Indonesia

Jakarta (VNA) – Indonesian police have recently smashed a drug smuggling ring, seizing 2.5 tonnes of methamphetamine which were being transported to the country from Afghanistan.

The haul is estimated to be worth 82 million USD.

One suspect was shot dead while 17 others, including a Nigerian, were arrested during a series of police raids in Aceh province and Jakarta capital in recent weeks.

Police said that some of the meth had been placed inside food containers and then hidden in boats or lockers on land.

The Southeast Asian country has become a key destination and transit point for international drug trafficking .

In 2018, Indonesia n police said two separate busts resulted in the seizure of about 3 tonnes of methamphetamine coming from Taiwan (China).

This month, 13 members of a trafficking ring, including three Iranians and a Pakistani, were sentenced to death for smuggling 400kg of methamphetamine into Indonesia./.

VNA

Indonesia is the largest economy in Southeast Asia

To compete with Vietnam and Singapore, Indonesia is offering plenty of made-to-measure inducements, including the latest programmes accepting carbon offset, according to Bloomberg newswire.

The 270 million population country is reviewing its carbon-offset programmes to promote investment. The Indonesia Investment Coordinating Board is drawing up a list of peatlands which can store huge volumes of CO2 emissions, and also artificial lakes that could house solar panels, according to Nurul Ichwan, deputy chairman for Investment Planning at the Indonesia Investment Coordinating Board.

Bloomberg stated that the moves aimed to lure in electric vehicle and battery makers who want to source nickel from the country.

The Indonesian government has attempted to attract South Korea-based LG Chem that is present in Vietnam, China-based battery manufacturer Amperex Technology, and US-based electric car maker Tesla to set up shop in the country.

Ichwan said that Vietnam and Singapore offer similar incentives for overseas investors, however, Indonesia will draw in many big investment projects on account of its natural resources, large market, economic efficiency, and the directions of the country’s government.

The Indonesian administration late last year approved the Omnibus Law creating jobs for labourers in the nation. Accordingly, the law favours foreign investors pouring in large capital to develop industries, said Ichwan.

Similar to Vietnam, Indonesia has found that its traditional growth engines have all seen a downturn during the COVID-19 pandemic and the country is looking for investment into more modern industries such as manufacturing electric vehicles and batteries.

The competition for foreign capital has been heating up in Southeast Asia like Vietnam, Thailand and the Philippines which are all lowering tax rates and rolling out other incentives for foreign companies. As a result, Indonesia – the region’s largest economy – has accelerated policy reforms to encourage investment for years now.

The efforts have been paying off: in 2020, the country received Rp826 trillion ($57.2 billion) in total investment capital, up 2 per cent on-year. This is a positive sign as the nation has experienced the first recession over two decades due to the pandemic. Indonesian government targets to get Rp900 trillion ($62.5 billion) in investment this year.

Hanoi (VNA) – Indonesia’s National Narcotics Agency (BNN) on May 5 said it has seized a total of 581.31 kg of crystal methamphetamine from three international syndicates and arrested seven suspects.

Head of the BNN, Commissioner General Petrus Reinhard Golose, said that the crystal meth was seized in three different locations, namely in Aceh Besar, East Aceh, and Pulau Burung in Riau Islands province.

Based on the evidence the BNN had, the crystal meth comes from Pakistan, Malaysia, and the Golden Triangle’s Myanmar. The Golden Triangle is the largest drug-producing region in Southeast Asia located in Myanmar, Thailand, and Laos.

The Southeast Asian archipelago has become a key destination and transit point for international drug trafficking.

In 2018, Indonesia n police said two separate busts resulted in the seizure of about three tonnes of methamphetamine coming from Taiwan.

In April, 13 members of a trafficking ring, including three Iranians and a Pakistani, were sentenced to death for smuggling 400 kilograms of methamphetamine into Indonesia./.

VNA

Jakarta (VNA) – Indonesia’s economy continued to shrink at 0.74 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2021, according to Statistics Indonesia (BPS) head Suhariyanto.

The growth rate was still in the negative territory but showed an improving trend, compared to contractions of 2.19 percent in the fourth quarter of 2020, 3.49 percent in 2020’s Q3 and 5.32 percent in the second quarter of 2020.

He said that structurally 64.56 percent of Indonesia’s gross domestic product (GDP) in the first trimester of this year came from five main sectors, namely industry, agriculture, trade, construction, and mining.

Suhariyanto forecast the economic growth will be positive in the remaining quarters of this year.

On May 6, Secretary of the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs Susiwijono Moegiarso said the government plans to relax value-added tax (VAT) and income tax (PPh) for enterprises in a bid to boost domestic consumption and retail market and support the economic recovery./.

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Jakarta (VNA) – The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has projected that the Indonesian economy will return to high growth, last seen in the pre-pandemic era, in 2022, with the economy forecast to expand 5 percent next year.

The bank also projected a 4.5-percent economic growth for Indonesia for 2021.

ADB Director for Indonesia Winfried Wicklein said on April 28 that Indonesia passed 2020 well thanks to a well-coordinated and communicated crisis response, and strong leadership in tackling the pandemic.

Indonesia would return to its growth trajectory next year, driven by a sustainable trade recovery, a revival in the manufacturing sector, and a large national economic recovery budget for 2021, he added.

Household spending in Indonesia is expected to increase in 2021 as the vaccination programme advances and more economic sectors resume operations, he elaborated.

Besides, investment is expected to increase again with improving economic prospects, while the pace of recovery in finance or credit will still lag behind considering the uncertainty in investor sentiment, he said.

According to ADB estimates, inflation, which averaged 1.6 percent last year, will rise to 2.4 percent in 2021. This inflation rate will still be within Bank Indonesia’s target range as inflationary pressures due to currency depreciation and higher food demand will be partially offset by the decline in prices of goods set by the government.

Furthermore, net exports supported by strong commodity exports will result in a current account deficit of 0.8 percent of Indonesia’s GDP in 2021, according to the ADB.

As investment increases next year and volumes of imported capital goods, such as machinery and equipment, increase, Indonesia’s current account deficit is expected to reach 1.3 percent of the GDP.

Wicklein said there are several risks to this estimate, including disruptions to the global recovery due to the threat from coronavirus mutations, uneven vaccination rates in the world, and unexpected global financial tightening.

Meanwhile at home, economic recovery could slow if there is a spike in COVID-19 cases during the month of Ramadan, or on account of delays in vaccination efforts and weakening government revenues, he added.

Therefore, ADB has recommended that Indonesia mobilise domestic resources and ensure environmentally friendly economic development./.

VNA