VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

VOINews, Jakarta - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) stated that Indonesia was among the three countries in G20 whose economic growth rate reached the figure above five percent, along with India and China.

"Among G20 countries, only Indonesia, India, and China managed to reach the figure of more than five percent of economic growth," he remarked while attending the 2023 national conference of Real Estate Indonesia (REI) in Jakarta on Wednesday.

The G20 constitutes a multilateral forum comprising the European Union and 19 countries, with the contribution of 79 percent to global trade and 85 percent to the world's economy.

The president noted that in the second quarter of 2023, Indonesia's economic growth was recorded at 5.17 percent (year on year/yoy), adding that it was the seventh consecutive quarter that the country had succeeded in pegging a rate at above five percent.

"Like Mr Lusida, REI chairman, has said, our economic performance has gone better. It was announced on Monday that we reached 5.17 percent of economic growth," he affirmed.

Furthermore, President Jokowi underscored that in terms of competitiveness, Indonesia's ranking climbed, from 44th to 34th, the biggest leap worldwide.

The head of state believes that in the absence of a sound level of competitiveness, a country would struggle to compete in the global economy, especially on account of the fact that competitiveness is a determinant to a country's ability to attract investment.

"Currently, countries are fiercely competing with each other to draw investments. Therefore, we need to improve our appeal, including by speeding up the processes of granting permits and acquiring lands," he pointed out.

He then emphasized the need for Indonesia to continue to boost its competitiveness in order to maintain its economic growth, as he believes that it would be unwise to solely rely on the State Budget.

"This applies to the other countries as well. They might not grow if they depend on their state budgets. Investment is the key," he concluded. (Antaranews)

VOINews, Jakarta - Indonesia has become a key player in the region's automotive market and one of the busy automotive hubs in the ASEAN, Industry Minister Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita stated.

"With sustainable infrastructure development, technological breakthroughs, innovations, the growth of the middle class, and the increasing demand for cars, Indonesia has become a busy automotive hub in Southeast Asia," Kartasasmita noted in his statement received here on Tuesday.

At the Gaikindo Indonesia International Auto Show (GIIAS) 2023 Power Dinner held here on Monday (August 7) evening, the minister stated that the automotive industry has contributed significantly to the national economy

Indonesia has 21 four-wheeled motor vehicle industry companies, with a total production capacity of 2.35 million units per year, he remarked.

The automotive industry has also absorbed 38 thousand people into the workforce, with more than 1.5 million individuals working in the automotive supply chain from tier-1 to tier-3.

"In fact, this sector is able to provide significant foreign exchange through its export achievements. In addition, the industry's rapid expansion has paved the way for major investments, resulting in a strong ecosystem of manufacturers, suppliers, dealers, and service providers," he explained.

Kartasasmita reaffirmed the ministry's commitment to continue to spur the industrial sector by investing in research and development (R&D), encouraging inclusive growth, and promoting environmental sustainability.

"We actively encourage the public and private sectors to collaborate to make the Indonesian automotive industry have the most innovation, efficiency, and competitiveness," he stated.

In the second quarter of 2023, the automotive industry grew 9.66 percent, higher than the performance of the non-oil and gas processing industry that grew 4.56 percent year-on-year (yoy).

The government is also striving to develop electric vehicles. The Industry Ministry is optimistic that the sales of electric vehicles in Indonesia would increase dramatically.

In 2022 alone, at least 10 thousand electric vehicles were sold. (Antaranews)

VOINews, Jakarta - Chair of the ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ASEAN-BAC), Arsjad Rasjid, has said that he is hoping to expand the quick response (QR) code digital payment service not only within ASEAN, but also to Indo-Pacific countries.

Speaking at a discussion during the commemoration of ASEAN's 56th anniversary in Jakarta on Tuesday, Rasjid said that QR code transactions are one of ASEAN-BAC's priorities in the field of digital transformation.

"ASEAN-BAC works to promote cross-border digital payments that aim to link payments and (strengthen) micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) across ASEAN. We wish to expand this (system) to more Indo-Pacific countries," he informed.

At the 42nd ASEAN Summit in Labuan Bajo, East Nusa Tenggara, in May 2023, ASEAN leaders adopted a declaration on advancing regional payment connectivity and promoting local currency transactions within ASEAN countries.

ASEAN leaders emphasized the role of faster, cheaper, safer, more transparent, and more inclusive cross-border payment systems and services for providing broader benefits to support regional economic growth and the digital economy.

They also acknowledged the potential benefits of local currency usage in strengthening financial resilience, deepening regional financial integration by improving intra-ASEAN trade and investment, and bolstering regional value chains.

Earlier in May, Rasjid, who is also serving as chairperson of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin), said that the QR code digital payment service is targeted to be implemented in ASEAN countries by September 2023.

A cross-border QR payment linkage has so far been implemented between Indonesia and Thailand, as well as Singapore.

The system allows consumers to use their mobile applications to scan QR codes for products and services fromcountries who participated.

In addition to advancing payment connectivity, ASEAN-BAC is also committed to supporting the realization of the ASEAN Outlook on Indo-Pacific through greater business partnership and people-to-people as well as business-to-business connectivity. (Antaranews)

VOINews, Jakarta - Indonesian Finance Minister Sri Mulyani highlighted that Indonesia was able to show good progress amid the weakening economies of other countries due to the global situation.

According to the minister, the good progress is reflected in the economic growth of 5.17 percent recorded in the second quarter of 2023.

"This is a very good achievement, at a time when many other countries are experiencing an economic slowdown," she tweeted on her official Instagram account @smindrawati as quoted in Jakarta on Tuesday.

Moreover, this achievement helped Indonesia to maintain an economic growth of above five percent for seven consecutive quarters, she pointed out.

The minister then drew attention to various factors that contributed to the achievement of Indonesia's economic growth, with the first being, high household consumption growth of up to 5.23 percent (year-on-year/yoy). She affirmed that this achievement is one of the government's successes in reducing inflation that ultimately maintained the people's purchasing power and consumer confidence.

In addition, Eid al-Fitr and Holiday Allowances (THR) also contributed to growth in household consumption, she highlighted.

Next is investment strengthening that grew 4.63 percent yoy, she stated.

According to Sri Mulyani, government spending from the state budget also increased sharply to reach 10.62 percent yoy. She is optimistic that this performance would contribute to boosting economic activity.

Mulyani attributed the contraction in exports by 2.75 percent to the weakening global economy. Meanwhile, imports were at minus 3.08 percent due to the number of working days.

The minister remarked that regional growth was also evenly distributed. Java Island recorded growth of 5.18 percent yoy; Sumatra, 4.90 percent yoy; Kalimantan, 5.56 percent; Sulawesi, 6.64 percent; Bali and Nusa Tenggara, 3.01 percent; and Papua, 6.35 percent.

Sri Mulyani remarked that the spatial distribution of economic growth is supported by various infrastructure developments that encourage equal distribution of development across the country.

However, the minister emphasized the importance of efforts to maintain the momentum of this economic recovery and growth, such as by focusing on creating jobs, reducing unemployment, eradicating poverty, fighting stunting, reducing inequality, and creating fair and equitable welfare.

"The state budget always works hard to protect the people and support an economy that grows in quality, equitably, and sustainably," she stated. (Antaranews)