Indonesia Morning News For January 10, 2019

Indonesia’s retail sales edge up in November on rising demand of clothes
Retail sales in Indonesia, where consumption accounts for the largest to the GDP growth, drifted higher in November year-over-year amid rising demand of clothes, fuels for automotive and recreation and cultural-linked products, a survey carried out by the central bank showed here on Wednesday.
— Xinhua

Indonesia loses 4.7 bln USD each year to traffic jams
Indonesian President Joko Widodo said on January 8 that traffic congestion in Jakarta and its nearby areas results in annual economic losses of nearly 4.7 billion USD.
— Vietnam Plus

Only 15% of foreign exchange earnings converted to rupiah: BI
Bank Indonesia has announced that only 15 percent of foreign exchange earnings to October 2018 had been converted into rupiah.
— The Jakarta Post

Indonesia: Fruit exports grew by 26.27 percent in 2018
Indonesia’s Agriculture Ministry has announced that the export of horticultural commodities grew significantly last year, with fruit exports jumping 26.27 percent compared to the previous year’s figure.
— Fresh Plaza

Indonesia sees Grasberg copper concentrate exports dwindling in 2019
Exports of copper concentrate from Indonesia’s Grasberg mine, the world’s second-largest copper mine, are expected to drop to 200,000 tonnes this year from around 1.2 million tonnes in 2018, an official at the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry said on Wednesday.
— Hellenic Shipping News

Alibaba Cloud doubles capacity in Indonesia with second data centre
Alibaba’s cloud computing unit has opened a second data centre in Indonesia, doubling its local capacity and pushing its global coverage to 55 availability zones across 19 regions.
— ZDNet

PH mulls stricter rules on Indonesian palm oil imports
Agriculture Secretary Manny Piñol said government is seriously considering the possible tightening up on palm oil importations, particularly those coming from Indonesia, to prevent a flooding in the local market and at the same time address the trade gap between countries.
— Philippine News Agency

Indonesia hits million-home target for first time in 2018
Data from the government of Indonesia shows that a drive to build more than 1 million homes a year has, for the first time, hit its target.
— GCR

Indonesia vows to work with Asean on Indo-Pacific
Indonesia wants to work with other Asean countries to strengthen the regional architecture through Indo-Pacific cooperation, Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said in her annual speech on Wednesday (Jan 9).
— The Straits Times

‘Sea of trash’ fills up river in Indonesia’s Bekasi, excavators needed to clean
Trash-filled waterways are quite a common sight in Indonesia, but a village in the Bekasi Regency of West Java managed to make headlines around the country for letting their water pollution problem get way out of hand, even by the country’s lamentably low environmental standards.
— Coconuts Jakarta

Government lowers investment target in renewable energy
The government has lowered the investment target for new and renewable energy to US$1.79 billion this year from $2.01 billion in the previous year.
— The Jakarta Post

Scientists: ‘Mosquito Birth Control Drug’ Ready in 5 Years
Scientists in the United States said on Tuesday they had taken a major step toward developing a ‘mosquito birth control’ drug to curb the spread of malaria and other killer diseases blamed for hundreds of thousands of deaths a year.
— Tempo.co

Skyroam launches virtual SIM app in Indonesia
Global mobile data technology company Skyroam has launched its new virtual SIM application in Indonesia after securing approval from the Indonesian government.
— Telecomasia.net

Low prices leave Benguet vegetables rotting
At this time of the year, the agriculture story in Benguet would be about frost nipping at cabbage and other vegetables.
— Rappler

Indonesia mulling over electric car regime choice as foreign carmakers await outcome
Indonesia is juggling between two options as it moves closer to setting regulations on the adoption of electric vehicles.
— The Straits Times

Indonesia defines diplomatic priorities for 2019
The Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs held an international press conference in Jakarta on January 9 to review its work in the past time and announce diplomatic priorities for 2019.
— Vietnam Plus

Indonesia’s APP inks MoU to set up $3.5bn pulp paper plant in Prakasam
The Jakarta-headquartered Asia Pulp & Paper (APP), which is a part of the Indonesian Sinar Mas Group, on Wednesday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Andhra Pradesh Economic Development Board (APEDB) to develop a 5 million tonnes per annum greenfield pulp and paper plant in Prakasam district.
— Times of India

Creator of fake news on 10 million marked ballots arrested
The Indonesian police have arrested another suspect, only identified by his initials as BBP, for allegedly creating and spreading fake news on seven containers from China containing 10 million marked ballots
— Antara News

President distributes three thousand land certificates to West Jakarta residents
President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) presented three thousand land certificates to the residents of West Jakarta, here, Wednesday.
— Antara News

Central Java committed to developing gas-fueled mass transportation system
The Central Java provincial government is committed to developing gas-fueled mass transportation modes to make the province environmentally friendly and to help reduce congestion.
— Antara News

Exporters seek incentives for using local raw materials
The Indonesian Exporters Association (GPEI) is seeking incentives from the government for the use of local raw materials to manufacture its products.
— The Jakarta Post

Investors interested in solar panel construction: Official
The government is in talks with private companies that have expressed interest in constructing solar panels for houses and other buildings, as the government does not allocate funds for such projects.
— The Jakarta Post

Angkasa Pura i served 4.6 passengers during Christmas and New Year holidays
State airport operator PT Angkasa Pura I served 4.6 million passengers during the Christmas 2018 and New Year 2019 holidays.
— Antara News

Bombs found at Indonesian anti-graft agency leaders’ homes
Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) leaders Agus Rahardjo and Laode Syarif faced terror threats yesterday, with unknown assailants placing what appeared to be bombs at their houses.
— The Straits Times

Watch: Ex-head of Surabaya Regional Council runs over motorcycle in attempt to flee from arresting officers
One of the first arrests of a senior Indonesian politician on corruption charges in 2019 went down in dramatic fashion early this morning after the former head of Surabaya’s Regional Representatives Council (DPRD) attempted to flee from arresting officers, running over a motorcycle in the process.
— Coconuts (paywall)

Three Indonesian crew members abducted in Congo waters released
Three Indonesian members of a ship crew, abducted in the waters of Congo on October 29, 2018, were released and reunited with their families in Indonesia.
— Antara News

Police ramp up security at KPK leaders’ homes following ‘bomb’ attacks
The police will intensify security around Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) leaders’ homes following suspected bomb attacks at the houses of chairman Agus Rahardjo and deputy chairman Laode Muhammad Syarif on Wednesday morning.
— The Jakarta Post

Wiranto: Don’t Make a Fuss on Bomb Threat in KPK Leaders’ Homes
Coordinating Minister for Politics, Legal, and Security Affairs, Wiranto, said the public should not create an uproar following the bomb threat in the houses of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) leaders. The case, he stressed, would be investigated based on the prevailing law.
— Tempo.co

Indonesia extends emergency period in tsunami-affected area
Intellasia East Asia News Indonesian authorities have extended the emergency period in the area affected by Sunda Strait tsunami on December 22, so as to provide more effective measures on dealing with those affected.
— Intellasia

Government speeds up temporary post-disaster housing in Palu
The government has accelerated the development of temporary post-disaster housing for victims of the earthquake, tsunami, and liquefaction in Palu, Central Sulawesi, Vice President Jusuf Kalla said.
— Antara News

TCL debuts expanded range of AI-powered 8K TVs at CES 2019
TCL, top three global television brand and leading consumer electronics company, today debuted its latest artificial intelligence (AI.
— Antara News

Indonesia’s online media company IDN Media secures Series C funding round from EV Growth
IDN Media’s target readers include Millennials and Generation Z age group IDN Media, a multi-platform online media company based in Indonesia, today announces that it has raised a Series C funding round led by EV Growth.
— Intellasia

Feature photo Basarnas

This week’s Indonesia morning news feature photo depicts the effects of Tsunami on Sunda Strait in Indonesia’s Banten and Lampung regions.

Find our previous morning news feature photos in the AEC News Today Morning News Feature Photos gallery where you will find a pictorial display of daily life throughout the Asean Economic Community (AEC).

Indonesia morning news by AEC News Today is your one stop source for Indonesia news on matters of governance and policies affecting Asean business communities and is published M-F by AEC News Today: Governance, not government; policies not politics.

Indonesia morning news for January 10 added by Stella-maris Ewudolu on January 10, 2019
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Stella-maris Ewudolu

Journalist at AEC News Today

Stella-maris graduated with a Bachelor of Arts, Education from Ebonyi State University, Nigeria in 2005.

Between November 2010 and February 2012 she was a staff writer at Daylight Online, Nigeria writing on health, fashion, and relationships. From 2010 – 2017 she worked as a freelance screen writer for ‘Nollywood’, Nigeria.

She joined AEC News Today in December 2016.