VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The Investment Ministry has said that the biggest challenge to improving the national investment climate is the mindset, which needs to be made more welcoming and supported by a better investment licensing culture.



In general, improvements to the investment climate have been accommodated through the Omnibus Job Creation Law, deputy for investment planning at the ministry, Indra Darmawan, said at a webinar entitled “Expanding Investment Amid Geopolitical Conflicts,”  on Monday.



"The challenge of implementing the Omnibus Law is the technicality, but there is software to make it is already latest version. But the biggest challenge is the mindset. How to change the culture to be more serving, open, to a better licensing system," he added.



Darmawan said that bringing this change is the biggest challenge because it would lead to a number of institutions losing their authority.



"And it's not easy, for those who think they will not be as strong as they used to be," he added.



"If some are not too motivated to carry out the initiative, that will be a challenge in and of itself. I think that is the biggest challenge that will carry over to 2023," he said.



According to Bank Mandiri chief economist Andry Asmoro, the growth in investment in recent years has shown that the investment climate in Indonesia has continued to improve.



In fact, foreign investment in the third quarter of 2022 reached Rp168.9 trillion (US$10.7 billion), an increase of 63.6 percent year on year.



"FDI (foreign direct investment) is breaking a record; this is what we have to understand. Without improvement in the investment climate, I think FDI (investors) will also question when to invest in Indonesia," he pointed out.



Asmoro said that despite many challenges, Indonesia is still one of the countries with good investment growth, which is a sign that its investment climate is improving.



The investor confidence has come from the ministry's initiatives for overcoming investment problems in practice, including improving coordination between the center and the regions, he noted.



"Not only narrative but also directly addressing investment climate issues in the regions. Not only at the micro and national levels but also on coordinating with local governments and local areas," he added. (Antaranews)

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The Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises Ministry  noted that a series of events organized under Indonesia's 2022 G20 Presidency had significantly increased the turnover of  participating  small and medium enterprises (SMEs).



  "Various G20  events, starting from the main events to the side events which took place from December 1, 2021 until now with a total of 438 events, are believed to have increased the turnover of the SMEs," Secretary of the ministry, Arif Rahman Hakim told ANTARA on Saturday.



  For instance, the total sales of the SMEs participating at the latest side event of the 2022 G20 Presidency entitled ‘Future SMEs Village’, which was implemented on November 10-18, 2022, at Bali Collection Shopping Mall, Badung District, Bali Province, reached Rp3.29 billion, he continued.



  The event was held by the ministry, SMESCO Indonesia -- the ministry’s Cooperatives and SMEs Marketing Service Agency –, as well as the Tourism and Creative Economy Ministry.



  The sales at several SME exhibitions conducted concurrently with the Future SMEs Village event at several hotels throughout Bali Province were recorded at Rp63.27 million.



  "Thus, the total sales of the SMEs recorded during the side events on November 10-18, 2022, amounted to Rp3.36 billion," he remarked.



  He also stated that it was estimated that various 2022 G20 events had been able to absorb around 33 thousand workers and encourage investment realization in domestic SME sector.



  "About 80 percent of international investors (invested in local SMEs) come from G20 countries," Hakim said.



  Furthermore, he gave a number of examples of SMEs whose incomes jumped thanks to the 2022 G20 events, such as Krisna Bali. The souvenir center’s revenue has increased by 60 percent thanks to implementation of the G20 Summit.



  A local woven bamboo craft SME, MaiKubu Tigawasa, also experienced a 20 percent increase in sales.



  In addition, the sales of a home industry producing naturally dyed bags, Dinz Handmade, jumped significantly during Indonesia’s 2022 G20 presidency.



  Prior to the G20 events held in Indonesia, SME’s turnover reached Rp20-25 million per month. However, their turnover jumped to Rp20-25 million per week during Indonesia's G20 Presidency, he said. (Antaranews)

The Manpower Ministry has established the SIAPKerja (Employment Information System and Service Application) Center to absorb local workers for the construction of   Indonesia’s future capital city (IKN) Nusantara.

  The ministry's Special Staff for  Caswiyono Rusydie Cakrawangsa said in a statement  on Sunday that the job opportunity center was the ministry’s support for the government of the North Penajam Paser District, East Kalimantan Province, where the IKN will be developed.

  The SIAPKerja Center, which is located at the Tengin Baru Village, Sepaku Sub-district, North Penajam Paser District, provides integrated employment services, including training, certification, and placement.

  The center is expected to become a solution for the employment problem in the district, since there are about three thousand unemployed people in the region, according to Acting Head of North Penajam Paser District Hamdam Pongrewa.

  The trainings to be provided by the center is not only for the job seekers who want to work in industries or companies, but also for people who intend to increase their competencies in certain fields and to become successful entrepreneurs.

  The Manpower Ministry also provides various competency-based training programs for hundreds of residents of North Penajam Paser District and they will be involved in the development of the IKN.

  In conducting the trainings, the ministry would collaborate with the Vocational and Productivity Training Center (BPVP) of Samarinda City, East Kalimantan Province,  Cakrawangsa informed.

The SIAPKerja Center is a complete package of support from the Manpower Ministry for the construction of the IKN.
  Hence, he hoped that the people of North Penajam Paser District particularly, and East Kalimantan Province generally, will optimally partake in the trainings provided by the center.

Furthermore, the North Penajam Paser District government has  granted a plot of land measuring around 10 hectares in Babulu Sub-district to the Manpower Ministry for the establishment of a vocational training center for food development program. (Antaranews)

Indonesian Coordinating Minister for  Economic Affairs  Airlangga Hartarto has said the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit fully adopted the Bali G20 Leaders' Declaration.

"The Leaders' Declaration at the APEC forum fully adopted the Bali G20 Leaders' Declaration formula, word by word," Hartarto said in a statement here on Sunday.

He noted that the discussion to reach an agreement for the Leaders' Declaration at the APEC forum was tough, and in the end, all parties agreed to refer to the Bali G20 Leaders' Declaration.

This is supported by the back-to-back implementation of these two important world forums, and the declaration that was initiated in Bali which has received approval from 20 member states of G20. Hence, the version was fully adopted at the APEC Forum, Hartarto added.


In the APEC Leaders' Declaration, APEC economic leaders  agree on a joint commitment to respond to common challenges, among others, to support the reform of the multilateral trading system in order to face various developmental challenges that have arisen, and to strengthen commitment  to address supply chain disruption .
They also agreed to promote strong, balanced, sustainable, and inclusive growth, including supporting micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and startups, the minister remarked.

"This APEC forum also encouraged multilateralism and supports the results of The WTO's 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12) to encourage WTO as a platform in the Asia Pacific to equalize trade law rules, because APEC is 60 percent of the world economy or the equivalent of US$59 trillion," he said.

Furthermore, APEC economic leaders  also encouraged cooperation to connect the digital gap through infrastructure facilitation, as well as increasing expertise and digital literacy and strengthening the agricultural sector to support regional food security.

In the digital field, APEC supported empowerment starting from empowering women and youth, to promoting equality and inclusiveness of MSMEs.

Indonesia also supported the digitization of MSMEs to become part of the global supply chain, Hartarto disclosed.

He stated that this year's APEC forum was also pushing for sustainable goods and services, which will be brought under the leadership of the United States next year.

Meanwhile, the 2022 APEC Summit also succeeded in agreeing on The Bangkok Goals for the Bio-Circular Green Economy, which is a joint approach to post-pandemic economic recovery that is inclusive and balanced in order to achieve more resilient economic growth and protect the environment.

“Almost all the discussions at APEC have a common thread with those discussed at the G20. One of the strongest common links among ASEAN,  G20, and APEC is togetherness. Together, we will be strong and successful in recovering the global economy," he concluded. (antaranews)