VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Mar. 1 - The Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ (ASEAN) foreign ministers will hold a special meeting on Tuesday to discuss Myanmar, Singapore’s foreign minister said, calling for the immediate release of ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

“A special ASEAN foreign ministers meeting will be convened via video conference tomorrow and where we will listen to the representative of the Myanmar military authorities,” Vivian Balakrishnan said in parliament on Monday.

He also called on the Myanmar military authorities to desist from the use of lethal force, “and to take immediate steps to de-escalate the situation to prevent further bloodshed, violence and deaths.”

On Monday, protesters in Myanmar marched in defiance of a crackdown by security forces that killed at least 18 people the previous day.

He also urged all parties in Myanmar to engage in discussions to find long-term political solutions, including a way to return to the path of democratic transition.

“We believe this can only begin if President Win Myint, State Counsellor and Foreign Minister Aung San Suu Kyi, and the other political detainees are immediately released,” he told parliament.

A Myanmar court has filed two more charges against Suu Kyi, according to a lawyer acting for her.

Last week, Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi met Myanmar’s military-appointed foreign minister, Wunna Maung Lwin, and Thai counterpart, Don Pramudwinai, for talks in Bangkok.

The initial efforts led by Indonesia to resolve the crisis have raised suspicion among Myanmar democracy activists who fear dealing with the junta would confer legitimacy on it and its bid to scrap the November election that Suu Kyi won. (Reuters)

Mar. 1 - Swiss voters will decide on a free trade agreement (FTA) with Indonesia on Sunday, with lower tariffs on palm oil imports the main issue in what the polls predict will be a tight referendum.

The Alpine country signed the pact with Indonesia in 2018 together with the other European Free Trade Association (EFTA) members Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein.

Under the FTA, both parties will gradually reduce or abolish import duties on industrial products. For palm oil, Switzerland will reduce tariffs by about 20%-40% for up to 12,500 tonnes per year, but only if sustainability standards are met.

Indonesia is the world’s top producer of palm oil, which is used in cosmetics, food products and biofuels. Palm oil has faced scrutiny from green activists and consumers, who hold it responsible for forest loss, fires and worker exploitation.

The Swiss parliament ratified the deal in 2019, but the “Stop Palm Oil” movement - backed by the Greens as well as environmentalist and anti-globalisation NGOs - called a referendum under Switzerland’s system of direct democracy.

In the latest poll by market researcher GFS Bern for broadcaster SRG, 52% of voters said they intended to back the deal.

“I oppose free trade agreements because they eliminate customs duties that are there to prevent unfair competition from low-cost countries,” said Willy Cretegny, an organic wine producer in western Switzerland who initiated the referendum.

“They lead to a throwaway society that wastes resources. Standards to protect the environment or people’s health and safety also disappear along the way,” he said.

The referendum committee said the deal would boost demand for cheap palm oil, destroying tropical forests and hitting Swiss rapeseed and sunflower oil production.

The government recommends the FTA, saying it would give Switzerland’s export-oriented economy better access to growth market Indonesia while promoting more sustainable palm oil production as only certified oil could enjoy tariff reductions.

Switzerland has more than 30 free trade agreements with countries outside the European Union and EFTA. The European Union is also negotiating a trade deal with Indonesia. (Reuters)

Mar. 1 -  Demand for manufactured goods drove extended growth in factories across Europe and Asia in February, but a slowdown in China underscored the challenges countries face as they seek a sustainable recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic blow.

Restrictions imposed around the world to try and quell the spread of the coronavirus have shuttered vast swathes of the services industry, meaning it has fallen to manufacturers to support economies.

But vaccine rollouts and a pick-up in demand provided optimism for businesses that have grappled for months with a cash-flow crunch and falling profits.

IHS Markit’s final Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) jumped to a three-year high of 57.9 in February from January’s 54.8, beating the initial 57.7 “flash” estimate for one of the highest readings in the survey’s 20-year history. [EUR/PMIM]

German factory activity also reached a three-year peak last month and in France the pace of growth accelerated. Italy and Spain also saw a pick-up.

However, lockdown measures disrupted supply chains and factories struggled to obtain raw materials, leading to a big increase in delivery times.

“International shipping delays and strong global demand for raw materials have slowed manufacturers worldwide,” said Samuel Tombs at Pantheon Macroeconomics.

Factories in Britain, outside the euro zone and the European Union, reported the slowest output growth since May last month. Disruptions and rising costs linked to Brexit and COVID-19 limited their ability to respond to a modest pick-up in orders. [GB/PMIM]

ASIAN RECOVERY

Manufacturing activity in Japan expanded at the fastest pace in over two years and South Korea’s exports rose for a fourth straight month, suggesting Asia’s export-reliant economies were benefiting from robust global trade.

On the flip side, China’s factory activity grew at the slowest pace in nine months, hit by a domestic flare-up of COVID-19 and soft demand from countries under renewed lock-down measures.

“In all, the softer pace of activity in today’s (Chinese) manufacturing print is likely to be temporary, and we expect the growth momentum to pick back up on the back of a broadening out of the domestic demand recovery and a pick-up in global demand,” said Erin Xin, an economist at HSBC.

“However, household consumption, while recovering, has not yet fully reached pre-pandemic levels of growth due to continued labour market pressure.”

China was the first major economy to lead the recovery from the COVID-19 shock, so any signs of prolonged cooling in Asia’s growth engine will likely be a cause for concern.

With the global rebound still in its early days, analysts said the outlook was brightening as companies increased output to restock inventory on hopes vaccine rollouts normalise economic activity.

“The recovery in durable-goods demand is continuing, which is creating a positive cycle for manufacturers in Asia,” said Shigeto Nagai, head of Japan economics at Oxford Economics.

“As vaccine rollouts ease uncertainties over the outlook, capital expenditure will gradually pick up. That will benefit Japan, which is strong in exports of capital goods,” he said.

China’s Caixin/Markit Manufacturing PMI fell to 50.9 in February, the lowest level since last May but still above the 50 mark that separates growth from contraction.

Activity elsewhere in Asia remained brisk.

The Japan PMI jumped to its highest since December 2018. In South Korea, a regional exports bellwether, shipments jumped 9.5% for a fourth straight month of increase.

India’s factory activity expanded for the seventh consecutive month on strong demand and increased output, though a spike in input costs could weigh on corporate profits ahead.

The Philippines, Indonesia and Vietnam also saw manufacturing activity expand in February, a sign the region was recovering from the initial hit of the pandemic. (Reuters)

Mar. 1 - World Trade Organization members agreed on Monday to hold the next major ministerial meeting in Geneva, Switzerland in late 2021, delegates told Reuters.

The biennial conference was originally set to be held in Kazakhstan last year but was delayed due to the pandemic.

The WTO’s director-general Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala who began work on Monday hopes the meeting will provide a venue for a deal on fisheries subsidies as well as on reforms for the WTO’s top appeals body among other items. (Reuters)