VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

A natural gas pipeline, and the logos of Tokyo Gas and Rockcliff Energy are seen in this illustration taken January 4, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo - 

TOKYO : A unit of Tokyo Gas has decided to buy Texas-based natural gas producer Rockcliff Energy from private equity firm Quantum Energy Partners for $2.7 billion to expand its overseas business, it said on Saturday.

The deal comes as part of the Japanese company's efforts to expand its North American shale gas operations to meet growing demand for natural gas as an energy transition fuel.

Tokyo Gas, Japan's biggest city gas supplier, and other utilities are stepping up overseas expansion to counter falling demand in their domestic market. Japan has an ageing population and a declining birthrate, while energy market reform has spurred competition among old-guard utilities.

Under the deal, TG Natural Resources (TGNR) - 79 per cent owned by Tokyo Gas - will buy all shares in Rockcliff Energy from Quantum Energy Partners. The deal is expected to close on Dec. 29, Tokyo Gas said.

With the acquisition, TGNR's natural gas production will quadruple to 1.3 billion cubic feet per day from about 330 million cubic feet per day, making it one of the largest shale gas producers in Texas and Louisiana, according to Tokyo Gas.

"We expect our gas production will be more efficient after the acquisition as Rockcliff Energy's output area is located adjacent to TGNR's blocks," Takashi Nakao, senior general manager of global business development at Tokyo Gas, told reporters.

The production is also close to new liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminals and other facilities expected to increase demand for natural gas in the future, Nakao said.

Asked if the supply will be exported to Japan as LNG, Nakao said the current plan is to sell all the gas in the U.S. domestic market, though he did not rule out possibly sending it as LNG to Japan in the future.

Talks about the acquisition were reported by Reuters early this year//CNA-VOI

FILE PHOTO: SpaceX headquarters is shown in Hawthorne, California, U.S. September 19, 2018. REUTERS/Mike Blake - 

SpaceX said it was targeting Thursday, Dec. 28 for the launch of the U.S. military's X-37B robot spaceplane on its seventh mission to orbit.

"Now targeting no earlier than Thursday, December 28 for Falcon Heavy to launch USSF-52 to orbit from Florida," SpaceX said in a post on X on Friday, after it stood down on the launch earlier this week to perform additional system checkouts.

The original plan to send the spacecraft to orbit late on Sunday was scrubbed due to poor weather conditions at Cape Canaveral, Florida//CNA-VOI

Vincent Jemadu and UNWTO representative after Workshop for UNWTO Gastronomy Tourism Development meet with press - 

The Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy/Tourism and Creative Economy Agency (Kemenparekraf/Baparekraf) collaborated with the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and the Gianyar Regency Government to hold a Workshop for UNWTO Gastronomy Tourism Development at The Royal Pita Maha, Ubud, Gianyar, Bali, Thursday (12/14/2023).

This activity is a follow-up and socialization of the Gastronomic Destination Development Strategy document in Ubud. This document was previously submitted by UNWTO to the Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy/Head of the Tourism and Creative Economy Agency (Menparekraf/Kabaparekraf) Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno on the agenda of the National Coordination Meeting (Rakornas) for Tourism and Creative Economy, Tuesday (12/12/2023) at Bandung West Java.

The document has also been submitted to the Gianyar Regency Government, represented by Assistant III of the Gianyar Regional Secretariat, I Ketut Pasek Lanang Sadia accompanied by the Head of the Gianyar Regency Tourism Office, I Wayan Gede Sedana Putra.

Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Sandiaga in his statement, Friday (15/12/2023), said that this workshop and socialization is expected to strengthen the role and collaboration of stakeholders in Ubud.

Starting from various organizations, local and regional destination managers, business representatives and academics related to gastronomy in Ubud.

"Ubud was chosen as a pilot project for the development of gastronomic tourism because of its readiness and high level of collaboration between stakeholders. "Food in Ubud is not just a culinary dish, but has become a lifestyle and culture for the local community." said Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Sandiaga.

According to a release received by Voice of Indonesia on Saturday, the gastronomic culture that is rooted in Ubud can be seen from the interpretation of the reliefs on the walls of Yeh Pulu Temple, which depict the culture of raising livestock, farming and hunting as part of the local gastronomic culture.

Ubud also has Subak, a traditional irrigation management system which is a cultural pillar of Balinese society as well as the Tri Hita Karana philosophy, the principle of harmony between humans, nature and God, which also represents cultural and culinary riches.

"Ubud is one of the tourism icons in Gianyar which is expected to contribute more to the regional economy through gastronomy and we from the Gianyar regional government will support it from a regulatory perspective," said Assistant III of the Gianyar Regional Secretariat, I Ketut Pasek Lanang Sadia.

Apart from authentic, traditional, innovative and sustainable culinary experiences, gastronomic tourism is an implementation of inclusive tourism that can involve various stakeholders and other related activities.

Such as visiting local producers, participating in food festivals, attending cooking classes, visiting education centers, enjoying traditional foods, and so on.

Therefore, the involvement and _spirit_ of collaboration from various parties is very important to be able to optimize the benefits that can be obtained from the development of gastronomic tourism.

Department Officer, Tourism Market Intelligence and Competitiveness UNWTO, Patricia Carmona, said that one of the main recommendations in this program is the formation of a Gastronomy Tourism Club.

Namely, an organizational body consisting of all stakeholders in the gastronomy industry to be able to actively collaborate and be committed to initiating the development and implementation of gastronomy-related programs in Ubud in the future.

"It is hoped that the program and action plan for this activity can be collaborated with ministries, institutions and wider stakeholders," said the Deputy for Tourism Products and Event Organizers at the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy, Vinsensius Jemadu.

The Workshop for UNWTO Gastronomy Tourism Development activities were then continued with the Gastronomy Tourism Club Kick-off Meeting to discuss follow-up plans for the gastronomic tourism development program in Ubud//VOI

Deputy for Infrastructure and Transportation, Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and Investment (Kemenko Marves), Rachmat Kaimuddin, explaining to the press - 

Voinews, Jakarta - The additional incentive package contained in Presidential Regulation (Perpres) No. 79 of 2023 concerning Amendments to Presidential Decree No. 55 of 2019 concerning the Acceleration of the Battery-Based Electric Motor Vehicle (KBLBB) Program is expected to boost Indonesia's electric vehicle (EV) production capacity, in line with the increase global demand for EVs.

This was stated by the Deputy for Infrastructure and Transportation, Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and Investment (Kemenko Marves), Rachmat Kaimuddin, Friday (15-11-2023).

This statement was made after the government had just issued a Presidential Decree which regulates the provision of incentives in the form of 0% import duty, 0% PPnBM and exemption or reduction of regional taxes for KBLBB, all of which apply to imports of KBLBB in complete condition (Completely Built-Up/CBU). and Completely Knock Down (CKD) with TKDN <40%.

“This is a win-win program that is quite progressive for Indonesia and investors. "We need to build economics of scale for the EV vehicle market in Indonesia, therefore the government has issued an incentive program to form an EV vehicle ecosystem in Indonesia," said Deputy Rachmat.

“How to provide incentives when the market has not yet been formed? "Therefore, the government provides opportunities for investors to build EV factories in Indonesia, and at the same time before the factories operate, they can market their imported EV products in Indonesia at more competitive prices," he explained.

Deputy Rachmat added that EV manufacturers can enjoy import incentive packages until the end of 2025. Furthermore, producers are required to fulfill the provisions for domestic EV production or "production debt" until the end of 2027, in accordance with the applicable TKDN provisions.

In this case, the Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries also emphasized that the additional incentive package will also support the acceleration of EV adoption by providing more options or choices of EV product variations at more affordable prices for the Indonesian people.

“There are two things we need to pay attention to: options and affordability. "Currently the EV options available are still limited, and cannot meet the demand of the Indonesian market," explained Deputy Rachmat.

With additional incentive packages, manufacturers can present more EV models at competitive selling prices compared to conventional cars.

"Seeing the increasing trend in global EV demand, the Indonesian automotive industry needs to rush to transform and seize the opportunities of the global trend. "Don't let us lose the opportunity to become the center for the production and supply chain of environmentally friendly vehicles in Southeast Asia," added Deputy Rachmat.

It is known that global electric car sales have now reached 14% of total global car sales. Jumping from 3 million electric cars in 2020 to 10 million electric cars in 2022 (IEA, 2023). However, currently, Indonesia's EV manufacturing capacity lags behind neighboring countries.

It is recorded that Indonesia's production capacity reaches 34,000 cars, 2,480 buses and 1.45 million motorbikes per year. Meanwhile, electric vehicle production capacity in Thailand reaches - 240,000 per year.

According to a release received by Voice of Indonesia on Saturday, Indonesia is targeting two million electric passenger cars and 13 million electric motorbikes on the road by 2030. To achieve this target and ensure the smooth implementation of the additional incentive package, the government is currently coordinating with relevant ministries/agencies in the preparation and harmonization of technical regulations .

Previously the government had launched fiscal and non-fiscal incentives for consumers and producers. One form of incentive is a discount of IDR 7 million for all Indonesian people who want to buy a new electric motorbike that meets 40 percent of local component needs//VOI