VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan said the regulations regarding the Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF) or the Investment Management Institution (LPI), which were formed through the Job Creation Law, will be completed in December 2020 and start operating in January 2021.

"Next month, all regulations for the Sovereign Wealth Fund will be completed and effective on January," he said when delivering a speech at the Tri Hita Karana Forum Dialogue Cloud Event Indonesia Omnibus Law For a Better Business Better World virtually in Jakarta, Monday.

Luhut said the government is working hard to realize the endowment fund.

Currently, there is an investment commitment from the US investment institution waiting to get into the SWF, the US International Development Finance Corporation (IDFC), valued at $2 billion.

He also said there would be around nine international fund managers who are targeted to inject funds into the Indonesian investment management agency.

The former Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs said a number of countries had used the SWF scheme to boost economic growth.

He also called the Indonesian SWF funding source scheme similar to that of Russia and India, which comes from internal (state budget) and foreign investment or co-investment.

"The Indonesian government will contribute around six billion US dollars next month and hopefully next year. Because we have (potential) around 600 billion US dollars from state-owned enterprises [BUMN]. This is a kind of backdoor listing to make this funding very credible," he explained.

Previously, Chairman of the National Economic Recovery and Transformation Task Force (Satgas PEN) Budi Gunadi Sadikin said that the SWF is an investment instrument, with later corporate development in Indonesia being financed by foreign investors, so this SWF is also a form of stimulus for corporations.

He emphasized that the investment is in the form of ownership or stock investment, not investment loans that must be returned.

"That is why we see that foreign investment mechanisms in difficult times like this will greatly help raise the profile of Indonesian investment and also employment in Indonesia which is really needed by many people," he explained. (Antaranews)

The Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Panjaitan admitted that Indonesia is the most complex country to do business, and this led the government to make a breakthrough through Job Creation Law.

Luhut quoted a report from the consultancy and research institute, TMF Group, about the Global Business Complexity Index (GBCI) which placed Indonesia as the most complex country for doing business out of 77 other countries.

"If you look at the survey, Indonesia is a very complicated country to do business. We are honest about this. This is also the reason behind the Omnibus Law," he said when delivering a speech at the Tri Hita Karana Forum Dialogue Cloud Event "Indonesia Omnibus Law For a Better Business Better World "virtually in Jakarta, Monday.

Luhut explained that although over time Indonesia's Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) ranking had increased, the number of business procedures still showed a stagnant value and was more complicated than other ASEAN countries.

Therefore, the Job Creation Law is a breakthrough for the government to overcome complicated regulations and permits.

"Currently, business licensing will be carried out on a risk-based basis. With the Omnibus Law, the government aims to create a better business in Indonesia, so business establishment becomes easier, and in the end, it will open up jobs," he said.

Even though the Omnibus Law had brought controversy and rejection from the community, Luhut argued that now the community is calmer and more receptive after the law material could be seen directly.

"Currently, the Omnibus Law is in the finalization stage and will be implemented in February 2021. Through the Omnibus Law, the government can improve the investment climate in Indonesia, simplify investment requirements, carry out tax reforms, and encourage international trade," Luhut said.

Tri Hita Karana Forum Partners Dialogue: Indonesia New Omnibus Law for Better Business Better World was attended by representatives from various member companies of the International Chamber of Commerce.

Apart from Luhut, Deputy Chairman of the MPR Lestari Moerdijat; Minister of Environment and Forestry Siti Nurbaya Bakar; and Minister of ATR / BPN Sofyan Djalil also attended the event.

Meanwhile, the foreign representatives attended were IG Patel Professor and Chair, Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and Environment, London School of Economics / NCE Lord Nicholas Stern; Director, DCD OECD Jorge Moreira da Silva; Country Director Indonesia and Timor Leste World Bank Satu Kahkonen; Secretary-General, International Chamber of Commerce John Denton; and Senior Vice President Asia, Conservation International Richard Jeo. (Antaranews)

President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has alerted the provinces of Central Java and Jakarta that recorded a sharp rise in the number of COVID-19 cases within the past few days.

"I reminded that we have two provinces which I think would need special attention owing to the drastic increase (in the number of COVID-19 cases) this week, in the past two to three days, specifically in Central Java and Jakarta," Jokowi stated at the Merdeka Palace in Jakarta on Monday.

The president made the statement at a limited meeting on the report of COVID-19 handling and the national economic recovery committee, with attendees comprising cabinet ministers.

Jokowi has instructed Home Affairs Minister Tito Karnavian to remind local leaders of their obligation to ensure public safety and protection.

"We have to evaluate this as to why the increase could be that sharp. Be cautious. According to the data I received on November 29, there was a 13.41-percent increase in the number of our active cases. Although it is still below the global average of active cases, we have to be careful since it increased as compared to the earlier weekly average," the head of state noted.

The number of active cases of COVID-19 last week was recorded at 12.78 percent on an average.

"The recovery rate was recorded at 84.03 percent last week, and now, it declined to 83.44 percent. This (the data) has worsened since the number of positive cases has risen as compared to the earlier weeks," he stated.

As of Sunday (Nov 29), the number of confirmed cases had reached 534,266, of which 445,793 recovered, 16,815 died, and 70,792 are suspected patients.

Jakarta registered the highest rate of positive cases, with 135,762 confirmed cases, after it recorded 1,431 additional cases as of Sunday (Nov 29). East Java recorded 61,483 positive cases, followed by 54,997 cases in Central Java, 51,776 in West Java, and 20,552 cases in South Sulawesi.

The number of additional confirmed cases in Central Java Province reached 2,036 on Sunday. (Antaranews)

Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati has emphasized that Indonesia must continue to be careful in dealing with COVID-19, which is currently experiencing a significant spurt, as it will have a huge impact on the economy.

"Indonesia continues to be careful so that we can still handle COVID-19 because it has a tremendous social, economic, and financial impact," Sri Mulyani said during an online discussion in Jakarta on Monday.

Sri Mulyani said that currently there are more than 60 million cases of COVID-19 worldwide, with the death toll recorded at 1.42 million. There has been a massive increase in infections in the US, Europe, Japan, and Korea, she added.

As of November 29, 2020, Indonesia has registered 534 thousand cases and 16,815 deaths, with more than 5,000 people per day testing positive for the virus in the past week.   

Sri Mulyani emphasized that the 3T steps, namely tracing, tracking, and treatment, as well as the implementation of 3Ms, namely wearing masks, washing hands, and maintaining distancing, must be continued in order to reduce positive cases.

"The compliance of all business actors and the community is important for all of us to protect [people from the virus]. We are taking many steps, but society also determines whether we succeed or not," Sri Mulyani said.

She said that the high number of COVID-19 cases have affected the national economy, with growth contracting by 5.34 percent in the second quarter, though there have been improvements in the third quarter.

However, Sri Mulyani said, the reports of an improvement in the third quarter are still very early, so the figure would be easily affected by an increase in COVID-19 cases.

"In the third quarter, we have seen economic recovery, but this is still very early. The economy is still growing negatively, although it is much lower than in the second quarter, ” Sri Mulyani explained.

Therefore, the government will continue to maintain the momentum for improvement through the use of the state budget, which is an important instrument in managing the economy, especially when facing a pandemic, she added.

State spending this year has reached Rp2,739.2 trillion, with Rp695.2 trillion allocated for the National Economic Recovery Program (PEN) covering the health sector (Rp97.26 trillion) and social protection (Rp234.33 trillion).

A total of Rp65.97 trillion has been set aside as support for ministry/institutions and local governments, Rp114.81 trillion for MSME encouragement, Rp62.22 trillion for corporate financing, and Rp120.6 trillion for business incentives.

“It's not enough if you don't participate in preventing COVID-19 from spreading. Health protocol discipline is a must for all, indiscriminately. We all have to participate in trying to overcome the spread of COVID-19," Sri Mulyani said. (Antaranews)