VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Mar. 10 - The rupiah's exchange rate to the US dollar traded at the Jakarta interbank market on Wednesday morning will potentially open positive as the US bond yields decline.

The Indonesian currency opened 15 points higher, or 0.1 percent, at Rp14.390 per dollar as compared to Rp14,405 during the previous trade's closure.

"The fall of the US dollar index and treasury yield will potentially strengthen the rupiah," Samuel Security Analyst, Ahmad Mikail, noted here on Wednesday.

Mikail remarked that the US dollar index will possibly weaken to 91.5 today, as the US bond yields plunged. However, it is forecast to become stable again, while optimism of the US small medium enterprises (UKM) remained low.

The NFIB Small Business Optimism Index appeared to weaken in February to reach 95.8, lower than its projected 96. This demonstrated that the optimism of lower-middle entrepreneurs in the US had not recovered toward its economic prospects.

In addition, the yield of 10-year US treasury note will potentially fall to 1.5 percent. The US bond bought by The Fed will lead to the decrease of long-term US Treasury. This also will push the trend of gaining bond yield since earlier this year.

"The market players expected that The Fed's policy to be effective in holding down a long-term UST yield through the UST purchase program. They are also awaiting the US CPI's data on February to look at the next inflation," Ahmad remarked.

The rupiah's exchange rate to the US dollar at the Jakarta Interbank Spot Dollar Rate (JISDOR) is forecast to be positive to reach Rp14,100 per US dollar.

On Tuesday (March 9), the rupiah closed 45 points lower, or 0.31 percent, to Rp14,405 per US dollar as compared to Rp14,360 per US dollar on the previous day. (Antaranews)

Mar. 10 - The government has inked a partnership agreement with stakeholders in the palm oil industry to achieve the target to rejuvenate small-scale palm oil plantations in 2021.

Deputy for Food and Agribusiness Coordination at the Economic Affairs Coordinating Ministry Musdhalifah Machmud remarked that the rejuvenation of palm oil trees is targeted to boost the productivity of small-scale plantations.

"It is a form of the government's support to small farmers. Rejuvenation of small plantations is also part of the national economic recovery program that can absorb several workers amid the pandemic," Musdhalifah noted in a statement here on Wednesday.

The agreement was inked between six company members of the Indonesian Palm Oil Association (Gapki), PTPN VI, and 18 cooperative units’ members of the Indonesia Palm Oil Farmers Association (Apkasindo) from six districts.

The six districts are Kotabaru in South Kalimantan Province, Serdang Bedagai in North Sumatra Province, Muaro Jambi and Merangin in Jambi Province, and Kampar and Indragiri Hulu in Riau Province. The partnership would cover an area of 18,821 hectares of plantation.

Musdhalifah spoke of the government’s funding allocation of Rp5.567 trillion to rejuvenate 180 thousand hectares of small-scale palm oil plantations in 2021.

In pursuit of the target, the Agriculture Ministry, Palm Oil Plantation Fund Management Agency (BPDPKS), and all stakeholders in the sector drafted the mechanism for the rejuvenation.

Musdhalifah has urged local leaders in palm oil production centers to work actively in supporting the palm oil rejuvenation scheme in their respective regions.

The deputy echoed her optimism on expansion of palm oil plantations reaching the targeted 540 thousand hectares during the period from 2020 to 2022. (Antaranews)

Mar. 10 - The Ministry of Communication and Informatics (Kominfo) encourages Indonesian women to boost their digital skills in order to narrow the digital learning gap and reduce gender disparities in the information and communication technology sector.

"We need to see more involvement of women," Secretary General of the ministry Mira Tayyiba stated during a virtual discussion on the Network of Women for World Telecommunication Development Conference (WTDC-21) with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), as quoted in a press release here on Wednesday.

According to the ministry's data, the gap in digital skills between men and women in Indonesia is one percent based on cellphone ownership, while the gap in internet usage capability reaches five percent.

"I think the problem of the gender gap in the use of information and communication technology during the pandemic has become more contextual," Tayyiba remarked.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, women's digital abilities were quite good as was reflected in the growth of online businesses that are mostly run by women.

Nonetheless, the gap in digital capabilities between women and men should be addressed by equipping Indonesian women with digital skills.

To reduce the gap, the ministry is pursuing a Digital Talent Scholarship Program through training on the Fresh Graduate Academy, Vocational School Graduate Academy and Professional Academy.

The scholarship for digital training also targets housewives and micro, small, and medium enterprises, so that they can capitalize on the online trading platform to market their products.

"Currently, around 80 to 90 percent of the alumni from the Digital Talent Scholarship Program apply new skills in their work," Tayyiba remarked.

Meanwhile, in the formulation of policies in the communication and informatics sector, Tayyiba believes the role of women as being quite important. The ministry currently has eight female leaders at the director level, thereby constituting 19 percent women at the director level in the ministry. (Antaranews)

Mar. 10 - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) observed the COVID-19 vaccinations administered to artists at the Bagong Kussudiarja Art Hall, Bantul, Yogyakarta, on Wednesday and appealed to them to keep their spirits high amid the pandemic.

Accompanied by Airlangga Hartarto, the chairperson of the Committee for Handling COVID-19 and National Economic Recovery, President Jokowi remarked that as many as 517 artists were scheduled to be inoculated today.

"This morning, 517 artists are vaccinated, be it musicians, dancers, painters, or those engaged in traditional or modern arts. All are vaccinated, and thank God, everything goes well," Jokowi remarked.

The head of state is optimistic of sustained levels of enthusiasm among the artists to continue working and carry on regardless of the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We know that this situation is not easy, but we must continue to nurture our enthusiasm, so that those working in the art sector would remain enthusiastic about working during the pandemic. Despite the existing COVID-19 restrictions, their work does not stop," the president remarked.

The head of state is sanguine that the artists would be protected from COVID-19 after participating in the government's vaccination program.

The government is organizing COVID-19 vaccination, with the objective of inoculating 181.5 million people, or 70 percent of the country's population in order to create herd immunity.

Jokowi is upbeat about the COVID-19 vaccination being completed within a year since it began on January 13, 2021.

According to data from the COVID-19 Handling Task Force until Tuesday (Mar 9), the government has administered the first dose of the vaccine to 3,337,026 people, while the second dose was offered to 1,197,772 individuals. (Antaranews)