VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

One of ships produced by Chien Fu Shipbuilding Co, Ltd at the shipyard in Taiwan ( (ANTARA)

Taiwan's Chien Fu Shipbuilding Co, is ready to build modern high-tech fishing vessels made of fiber-reinforced plastics (FRP) in Indonesia in cooperation with two national companies. The two local partners are PT. Indomina Cipta Agung in Semarang and PT. Kelola Mina Laut (KML Food), Director of Administration and Planning Department of Taiwan's Ship and Ocean Industries R&D Center (SOIC) Ming-Hsien Tsan said in an official statement, made available to Antara in Jakarta on Friday.

"Chien Fu has chosen Surabaya, in East Java, as a location for their business in Indonesia and will start their activities next year," Ming said.

SOIC is a Taiwanese marine industry development institute that organized a meeting between Chien Fu and the two Indonesian partners.

Ming explained the reasons behind the planned development of FRP technology vessels which are not only environmentally friendly and reduce the significant use of wood but also offer the same price as those made of wood. Moreover, fiber has a higher level of endurance than wood.

"So FRP (vessels) are far more economical for Indonesian fishermen," he said.

PT. Kelola Mina Laut will send some of its employees to Taiwan for nearly a year to learn the technology and ways to build a fishing vessel weighing 30 to 50 tons, he said.

The dispatch of PT Kelola Mina Laut to Taiwan is aimed at ensuring the smooth transfer of technology, he said.

Indonesia needs the transfer of technology since the Indonesian fishery industry is the biggest in Southeast Asia so that the country has great potential to develop the fishing vessel manufacturing industry, Ming said.

In addition to the great potential in developing the fishery business, Chien Fu Shipbuilding Company's business expansion is also part of Taiwan's New Southbound Policy expected to strengthen cooperation with Southeast and South Asian countries, particularly Indonesia, Ming said.

Established in 1942, Chien Fu Shipbuilding Co, Ltd is one of the leading companies in Taiwan engaged in the fishing vessel construction business.  (ANTARA)

Institute for Development of Economics and Finance (Indef) Program Director Esther Sri Astuti said in a Public Discussion titled End of Year Reflection : Women Economists Watch Out for Global Economic Recession in Jakarta, Friday, 20/12/2019.  (ANTARA)

Institute for Development of Economics and Finance (Indef) Program Director Esther Sri Astuti said the Indonesian economy was relatively stable amid the potential for a global recession.

"Why it is relatively stable because the main components that support Indonesia's economic growth are not exports and imports. Because our export-import ratio is only 39.9 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP)," Esther said in a Public Discussion titled End of Year Reflections: Women Economists Watch Out for Global Economic Recession in Jakarta, Friday.

She explained, the main component that sustains Indonesia's economic growth is consumption, which ratio reaches 56 percent of GDP.

So, according to Esther, what the government needs to do next year is to keep the consumption sector running well.

"So, if the government wants to be stable in the future, don't disturb consumption because this is the main component," she said.

Economic growth in several countries has decreased, even the United States which is included in the strong category in terms of economic growth is also slowing due to the global recession.

Germany even experienced negative growth, although the country only grew by 0.4 percent. While China, which normally grows 7 percent, is estimated to only reach 5.5 percent growth until the end of 2019.

Meanwhile, economic growth in Europe, Britain, Japan, and India fell sharply in the range of 5 percent.

Under these conditions, even though Indonesia's growth is relatively stable, it is still considered vigilant. (ANTARA)

President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) left Jakarta for Surabaya on Saturday morning to conduct a working visit to observe the PT Trans Pacific Petrochemical Indotama (TPPI) Plant in Kedu Sub-district, East Java.

Presidential Secretariat's Press, Media, and Information Bureau confirmed that President Jokowi was accompanied by First Lady Iriana Jokowi and several cabinet members, including State-Owned Enterprises Minister Erick Thohir.

The president and his entourage departed from the Halim Perdanakusuma Air Force Base in East Jakarta aboard the presidential aircraft.

ANTARA noted that President Jokowi was channeling attention on Indonesia's endeavors to make it the world's exporter of petrochemical products.

On Dec 6, 2019, Jokowi expressed optimism while inaugurating the national petrochemical company PT Chandra Asri Petrochemical Tbk's new plant in Cilegon, Banten Province.

During that time, he was optimistic that Indonesia would become one of the world's exporters of petrochemical products within the next four to five years owing to rising investment in this sector.

"I feel, four or five years from now, we will no longer need to import petrochemicals. Instead, we will become an exporter," he stated at an event to inaugurate the national petrochemical company PT Chandra Asri Petrochemical Tbk's new plant in Cilegon.

President Joko Widodo and First Lady Iriana Joko Widodo departed from the Halim Perdanakusuma Air Force Base in East Jakarta to Surabaya aboard the presidential aircraft. (Biro Pers Media dan Informasi Setpres RI.)

President Jokowi justified his optimism by highlighting PT Chandra Asri Petrochemical Tbk's plan to develop the second phase of its petrochemical complex in Cilegon, with investment totaling Rp60 trillion-Rp80 trillion.

The company's petrochemical complex will be built during the period from 2019 to 2024. Once operational, Chadra Asri's production capacity will rise to eight million tons annually, he stated.

Based on a government road map called Making Indonesia 4.0, the chemical industry is one of the five sectors that will become the pioneers in the application of industry 4.0 in the country.

Hence, the chemical industry should be developed to become more productive, innovative, and competitive on the global scene. (ANTARA)

Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture Muhadjir Effendy, along with Finance Minister Sri Mulyani, Public Works and Housing Minister Basuki Hadimuljono, and Religious Affairs Minister Fachrul Razi pose for a group photo along with recipients of Mental Revolution Awards in Jakarta, on Saturday (ANTARA)

The Coordinating Ministry for Human Development and Culture has awarded Mental Revolution Medals to several institutions and regional governments in recognition of their efforts to make changes through the National Mental Revolution Movement. The medals were awarded to the institutions and regional governments during a national coordination meeting on the mental revolution movement in Jakarta Saturday.

The regional governments are South Sulawesi, Bali, South Sumatra, Yogyakarta, Riau Islands, and Bangka Belitung, while the institutions are the state railway company PT KAI (Persero) and Transjakarta bus service operator PT Transportasi Jakarta.

Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture Muhadjir Effendy expressed the hope that the medals would increasingly make the national mental revolution movement more heartfelt and stimulate residents to become a part of it.

"The Mental Revolution Movement is a public movement initiated and conducted by the existing powers in the civil community. In this case, the government has positioned itself as a stimulator and provocateur to continue the movement in all dimensions of people's lives," he said.

The core of the mental revolution movement is to make a change for the better, he clarified.

The efforts to improve the Indonesian nation's behavior should begin from changing their mentality. " Mentality must change first. In essence, the movement is to change a bad thing into good thing and good thing into a better thing," he said. (ANTARA)