, which was a 1,224-percent rise as compared to the transaction value in 2020 recorded at Rp64.9 trillion.

Financial technology startup in the field of crypto assets and blockchain, Indodax, participated in supporting the Crypto Literacy Month activity to educate the people.

The company's Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Oscar Darmawan, stated that the people's increasing enthusiasm about crypto has driven the company to continuously provide education.

The company is ready to support the Crypto Literacy Month held by Bappebti, he remarked.

The startup provides literacy contents in the form of article concerning information about blockchain and crypto; audio content, such as podcast; and audiovisual content, such as education video. (Antaranews)

The main requirement for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to play a central role in the global arena is stable regional security, Governor of the National Resilience Institute (Lemhannas) Andi Widjajanto has said.

"There are two important issues of regional stability, namely the problem of the political crisis in Myanmar and the South China Sea. On the one hand, this challenge shows homework, so a breakthrough must be sought, and Indonesia, as the chair of ASEAN, has a central role," he observed in a press release on "The Latest ASEAN in the Global Stage” discussion in Jakarta on Monday.

According to Widjajanto, as the leader of ASEAN, Indonesia could encourage the resolution of these two problems because there are many diplomatic channels in ASEAN that encourage cooperation rather than create conflict.

"The Myanmar issue, for example, will be based on five points of consensus, one of which is prioritizing inclusive dialogue with all parties to encourage a special envoy or special envoy," he said.

According to director general for ASEAN cooperation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sidharto R. Suryodipuro, the Myanmar political crisis is indeed an important topic because it concerns regional stability and the development of the regional community.

"Indonesia has conveyed its plan and the ministers agreed on the plan that Indonesia will carry out in the Myanmar issue, while regarding the South China Sea, it is necessary to carry out intensive negotiations with China to achieve progress in terms of regional security," he informed.

ASEAN has agreed to support Indonesia's efforts in carrying out a consensus on ending violence, distributing aid, approaching all parties, and having dialogue in an inclusive political process.

Head of the Department of Economics of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) Fajar Hirawan agreed that the stability of Southeast Asia is important for advancing the growth and prosperity of the region.

"In everywhere, economic stability will be influenced by politics and security. I think stability in the region should be maintained, in this case, (in) Myanmar. When talking about the problems of ASEAN member countries, it means that everything must be seen. ASEAN was indeed founded as a forum to invite all to grow together, but if there is one who has stability issues, it will be a challenge in itself,” he said.

There are a number of sensitive issues in the economic field, while food security can be achieved by increasing cooperation, Sidharto said.

In the event of a crisis, ASEAN members can help each other in greater numbers.

"Apart from that, there are other sensitive issues such as energy, health, and financial transitions, where we already have an agreement on the digital economy framework and electric cars," said Sidharto.

Specifically for electric cars, because the market is regional, Indonesia is pushing for the creation of a regional ecosystem that has similar rules so that all manufacturers have a regional outlook.

"In this field, we have competitiveness as one of the engines of growth," Sidharto said. (Antaranews)