VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved a policy-based loan of US$500 million to support the reform of Indonesian state-owned enterprises (SOEs).

The loan will cover the first subprogram under the SOEs Reform Program that will help Indonesia to improve the efficiency and resilience of SOEs as well as strengthen their corporate governance framework.

In an official statement received on Friday, ADB Senior Public Management Specialist for Southeast Asia Yurendra Basnett noted that SOEs could play a vital role in encouraging inclusive and sustainable recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia.

"However, to deliver greater value to the public, their structural weaknesses must be addressed. ADB is pleased to support the government's reforms to SOEs," he stated.

The program aligns with the comprehensive and ambitious 2020-2024 SOEs Road Map that introduces a series of reforms to transform SOEs and ensure their contribution to Indonesia's goal of becoming a high-income country by 2045.

The program will support the reduction in the number of SOEs as well as necessitate them to focus on their core operations, so that SOEs can become financially viable and provide essential public services efficiently.

The program supports efforts to boost the quality of SOE boards, strengthen financial monitoring and transparency, and help SOEs transition to a climate-compatible business model.

The German Development Bank, or Kreditanstalt Fur Wiederaufbau (KFW), will also provide co-financing, with a loan worth 300 million euros, or US$295.8 million.

As of 2021, Indonesia has over 100 SOEs, with total assets of US$610 billion, or equivalent to around 53 percent of Indonesia's GDP. They provide various public services, including electricity, pharmaceuticals, air navigation services, food distribution, and logistics.

SOEs are an essential source of state revenue through the payment of dividends and taxes. They have been on the forefront of responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and were the main pillars of the national economic recovery.

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic having negatively impacted SOEs, with an 89-percent decrease in consolidated net income between 2019 and 2020, their financial performance continues to improve.

From 2020 to 2021, the consolidated net profit of SOEs rose, from Rp13.3 trillion to Rp124 trillion. Thereafter, the return on assets increased, from 0.2 percent to 1.4 percent, and the return on equity increased, from 0.5 percent to 4.5 percent.

The continuous reform of SOEs will be essential to ensure that they continue to support Indonesia's medium- to long-term development goals. (antaranews)

Indonesia and Canada signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on cooperation on countering terrorism on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Bali on Wednesday (November 16).

"The MoU signing with Canada is a milestone that strengthens cooperation in handling terrorists that had been well developed so far," Head of the National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT) Commissioner General Boy Rafli Amar stated here on Saturday.

The MoU was signed by BNPT and Canada’s Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade, and Development (DFATD).

According to BNPT, the cooperation on strengthening counterterrorism was agreed on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Bali on November 16.

Canada is an important partner for Indonesia in countering terrorism, Amar stated. The MoU signing was based on the Indonesia-Canada Action Plan cooperation framework for 2022-2025.

The cooperation includes exchange of information, capacity building, and good practices that have been carried out by the two countries as well as expert-level meetings.

Within the framework, Indonesia and Canada are committed to strengthening cooperation in countering terrorism, preventing and eradicating transnational crimes, and combating human smuggling and trafficking through capacity building.

Bilateral cooperation in prevention and countermeasures of terrorism focus on human rights and gender-based approaches, Amar pointed out.

Moreover, he noted that the act of terrorism that took place in Istanbul, Turkey, on November 13 reaffirmed that the potential threat of terrorism is still present and real.

"No single country can tackle terrorism alone. For this reason, international cooperation is absolutely necessary and must continue to be improved," he explained.

Following the ideals of independence, he said, Indonesia has a noble goal to realize world order that is free from all threats, including terrorism.

The MoU signing was conducted by BNPT Head Boy Rafli Amar and Canadian Ambassador to Indonesia and Timor Leste Nadia Burger. (antaranews)

Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR) Minister Basuki Hadimuljono highlighted that Indonesia's new capital city (IKN) Nusantara has attracted the interest of G20 member countries during the G20 Summit.

"In the G20 Summit forum that has just been held in Bali, IKN is one of the topics that attracted the interest of the G20 countries," he stated during an online discussion themed "The Importance of Disaster Mitigation in IKN Planning," monitored on Saturday.

G20 is an international forum comprising 19 countries and the European Union that work together to handle major issues. Indonesia is holding the presidency of the grouping this year. The G20 Summit was held in Bali on November 15-16, 2022.

G20 member countries that showed interest in IKN are Japan, and South Korea. Besides them, the United Arab Emirates also showed its interest.

"Even in the High-Level Experts and Leaders Panel on Water and Disasters (HELP) Special Event forum in Bali as part of the G20 Summit, IKN was a special topic that was discussed and attended by participants to understand and provide inputs on water and disasters based on their own experiences," Hadimuljono further noted.

At the HELP forum, a follow-up workshop was proposed on account of the fact that sustainable water management in the new capital was not yet discussed in detail.

"Several universities proposed to discuss in further detail about sustainable water management in IKN," he remarked.

The PUPR Ministry is optimistic that the follow-up workshop related to sustainable water management in IKN would be held in early 2023.

Earlier, Minister Hadimuljono lauded South Korea's plan to participate in developing a clean water system in Nusantara.

The minister remarked that for the initial plan, the construction would start in 2024, but his ministry hopes to accelerate the process of preparing detailed technical plans, so that the installation can be built starting in 2023.

Hadimuljono is upbeat about the South Korean government actively participating in supporting the preparation up to the implementation of the 10th World Water Forum (WWF) scheduled on May 18-24, 2024, in Bali. (antaranews)

The Indonesian Sports Association for the Deaf (Porturin) has sent 52 athletes for the 2022 ASEAN Deaf Games, which will be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from November 20 to 27, 2022.

The athlete will compete in three out of the four sports at the multi-sports event, namely athletics, badminton and futsal. No Indonesian athlete will compete in the fourth sport, which is bowling.

The Ministry of Youth and Sports (Kemenpora) has extended full support for the Indonesian contingent. The ministry's secretary, Gunawan Suswantoro, and deputy for sports culture, Raden Isnanta, officially sent off the Indonesian team from Plaza Kemenpora, Senayan, here on Friday.

"We hope the athletes competing in Malaysia can bring the good name of the Indonesian people and maintain the honor of the Indonesian people and raise the Red and White flag and sing the Indonesia Raya anthem," remarked Suswantoro.

He also advised all members of the Indonesian contingent to maintain good health and increase solidarity in order to get a victory later.

In addition, he advised the Indonesian contingent to prioritize sportsmanship.

"Indonesia must achieve victory; Indonesia must win. We are all proud," he remarked.

This year's event is the first edition of the ASEAN Deaf Games. The games were supposed to be held in 2019 in Bangkok, Thailand. However, in November 2018, the ASEAN Deaf Sports Federation (ADSF) decided to cancel the tournament since the host was unable to fulfill the obligations and minimum requirements regarding the administration and management of the event.

Porturin is the parent sports organization for deaf athletes in Indonesia.

Previously, Porturin had helped deaf badminton athletes to compete in the Asia-Pacific Deaf Badminton Championships in Pattaya, Chonburi, Thailand, on September 14–21. Indonesia bagged two gold medals in the tournament. (antaranews)