VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Indonesia's capital market performance in 2022 was the best as compared to the performance of ASEAN and Asian countries in general, Chairperson of Board of Commissioners of the Financial Services Authority (OJK) Mahendra Siregar stated.

"The Indonesian capital market had survived in 2022 and its performance tended to be very positive and even the best among the ASEAN and Asian countries in general," he remarked at the inauguration of the 2023 Indonesia Stock Exchange Trading here Monday.

Siregar noted that the positive achievement was apparent from the performance of the Indonesia Composite Stock Exchange (IHSG) in 2022 that closed at four percent higher than the index reached at the closing time of the trading in 2021.

In addition, the trading activity in 2022 also experienced a significant increase, as the frequency of daily transactions reached 1.31 million times, making it the largest in ASEAN.

Furthermore, market capitalization in Indonesia is also the highest, reaching Rp9,500 trillion or US$600 billion – equivalent to 50 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).

The OJK official also noted that 59 companies had issued their initial shares (IPO) on the stock exchange in 2022.

The number of capital market investors also increased to 10.3 million investors, thereby translating to a ten-fold or a one thousand percent increase since 2017, and was dominated by domestic investors, reaching 55 percent of the total investors.

"About 58.7 percent of them were (members of) the millennial generation and Generation Z. These are extraordinary achievements," Siregar remarked.

He emphasized that the achievements were very positive, especially when the closing of trading on December 30, 2022, in other countries, such as the European states, were unfavorable, according to the report of one of the international financial media.

The stock markets in Europe fell significantly due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, high inflation, and tight monetary policies.

The European stock market was down 12 percent -- the worst since 2018, and even worse when the continent was severely hit by the COVID-19 outbreak in the 2020-2021 period.

It was also reported that in 2023, European countries might experience heavy sluggishness and the Bank of England (BoE) had also stated that economic conditions in the Britain would face prolonged recession.

“It (the condition in Europe) is very different from the situation we are experiencing at the moment. Hence, we should be grateful," he pointed out.  (Antaranews)

 President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) rang the bell to open the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) stock trading in 2023 at 9 a.m. local time (UTC +7) on Monday.

"We must be thankful that our index in 2022 increased by 4.1 percent as compared with other countries that experienced huge drops," the president stated after opening this year's stock trading here.

He said that the government's decision to rescind the public activities restriction (PPKM) policy last Friday (December 30) was due to the constantly improving COVID-19 pandemic conditions.

Indonesia's COVID-19 pandemic indicators had not surpassed the World Health Organization's (WHO's) threshold for the last 10 months, as per the government's assessment, he noted.

"We decided to revoke the PPKM policy not for show, but it was based on our assessment for the last 10 months that we have controlled COVID-19. Our positivity rate and fatality rate are all below the WHO threshold," Jokowi expounded.

The president then lauded Indonesia's stock trading growth in 2022, as market capitalization had grown to Rp9,499 trillion despite ongoing global crises and economic uncertainties that year.

"(2022) is the year when the global economy, as well as ours, was under significant ordeals. We must be careful and remain vigilant," he stated.

He also commended the current demography of BEI investors, as 70 percent are investors below 40 years of age and 55 percent are below the age of 30, signifying the bright prospects of Indonesia's stock trading in the future.

Meanwhile, the IDX Composite (IHSG) on Monday opened lower by 8.51 points, equal to 0.12 percent, to 6,842.11, while the 45 blue chips, or the LQ45 index, was down by 1.81 points, equal to 0.19 percent, to 935.37.

Moreover, the exchange rate of the rupiah increased by 78 points, or 0.5 percent, to Rp15,495 per US dollar as compared to Rp15,573 per US dollar recorded at the last market closing. (antaranews)

A 4.9-magnitude earthquake -- earlier reported as 5.6-magnitude -- that rattled Jayapura, Papua, Monday morning, caused damage to some structures in the region, according to the local Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD).

Papua Province BPBD's Command Centre and Operations Control Manager, Jonathan Koirewoa, informed ANTARA here that damages reportedly occurred at some hotels and hospitals in Jayapura.

Damages were reported at Jayapura Horizon Hotel, Provita Hospital, Jayapura Mall, and Abepura Sunny Hotel, the official remarked while adding that structural damages caused to those buildings are cracks on walls, floors, and windows.

He noted that no injuries or casualties were reported from the earthquake to date.

Papua Province's BPBD continues to pool more information from Jayapura City and Jayapura District BPBDs regarding the earthquake effects, Koirewoa stated.

Meanwhile, an analyst of the Region V Jayapura Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), Jambari, stated that while the earthquake was earlier reported as 5.6-magnitude, further assessment revised the tremor to a magnitude of 4.9.

He said that the earthquake, whose epicenter was located some 13 kilometers northeast of Jayapura City at the depth of 10 kilometers, was felt at the Modified Mercalli Intensity (MMI) level IV in Jayapura City and Jayapura District.

Moreover, as of 11:25 a.m. local time (UTC +9), some 61 aftershocks, including six quakes with perceptible tremors, occurred after the main 4.9-magnitude earthquake at 3:24 a.m. local time, Jambari remarked.

Earthquakes regularly rock various parts of Indonesia due to the fact that the country lies on the Circum-Pacific Belt, also known as the Ring of Fire, where several tectonic plates meet and cause frequent volcanic and seismic activities.

On November 21, 2022, a 5.6-magnitude earthquake had jolted Cianjur District in West Java Province at 1:21 p.m. local time (UTC +7). The earthquake claimed 635 lives. Moreover, the 5.6-magnitude earthquake caused minor damage to 26,586 houses, moderate damage to 16,068 houses, and major damage to 13,633 houses. (Antaranews)

China's President Xi Jinping told Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Friday that the road to peace talks on Ukraine would not be smooth and that China would continue to uphold its "objective and fair stance" on the issue.

Xi said Beijing and Moscow should closely coordinate and cooperate in international affairs and emphasised Russia's willingness to engage in negotiations over Ukraine, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said in its report on a call between the two men.

"The Chinese side has noted that the Russian side has said it has never refused to resolve the conflict through diplomatic negotiations, and expressed its appreciation for this," Xi was quoted as saying in the video call by CCTV.

Xi and Putin have in recent years been drawn closer by a shared distrust of the United States and its allies, highlighted by a declaration in early February of a "no-limits" strategic partnership that sent alarm bells ringing across the West.

But after Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in February, China has publicly stressed that it is not in any way a party to the conflict and in September, after the Russian army had faced several setbacks on the battlefield, Putin publicly acknowledged that Xi had "questions and concerns" about the war.

Putin said in comments on Russian television on Friday that he aimed to strengthen military cooperation with China but there was no mention of military cooperation in the CCTV report of the call.

The "no-limits" description of the Sino-Russian relationship has fallen out of favour in Beijing, at least publicly, as it seeks to avoid sanctions from the West over aiding Russia's war efforts.

Xi, however, made clear on Friday the ideological affinity between Beijing and Moscow when it came to opposing what both view as the hegemonic U.S.-led West.

"Facts have repeatedly proved that containment and suppression are unpopular, and sanctions and interference are doomed to failure," Xi told Putin.

"China is ready to work with Russia and all progressive forces around the world that oppose hegemonism and power politics...and firmly defend the sovereignty, security and development interests of both countries and international justice." (Reuters)