VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Mar. 9 - Indonesia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are committed to an economic transformation for the future, wherein knowledge, innovation, and technology will drive their economies, Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, said.

He made the remarks in the context of the Indonesia-Emirates Amazing Week 2021, which was held last week, in conjunction with the visit of the UAE Minister of Energy and Infrastructure, Suhail Al Mazroui, to Indonesia.

"Through the Indonesia-Emirates Amazing Week 2021, I increasingly feel the same spirit and vision that the two countries are preparing something big for the future of their future generations," the Indonesian minister said on his personal Instagram account (@luhut.pandjaitan) on Monday.

He said he remembered telling President Joko Widodo that the UAE should become a pilot model for Indonesia.

According to him, seeing the progress of the country, he also coveted the same thing for Indonesia.

“Therefore, I have also conveyed Indonesia's desire to move forward through the use of sustainable energy. With full confidence I said in front of all delegates that with all the mineral wealth we have, Indonesia is ready to enter the global supply chain for electric and environmentally friendly vehicles," Pandjaitan said.

He also thanked Minister Mazroui for the “meaningful gift” from Prince Mohammed bin Zayed al Nahyan in the form of the establishment of a mosque and Islamic Center.

The mosque, which will be a replica of the Sheikh Zayed Mosque in Abu Dhabi, will be built in Surakarta City.

"I convey that all the people of Indonesia and the UAE should be proud because they both have visionary and friendly leaders like President @jokowi and Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan. I am sure that if there are many leaders like both, then the world will be a better place for everyone,” he stated.

Pandjaitan said the strong commitment brought by Indonesia and the UAE to transforming the economies of the two countries into economies based on knowledge, innovation, and technology would create a big leap for the world, especially amid the economic downturn caused by the current pandemic.

"I hope Minister Suhail's visit and the strong leadership of the two leaders of these friendly countries can bring great benefits to the welfare of the two countries,” he remarked. (antaranews)

Mar. 8 - The Indonesia Composite Stock Exchange (IHSG) of the Indonesia Stock Exchange (BEI) started the week in the positive zone tracking the rise in the US stock exchange on the ratification of a stimulus package.  

The IHSG opened 45.25 points higher (0.72 percent) at 6,304. Meanwhile, the 45 leading stock group, or the LQ45 index, climbed 11.08 points (1.18 percent) to 952.44.

"Today, IHSG is predicted increasing due to strong global sentiment (following the ratification) of the US fiscal stimulus," wrote Samuel Securities' Research in Jakarta on Monday.

By the end of last week, US stocks gained significantly, welcoming the ratification of the US$1.9-trillion stimulus package by the Senate.

The ratification will be processed by the US Congress and signed by President Joe Biden before March 14, 2021, while updating former aid programs.

However, the increase in the yield of the benchmark 10-year US Treasury note, which is currently at 1.57 percent, has fueled worries of inflation among global investors.

The commodity market also saw an increase in prices last week. Last Friday, the price of WTI crude increased 3.5 percent to US$66.2 dollars per barrel, while Brent crude rose 4.3 percent to US$69.5 per barrel.

Meanwhile, the price of nickel increased 2.08 percent to US$16.437 per ton, CPO climbed 0.27 percent to 3.42 Malaysian ringgit per ton. Bucking the trend, the price of gold dipped to US$1,700 per ounce.

On the domestic front, on Sunday (March 7, 2021), the daily COVID-19 cases in Indonesia declined, with 5,826 additional cases reported nationwide. The positivity rate reached 19.5 percent.

So far, the total number of COVID-19 cases has reached 1.3 million, with 1.19 million patients (86.6 recovery rate) recovering from the virus.

Meanwhile, as many as 2.8 million COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered in the country, with 338 thousand people inoculated on Sunday (1.6 percent of the total target).

In the Asian regional markets on Monday, the Nikkei index added 265.31 points (rising 0.92 percent to 29,129.64); the Hang Seng index gained 205.45 points (rising 0.71 percent to 29,303.74), and the Straits Times index rose 52.42 points (rising 1.74 percent to 3,006.27. (Antaranews)

Mar. 8 - The Bank Indonesia (BI) Consumer Survey for February 2021 found that consumers grew more confident about the economic conditions, apparent from the Consumer Confidence Index (IKK) of 85.8, rising slightly from 84.9 in January 2021.

"Consumer confidence is observed to be stronger among respondents, with spending levels of Rp1-3 million per month," Executive Director of the BI Communication Department Erwin Haryono noted in Jakarta on Monday.

Haryono expounded that spatially, consumer confidence had increased in the seven cities surveyed, with the highest rise in Surabaya, followed by Manado and Makassar.

The improving consumer confidence in February 2021 was attributed to perceptions of current economic conditions, in terms of job availability, income, and timeliness of purchasing durable goods.

Meanwhile, Haryono highlighted that consumer expectations of future economic conditions remained positive and relatively stable as compared to outlooks in the previous month, backed by expectations of future incomes. (Antaranews)

Mar. 8 - The Wisma Atlet COVID-19 Hospital in Kemayoran treated 3,748 COVID-19 patients as of Monday, at 8 a.m. local time.

"The figure reduced by 391 people to touch 3,748, from 4,139 on the previous day," Head of Information for the Joint Regional Defense Command (Kogabwilhan) I Colonel Marine Aris Mudian noted here on Monday, March 8, 2021.

Mudian remarked that the patients were provided treatment at towers four, five, six and seven. The mildly symptomatic patients were administered treatment. The four towers have a total of 5,994 beds, out of which 2,246 are still empty.

According to the overall data from March 23, 2020, to March 8, 2021, the hospital had registered a total of 70,968 patients, comprising 67,220 patients that were given discharge, 66,435 patients that had recovered, and 699 patients referred to other hospitals, while 86 patients had succumbed to the disease at the facility.

Meanwhile, the Wisma Atlet Pademangan Emergency Hospital reported 4,558 hospitalized patients on Monday morning. The figure is 529 more as compared to 4,029 registered on Sunday. The patients were treated in towers eight, nine, and 10. (Antaranews)