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Industry Minister Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita. ANTARA/HO-Industry Ministry/sh

The automotive industry has become a leading sector that contributed significantly to the national economy, with 22 four-wheeled vehicle manufacturers nationwide, according to Industry Minister Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita.

"The sector has contributed Rp99.16 trillion of investment and with total production capacity having reached 2.35 million units per year and absorbed 38.39 thousand workers," Kartasasmita noted in a statement here on Friday.

Furthermore, the minister pointed to 26 two-wheeled and three-wheeled vehicle manufacturers in the country, with a total investment of Rp10.05 trillion, production capacity of 9.53 million units per year, and 32 thousand workers absorbed.

"The automotive sector has had a significant impact on more than 1.5 million people working in the industry's production chain," he stated.On account of its strategic and important role in the country's economy, the automotive industry has been included in the Making Indonesia 4.0 road map to be accorded priority in its development.

"Domestic vehicle products have penetrated the export market in 80 countries. During 2020, exports of Completely Build-Up (CBU) cars had reached 232.17 thousand units worth Rp41.73 trillion," the minister stated.

Moreover, 53.03 thousand Completely Knocked Down (CKD) cars worth Rp1.23 trillion and 61.2 million pieces of spare parts worth Rp17.52 trillion were shipped.

"Under the Making Indonesia 4.0 Program, the national automotive industry is targeted to become a global player," he noted.

Indonesia will serve as a hub for vehicle exports, both for fuel oil-based vehicles or internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles and electrical vehicles (EV).The minister reiterated that in order to boost productivity, sales, and competitiveness of the national automotive industry amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the government had launched some stimulus for the sector.

"The policy is aimed at ensuring that the automotive industry recovers and records growth, so that it would make a significant contribution to the national economy," Kartasasmita explained.

The ministry has also supported the Indonesia International Motor Show (IIMS) held virtually in 2021 to help promote the country's automotive industry.

The virtual exhibition of IIMS 2021 is expected to emerge as a forum to introduce new technology in the automotive industry in the country.

The exhibition is projected to serve as a new barometer for international-class automotive shows and drive the country's automotive industry, Kartasasmita affirmed//ANT

Indonesia's BOP posted a surplus of US$2.6 billion in 2020

Indonesia's balance of payment (BOP) recorded a surplus of US$2.6 billion last year, continuing its surplus of US$4.7 billion a year earlier and reinforcing external resilience amid the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Bank Indonesia (BI).

"The development was fueled by a decline in the current account deficit and the capital and financial account surpluses," Executive Director of the BI Communication Department Erwin Haryono noted in a written statement released on Friday.

The BOP posted a low deficit of US$0.2 billion in the fourth quarter of 2020, driven by a current account surplus amid the low capital and financial account deficit.Consequently, foreign exchange reserves at the end of 2020 increased to US$135.9 billion, equivalent to 9.8 months of imports and the government’s foreign debt repayments. The foreign exchange reserves are above the international adequacy standard.

The current account surplus continued in the fourth quarter of 2020, supported by an increase in the goods trade balance surplus. In the fourth quarter of 2020, the current account posted another surplus of US$0.8 billion, or 0.3 percent of the national gross domestic product (GDP), continuing the surplus of US$1 billion in a quarter earlier, or 0.4 percent of the GDP.

Haryono remarked that the current account deficit in 2020 stood at US$4.7 billion, constituting 0.4 percent of the GDP. The current account deficit plunged sharply as compared to US$30.3 billion, or 2.7 percent of the GDP in 2019.The declining deficit was in line with the limited performance of the country's exports due to low demand in partner countries during the COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with declining imports due to low domestic demand.

Meanwhile, the capital and financial accounts in 2020 continued to post a surplus of US$7.9 billion owing to investors' optimism about domestic economic recovery and abating uncertainty in global financial markets, especially in the second semester of 2020//ANT

Thousands protest in Myanmar on Feb 14, 2021, 14 days after the coup. (Photos: Naung Kham) - CNA

Thousands of protesters took to the streets in Myanmar’s major cities for a ninth straight day of anti-coup demonstrations on Sunday (Feb 14), after a fearful night as residents formed patrols and the army rolled back laws protecting freedoms.

Engineering students marched through downtown Yangon, the biggest city, wearing white and carrying placards demanding the release of former leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been in detention since Myanmar’s military overthrew her elected government on Feb 1.Her detention, on charges of importing walkie-talkies, is due to expire on Monday. Her lawyer, Khin Maung Zaw, could not be reached for comment on what was set to happen.

More than 384 people have been detained since the coup, the monitoring group Assistance Association for Political Prisoners said, in a wave of mostly nightly arrests.

Residents banded together late on Saturday to patrol streets in Yangon and second city Mandalay, fearing arrest raids as well as common crime after the junta ordered the release of thousands of prisoners.

In different neighbourhoods, groups of mostly young men banged on pots and pans to sound the alarm as they chased down what they believed to be suspicious characters.

Also late on Saturday, the army reinstated a law requiring people to report overnight visitors to their homes, suspended laws constraining security forces from detaining suspects or searching private property without court approval, and ordered the arrest of well-known backers of mass protests.

The coup has prompted the biggest street protests in more than a decade and has been denounced by Western countries, with the United States announcing some sanctions on the ruling generals and other countries also considering measures//CNA

A collapsed wall by a strong earthquake is pictured in Kunimi, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan on Feb 14, 2021. (Photo: Kyodo/via REUTERS)

The 7.3 magnitude quake struck shortly before midnight on Saturday and cracked walls, shattered windows and set off a landslide in Fukushima, the area closest to the epicentre. More than 100 people were injured.Hoshino, 46, swept broken glass from about 20 shattered whiskey bottles into a bin bag in her bar on a back street in the city of Iwaki, roughly 200km north of Tokyo and not far from the quake's epicentre."We were hit by this coronavirus pandemic, and so we were looking forward to reopening our shops, and now this happens," she said, referring to a locally-declared state of emergency that had closed her bar from January and was set to lift on Monday.

The Japan Meteorological Agency said the quake was believed to be an aftershock from the magnitude 9.0 quake on Mar 11, 2011 that set off a tsunami, killing nearly 20,000 people along a wide swathe of northeastern Japan, and the Fukushima nuclear accident, the world's worst in 25 years. The agency warned of aftershocks for several days.

Hoshino said Saturday's quake brought back frightening memories.

"My body immediately reacted, and I couldn’t stop trembling. My legs were shaking too, but I couldn’t gauge whether it was safer to run out or stay in, so I ended up doing a weird little dance," she said with a chuckle.

At least 121 people were injured, NHK national television said, including several who suffered fractures, but there were no reported deaths.

There was no tsunami, and no reports of irregularities at any nuclear plants. NHK reported that about 160mls (5 ounces) of water had leaked from a spent fuel pool at the Fukushima Dai-Ni reactor but that this presented no danger.

Shinkansen bullet train service to much of northern Japan was suspended due to damage along the tracks. Service along one line was not expected to be restored until at least Tuesday.Earthquakes are common in Japan, one of the world's most seismically active areas, and Japan accounts for about 20 per cent of the world's earthquakes of magnitude 6 or greater//CNA