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Screenshot - BI Governor Perry Warjiyo addresses the launch of the Indonesian Economic Report in Jakarta on Wednesday (ANTARA/Citro Atmoko) - 

Bank Indonesia (BI) believes the national economy will grow at a faster pace this year as compared to that in 2021.

The projection is contained in the Indonesian Economic Report published along with Bank Indonesia's Annual Report and Indonesia Sharia Economic and Financial Report 2021.

"Under the Indonesian Economic Report, we convey our optimism in 2022 in detail. InsyaAllah (God Willing), the economy will perform better within the range of 4.7 percent to 5.4 percent," BI Governor Perry Warjiyo stated in Jakarta on Wednesday.

Warjiyo forecast inflation to increase in 2022, albeit under control, to achieve the target of three percent, give or take one percent.

"The exchange rate will come under pressure this year. However, we have committed ourselves to maintaining the stability of the exchange rate in coordination with the Finance Ministry," he remarked.

The BI governor further urged the banking industry to increase the amount of loans extended to the public.

Warjiyo forecast credit growth in 2022 to cross seven to nine percent.

"Let us increase the amount of credits and financing to help economic and business recovery that constitutes the power of our synergy, national economic policy synergy. Vaccination is a prerequisite," he remarked.

He expressed gratitude to the government for its fast vaccination drive.

"InsyaAllah (God Willing), we will get the booster vaccination soon, so that the economic sector, fiscal and monetary stimuli, financing and reform in the real and financial sectors will soon open," he remarked.

BI will direct its monetary policy this year towards keeping inflation under control and stabilizing the exchange rate that comes under increasing global pressure, he affirmed.

"With regard to four other policies, macroprudential, payment system, market deepening, economic and financial inclusion, green economy and international policy, we will coordinate with the government to push economic recovery," he remarked//ANT

Marine Affairs and Fisheries Minister Sakti Wahyu Trenggono attends a working meeting with the House of Representatives' Commission IV in Jakarta on Wednesday (Jan 26, 2022). ANTARA/screenshot - 

Indonesia's investment in the marine and fisheries sector in 2021 had reached Rp6.02 trillion (US$419 million), Marine Affairs and Fisheries Minister Sakti Wahyu Trenggono stated.

"Investment in marine and fisheries in 2021, based on the data of BKPM (Investment Coordinating Board) and OJK (Financial Service Authority) as of September 2021, has reached Rp4.39 trillion. Until December 2021, the amount is expected to reach Rp6.02 trillion," Trenggono noted during a working meeting with the House of Representatives' Commission IV here on Wednesday.

The investors came from Singapore, Switzerland, India, Japan, and China, among others, for investment chiefly in East Java, West Java, Central Java, Jakarta, and Lampung.

Meanwhile, fishery production in 2021 had reached 24.480 million tons, the highest in seven years. In 2015, production was recorded at 22.311 million tons.

The minister affirmed that fish consumption in the country stood at 55.37 kg per capita per year.

"In terms of access to working capital, realization of micro loan disbursement in the marine and fisheries sector in 2021 had reached Rp8.05 trillion for 231,329 debtors. This is a 53.04-percent increase as compared to that in 2020," he remarked.

In addition, the number of business operators in the sector that had benefited from the micro loan had increased by 33.44 percent.

Trenggono remarked that non-tax state revenue from the sector was recorded at Rp1.7 trillion in 2021, comprising Rp708-billion revenue from fishery resources, Rp243 billion revenue from other sources, and Rp56.4 billion revenue from the Public Service Agency (BLU).

The minister also reported that the marine conservation area in 2021 had covered an area reaching 28.4 million hectares.

In a bid to address the problem of illegal fishing, the ministry had detained 167 illegal fishing ships during the year//ANT

People wearing protective face masks walk in Pyongyang, North Korea, May 15, 2020, in this photo released by Kyodo. (File photo: Kyodo via REUTERS) - 

A North Korean cargo train pulled into a Chinese border town on Sunday (Jan 16), in what would be the first confirmed crossing since anti-coronavirus border lockdowns began, media reports said.

North Korea has not officially reported any COVID-19 cases and has imposed strict anti-virus measures, including border closures and domestic travel curbs since the pandemic began in early 2020.

A North Korean freight train crossed the Yalu River railway bridge to arrive in the Chinese town of Dandong on Sunday, Yonhap said, citing multiple unnamed sources.

Yonhap said it marks the first time that North Korea has formally opened its land border with China.

It was unclear whether the train was carrying any cargo into China, but it was likely to return to North Korea on Monday with a load of "emergency materials", the sources told Yonhap, without elaborating.

Japan's Kyodo news agency also reported the train's arrival, citing an informed source.

While Chinese data show some limited trade has continued, most shipments appear to be using North Korean seaports, not trains across its land borders.

Officials in Seoul said late last year they were watching closely for a resumption in cross-border rail traffic as a signal that restrictions might be loosening.

After nearly two years of border closures, some humanitarian aid is trickling into the country, though shipments of key supplies including food remain blocked, according to United Nations organisations.

Several shipments of nutrition and medical aid have entered the country after up to three months of quarantine at Nampo sea port, but there have been no confirmation of major shipments being transported by train//CNA

A person looks towards cranes in front of the skyline of the central business district in Beijing, China, Oct 18, 2021. (File photo: REUTERS/Thomas Peter) - 

China's economy likely grew at the slowest pace in one-and-a-half years in the fourth quarter, dragged by weaker demand due to a property downturn, curbs on debt and strict COVID-19 measures, raising heat on policymakers to roll out more easing steps.

Data on Monday (Jan 17) is expected to show gross domestic product grew 3.6 per cent in October to December from a year earlier - the weakest pace since the second quarter of 2020 and slowing from 4.9 per cent in the third quarter, a Reuters poll showed.

On a quarterly basis, growth is forecast to rise to 1.1 per cent in the fourth quarter from 0.2 per cent in July to September.

For 2021, GDP likely expanded 8 per cent, which would be the highest annual growth in a decade, partly due to the low base set in 2020, when the economy was jolted by COVID-19 and stringent lockdowns.

The government is due to release the GDP data, along with December activity data, on Monday at 10am.

The world's second-largest economy, which cooled over the course of last year, faces multiple headwinds in 2022, including persistent property weakness and a fresh challenge from the recent local spread of the highly-contagious Omicron variant.

Exports, which were one of the few areas of strength in 2021, are also expected to slow, while the government is seen continuing its clampdown on industrial emissions.

Policymakers have vowed to head off a sharper slowdown, ahead of a key Communist Party Congress late this year.

The central bank is set to unveil more easing steps, though it will likely favour injecting more cash into the economy rather than cutting interest rates too aggressively, policy insiders and economists said.

Analysts polled by Reuters expect the central bank to deliver more modest easing steps, including cutting banks' reserve requirement ratios and the one-year loan prime rate - the benchmark lending rate.

Analysts at ANZ said in a note that they saw a possibility that the central bank will cut the rate on its medium-term lending facility on Monday.

Policymakers have also pledged to step up fiscal support for the economy, speeding up local government special bond issuance to spur infrastructure investment and planning more tax cuts.

"We might see a larger effect of the monetary and fiscal easing only in the second half of 2022 due to the transmission lags of these policies," analysts at Natixis said in a note.

"The recent monetary easing and the stabilization of PMI (factory activity) have indicated such a direction, but more efforts are needed to boost fixed asset investment."

Growth is likely to slow to 5.2 per cent in 2022, according to the poll//CNA