VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Feb. 2 - Bio Farma will complete the production of 13 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine from Sinovac's bulk through mid-February 2021, its spokesperson stated while welcoming the second shipment of bulk at Soekarno Hatta Airport, Tuesday.

"Bulk from the first batch, or the third arrival (of Sinovac's consignment in Indonesia), as many as 15 million doses, have been through the production process by Bio Farma since January 14, with a target of 13 million doses expected to be completed on February 11," spokesperson of the Indonesian pharmaceutical company Bio Farma Bambang Heriyando remarked.

While today's consignment from Chinese firm Sinovac comprises 10 million vaccine bulk shots along with one million overfill, which is the extra volume to anticipate the production process at Bio Farma.

"Today's arrival would proceed, starting from February 13, and is expected to be completed on March 30. It will later be tested for quality as well as be subject to a strict quality control process at Bio Farma and BPOM (Food and Drug Control) laboratories to ensure that the vaccine has met the standard," Heriyando stated.

The BPOM will publish the test result for the vaccine’s first batch manufactured by Bio Farma in the form of a lot release, a quality review of the drug in each country using standardized guidelines developed by the World Health Organization (WHO).

"The vaccine is designated for public staff and public service workers, including military personnel and police, that will begin to be rolled out in late February 2021," Heriyando remarked.

This first batch of the domestic manufactured vaccine will be labelled "Covid-19 vaccine" on its package in order to distinguish it from the very first group distributed earlier, made by Sinovac, with the "Coronavac" label.

The "Covid-19 vaccine" is packed in multi-doses, with 10 doses in every vial. Hence, a box will have 100 doses, "however the quality does not differ."  (Antaranews)

Feb. 2 - The Communication and Informatics Ministry has drafted a roadmap for Indonesia Digital 2024 in four strategic sectors.

"In broad lines, the roadmap for Indonesia Digital 2021-2024 clarifies the direction of policies to implement and achieve the target of Indonesia’s digital transformation in four strategic sectors," Communication and Informatics Minister, Johnny G Plate, said during a working meeting with Commission I of the House of Representatives (DPR) here on Monday.

The four strategic sectors are digital infrastructure, digital administration, digital economy, and digital community, he informed.

He said the formulation of the roadmap has involved the partners of the Communication and Informatics Ministry, including ministries and government institutions as well as representatives of the private sector and the community.

A draft of the roadmap has been submitted to President Joko Widodo for further directives before it is made public, Plate revealed.

The roadmap for Indonesia Digital 2021-2024 was formulated based on five directives from the President in relation to expediting the digital transformation in the country, he added.

The Presidential directives were translated into four strategic directions, which were later classified into four strategic sectors, he said.

The strategic directives in each of the sectors were later broken down into more specific strategic initiatives to aid their implementation in the future, he added.

"Just as a note, in making the strategic initiatives the Communication and Informatics Ministry has tried to cover various fields comprehensively," he remarked.

"We do it as part of efforts to open room for stakeholders to work together to drive Indonesia's digital transformation, which covers about 100 activities," he said.

In addition to the roadmap, the Communication and Informatics Ministry also has a number of programs which it will prioritize this year, including plans for the national data center, he added. (Antaranews)

Feb. 2 - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) highlighted the performance of Indonesia's Islamic banking industry that grew at a faster rate than that of conventional banking despite the challenging times presented by the COVID-19 pandemic.

"In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, I am pleased to be informed that the performance of the Indonesian Islamic banking continues to record stable growth, and that Islamic banking has managed to grow, even higher than conventional banking. We should be grateful," President Jokowi stated while inaugurating PT Bank Syariah Indonesia Tbk at the State Palace here on Monday.

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Islamic banking industry marked a 10.9 percent (year-on-year/yoy) growth in assets or higher than conventional banking that recorded a 7.7-percent growth, according to the head of state.

Moreover, from the collection of third-party funds (DPK), the Islamic banking industry was able to record a growth of 11.56 percent, while conventional banks grew up to 11.49 percent.

Meanwhile, from the financing side, the Islamic banking industry in the country had grown about 9.42 percent, or much higher than conventional banks that recorded a 0.55-percent growth.

With such growth data, President Jokowi expressed confidence that Indonesia's Islamic economic industry would continue to grow rapidly.

"I believe Indonesia's sharia economy will grow very fast and will contribute significantly to the welfare of our people and society," President Jokowi stated.

However, Jokowi also reminded all parties to relentlessly strive to encourage growth of the national sharia economy, so that Indonesia will later become a sharia economic hub at the regional and global levels.

Currently, Jokowi noted that the Islamic economic sector in Indonesia had experienced significant growth and was ranked fourth in the world this year in line with the data from The State of Global Islamic Economy Indicator Report.

"In 2018, Indonesia's sharia economy was ranked 10th in the world. In 2019, it rose to the fifth rank in the world, and in 2020, Indonesia's sharia economy was ranked 4th in the world," President Jokowi stated. (Antaranews)

Feb. 2 - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) on Monday inaugurated PT Bank Syariah Indonesia Tbk, merged from three state-owned sharia banks — PT Bank BRI Syariah Tbk, PT Bank Syariah Mandiri, and PT Bank BNI Syariah.

The inauguration, which took place at the State Palace, was well-received by the market, with the Indonesian Stock Exchange (IDX) Composite Stock Price Index (IHSG) shooting up at the start of the new week.

The newly formed entity, Bank Sharia Indonesia (BSI), will be one of the largest sharia banks in Indonesia and also the world, with total assets of Rp214 trillion and core capital of Rp20.4 trillion.

On Monday, the JCI was up 205.19 points, or 3.5 percent, at 6,067.55 at close of trade. Meanwhile, the index of 45 leading stocks, or the LQ45 Index, rose 35.32 points, or 3.87 percent, to 947.3.

The JCI was already oversold after seven consecutive days of correction so the index bounced off its support area, Foster Asset Management analyst Hans Mulyadi Irawan said here on Monday.

"Today it strengthened in almost all sectors, especially by SOE stocks in the mining, banking, and construction sectors, which have been oversold and have experienced consecutive decreases. Today, the sentiment is the effective operation of Bank Syariah Indonesia (BRIS), SWF, and data. The improving Indonesian manufacturing index has also been the trigger for a stronger index, " he observed.

The merger of sharia banks, subsidiaries of state-owned lenders, is also expected to propel the development of the halal value chain in the country.

Based on the global index, Indonesia’s ranking in sharia economy and finance is among the top 10 in the fields of finance, food, and fashion, Bank Indonesia Governor Perry Warjiyo said earlier.

Earlier this week, BRIS shares shot up 360 points, or 14.75 percent, to reach Rp2,800 per share. This week, the Jakarta Composite Index (JCI) will still have a chance to strengthen, even though it will tend to be limited due to the lack of positive sentiment in the market, Hans forecast.

JCI, which opened lower on Monday, strengthened later and continued in the green zone until the close of trade.

Based on the IDX-IC Sectoral Index, all sectors recorded an increase, with the technology sector seeing the steepest jump at 10.07 percent, followed by the raw goods sector (8.25 percent) and the real estate infrastructure sector (5.24 percent).

The closing of the JCI was accompanied by sales of shares by foreign investors. The net foreign sales were recorded at Rp594.83 billion.

Meanwhile, 22.39 billion shares, valued at Rp24.02 trillion, were traded in 1,884,555 transactions on Monday. (Antaranews)