Linking Giants
The islands of Java and Sumatra are a step closer to being linked for the first time in their history by Indonesia’s largest-ever infrastructure project. The China Railway Construction Corporation has inked a deal to invest in the RP 100 trillion ($10.9 billion) Sunda Strait Bridge to link the islands — the largest agreement signed during President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s visit to Beijing last month. The state-owned company is behind several rail projects in Africa and the Middle East.
“The challenges are huge, but this will pave the way for a breakthrough,” said Agung Prabowo, president director of Graha Banten Lampung Sejahtera, the Indonesian consortium behind the project. “We’re not out to break any records, but we want the bridge realized, as it will benefit people on both sides.”
His consortium brings together the provincial governments of Lampung in Sumatra and Banten in Java, as well as a subsidiary of the Artha Graha conglomerate run by tycoon Tommy Winata. It was set up to lay the groundwork for the bridge in 2007.
It is now waiting for a legal guarantee from the Indonesian government, which is expected to come within weeks. The government is eager for foreign investors to take part in building bridges, highways and other facilities to spur the economy.
The 30km bridge had been envisioned by the country’s first president Sukarno since the 1960s, but only recently did steady economic growth make its construction more realistic.
A feasibility study is in the works, and construction is to start in 2014.
The bridge will link 80 per cent of Indonesia’s 240 million people by road and rail, and will take some 10 years to complete. The world’s largest ships will be able to pass under it, as the bridge will stand 80m at its highest.
Indonesia’s longest bridge at present is the 5.4km-long Suramadu Bridge, completed in 2009, that links Surabaya in East Java with the island of Madura. It, too, was built by a consortium of Indonesian and Chinese companies over six years.
Officials on both sides of the strait near where the new bridge will start — in Anyer, Java and Bakauheni, Sumatra — are already gearing up for it, with the Banten and Lampung governments publicizing the bridge to attract investors to set up shop there.
The connection will also intentionally start at Anyer, 40km south of the port of Merak, from which most ferries to Sumatra currently operate.
Geologists and disaster management officials have given the all-clear to the proposed design, by renowned Indonesian architect Wiratman Wangsadinata, which would be able to withstand an earthquake of magnitude 9 as well as eruptions of the Anak Krakatau volcano some 50km away. It was formed after the 1883 eruption of Krakatoa.
“The Sunda Strait is likely to be the site of a major earthquake,” Professor Masyhur Irsyam of the Bandung Institute of Technology said this week. “But this is only a problem if structures are not designed to be strong enough to resist it.”
The bridge will also be 200km from the undersea fault where the Indo-Australian and Eurasian plates meet. As a result, the impact of a tsunami on the bridge will be limited, according to simulations, National Disaster Management Agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said.
But forget about hiking across the bridge for now: Winds at the strait are often fierce, and the crossing by ferry can stretch up to four hours.
In its report on the deal, the Beijing Review cited China Institute of International Studies president Qu Xing as saying that there is great demand for funds and technology in Indonesian infrastructure.
“China is highly experienced in building railways, highways, bridges and irrigation projects, and considers Indonesia one of its major prospective investment destinations,” it said.
(The Straits Times)
Telkom Indonesia: Going For Growth
By Yianis Mostrous
The Asian telecommunications sector is a top performer in terms of dividend yield, earnings per share growth and return on equity ratios. Asian telecoms offer solid growth and sustainable dividends, providing investors refuge from economic worries and market volatility.
PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia, or Telkom Indonesia (TLK ) is one of my favorites in this emerging market, for long-term growth.
At 237.6 million people, Indonesia has the fourth-largest population in the world of any country. Indonesia is a global growth leader and should remain so throughout 2012, because of its political stability, high consumer base and a thriving economy driven by manufacturing, construction and tourism.
According to the iGR consultancy, the total number of global mobile subscribers will reach approximately 7 billion by 2015, with Asia accounting for 65 percent of the total, representing the biggest region among world mobile markets.
It’s the perfect environment for a well-positioned company such as Telkom Indonesia.
The telecom industry in Indonesia historically was a duopoly dominated by Telkom Indonesia and Indosat (IIT ), with Telkom Indonesia controlling the domestic market and Indosat international calling.
Around the turn of this century, telecom deregulation in this sprawling archipelago nation sparked a period of high growth. Every year between 2005-2010, mobile cellular telephone subscriptions increased by 36 percent and fixed lines grew by 18 percent. Last year, cellular subscribers reached the 250 million mark.
Telkom Indonesia’s subsidiary Telkomsel is the market leader in cellular, with more than 104 million customers. Together with Indosat and XL Axiata Tbk PT (EXCL: Indonesia), it controls 70 percent of the industry. More than 90 percent of Indonesian cellular subscribers are prepaid customers. Indonesia still doesn’t have number portability, which makes “free minutes” and other marketing offers major ways for telecoms to retain customers.
According to the Indonesia Cellular Telecommunications Association (ATSI), the average revenue per user for 2011 was IDR20,000 (USD2.18), bringing total industry revenue to USD6.5 billion. Estimated revenue from the industry’s fixed-line segment reached USD1.1 billion.
Fixed line penetration in Indonesia had been low for years but started reviving in 2007. Since then, it has been growing by about 20 percent. Telkom Indonesia still enjoys a near monopoly in the fixed line segment, because of its extensive coverage across the country.
The expansion of fixed lines has boosted broadband services growth; it now stands at around 1 per 100 people. Although a low per capita number by developed country standards, it represents a growth rate of more than 30 percent per year. Indonesia is now home to more than 50 million Internet users and the world’s third-largest market for Facebook (FB ) (see chart, below).
(Click to enlarge)
Source: ATSI
Telkom Indonesia in March reported that fourth-quarter net profit rose 2.3 percent. Revenue in 2011 was up nearly 4 percent, as the company added 13 million cell subscribers to surpass 104 million. New subscribers are the main source of the company’s revenue growth.
About 60 percent of Telkom Indonesia’s capital expenditures last year went to Telkomsel. The parent company will maintain the same level of commitment this year, with about USD1 billion slated for investment in its cell unit, mainly for 3G data and network infrastructure.
A significant portion of Telkomsel’s growth derives from the country’s Sulawesi province. Located between the islands of Borneo and Maluku, Sulawesi is the world’s 11th largest island with a population of 17 million, equal to 7 percent of Indonesia’s population.
Sulawesi is one of Indonesia’s fastest-growing provinces, but its mobile phone penetration rate remains relatively low, providing plenty of growth opportunities for Telkomsel. Indeed, Sulawesi has emerged as one of the country’s growth centers, surpassing the saturated market of Java.
Telkomsel controls 87 percent of the North Sulawesi market, while also commanding an 89 percent share of the Eastern Indonesia market that includes Sulawesi, Maluku and Papua. The region accounts for around 13 percent of Telkomsel’s total mobile subscriber base.
On the operating side, Telkom Indonesia has been cutting costs by forcing the early retirement of employees, bringing the total workforce below 20,000 from above 25,000 in 2007. This trend will enhance margins and mitigate the company’s perennial problem of wage inflation.
Management also is proposing an increase in the stock’s dividend payout ratio from 50 percent to 65 percent for 2011, and a steady increase from 2012 onward. The company’s solid cash flows and low debt levels will help the company’s case when regulators review the proposal. The government still owns close to 53 percent of Telkom Indonesia and has a say in major management decisions.
The rapid growth of Asia’s telecom industry during the past decade has attracted investments from foreign telecoms. Notably, Singapore Telecommunications Limited (SGAPY.PK ) owns about 35 percent of Telkomsel, while Qatar Telecommunication Company (DSM-QTEL) owns 65 percent of Indosat.
Telkom Indonesia’s stock trades at a reasonable valuation of 11.7 times expected earnings. The shares offer a 5 percent dividend yield, with a 3 percent share buyback program.
Indonesian Bonanza is so Spoiling..
Buoyed by rapid economic growth, Indonesia has become a bonanza for international plane makers who are booking some of the world’s biggest sales as Western airlines suffer a downturn.
Europe’s Airbus and US manufacturer Boeing have secured billions of dollars in orders over the past year as Southeast Asia’s largest economy experiences a travel boom and looks to link its archipelago of more than 17,000 islands.
Indonesian carrier Lion Air placed the single largest contract in commercial aviation history during a November visit by US President Barack Obama, ordering 230 Boeing aircraft for a whopping $22.4 billion.
Last week, Airbus bagged a $2.5 billion contract for 11 A330-300s to national carrier Garuda International during a visit to Indonesia by British Prime Minister David Cameron.
“There’s a major transformation going on, not just with Garuda but with the whole aviation industry in Indonesia,” industry analyst Gerry Soejatman told AFP.
“Around 60 million, or a quarter the population, travel domestically by air annually. That number could easily double if the price is right,” he said.
The deal with Airbus was part of Garuda’s plans to expand services less than two years after the European Union lifted a ban on the airline from entering its airspace, citing the country’s poor safety record.
“We’re seeing two things meeting harmoniously — first a rise in economic power spreading across the demographic. Many more people have reached an economic threshold that allows them to fly,” Sydney-based Center for Asia Pacific Aviation Chairman Peter Harbison told AFP.
“At the same time, more airlines are coming in, and are basically flying to your doorstep at a much lower price. Put those two things together and you have a recipe for enormous growth.”
Western airlines meanwhile have faced a downturn, with the aviation industry in Europe taking a hit from the 2008-09 financial crisis.
Air travel demand in Europe has started to creep up again, but Fitch Ratings said in a statement earlier this year it expected poor demand in 2012 and European airlines focusing on minimizing losses.
It forecast “significant retrenchment for the largest European network airlines” such as Air France-KLM, which lost 700 million euros ($925 million) in 2011.
In Indonesia, the economy is projected to grow 6.5 percent this year and per capita income surpassing $3,000. More of its 240 million people are paying for the convenience of air travel over tiresome and often unsafe ferry rides.
Earlier this month, defunct airline Mandala made a comeback with significant investment from Singapore’s Tiger Airways.
New carrier Pacific Royale Airways, flying domestic and some international routes, is expected to take off later this month.
Indonesia’s aviation industry exploded after the year 2000, with domestic air travel increasing by about 500 percent, Harbison said, adding that the industry has marked steady progress since then.
“One of the interesting things about Lion’s order was that other airlines in the region were talking big orders to fly across Asia. In Lion’s case, they were primarily looking to its domestic market.”
Indonesia’s domestic airlines carried 60 million passengers last year, marking a 15 percent growth from the previous year, government figures show.
That is forecast to almost double by 2015, said Indonesia’s official association for all airlines, the Indonesian Air Carriers Association, which works closely with the transport ministry.
But analysts are concerned that the country’s infrastructure may not be able to keep up with the aviation boom, urging the government to expedite plans to expand the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in the capital Jakarta.
The airport handles more than 44 million passengers a year, and 60 million are expected to come through by 2014.
“Beyond infrastructure, there are two important questions: Where are we going to park all these new planes, and who’s going to fly them?” Soejatman said.
“It’s all well and good to say Indonesia’s aviation industry is growing, but we have to make sure we have the space for it all by the time these extra flights begin. I think it could be a close call.”
Indonesia is also slowly repairing its reputation for poor aviation safety, with six airlines now allowed back in the EU after Brussels slapped a ban on all 51 of the country’s commercial airlines from its airspace in 2007.
Agence France-Presse
Knock..Knock..Knocking on BRICS’ Door
By Kester Kenn Klomegah
Indonesia’s keen interest in becoming the newest member of BRICS – a bloc of emerging-market nations comprised of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – has sparked off a round of debate on the future and efficacy of South-South groupings.
István Tarrósy, assistant professor of political science at the Department of Political Studies at the University of Pécs and managing director of the Africa Research Centre in Pécs, Hungary, said that Indonesia’s development statistics make the country a shoe-in for membership: it is the largest economy in southeast Asia and is a demographic giant with a population of 248 million people, making it the fourth most populous country in the world, ahead of even Brazil and Russia.
It also has an active labour force of 117 million people, as of 2011.
Indonesia has long been recognised as a leading actor in the developing world, most notably for its active role within the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) ever since it hosted the Bandung Conference in 1955.
“Its voice has always been decisive in any issue connected with the then Third World, today, the Global South. In terms of South-South cooperation, and in light of a redefined system of North-South dialogue within a gradually more multi-polar world, Indonesia has its place among the top categories of states influencing how our transnational global world develops,” Tarrósy told IPS.
Furthermore, given the country’s “pragmatic foreign policy practices and long-term cooperation with countries of the region and beyond, Indonesia could strengthen the common voice of emerging economies via BRICS. With the potential entrance of Indonesia, BRICS would then need to redefine, or rather refine its status as (possibly) one of the most important inter-regional groupings of countries of the global South,” he added.
Another significant issue is the investment sector, on which developing or emerging economies rely heavily. Foreign direct investment (FDI) into Indonesia, and Indonesian FDI flown into other, less strong economies across southeast Asia and beyond, could be further encouraged by BRICS membership, which would facilitate better trans-regional cooperation.
For instance, it could pave the way for increased “South-South cooperation in Africa, with a more substantial Indonesian role in project generation and financing. In addition to China’s and India’s growing presence and involvement in the African continent, Indonesia could play (a bigger role), particularly if we (acknowledge) the growing amount of official development assistance (ODA) emerging economies have granted Africa,” according to Tarrósy.
Indonesia is one of Asia’s leading economic powerhouses; with last year’s economic growth recorded at 6.5 percent, the country is poised to overtake Russia in the regional economic race, said John Mashaka, financial analyst at Wells Fargo Capital Markets.
He told IPS that Indonesia recorded exports worth 204 billion dollars in 2011. Compared to its European counterparts like Greece, Italy and Spain, which are still floundering in the economic slush of the 2008 crash, Indonesia’s credit ratings shot up and the country’s economic outlook remains favorable.
Its domestic market is huge and the current economic boom can be attributed to its political stability and sound economic and monetary policies, which have attracted consistent FDI.
“In short, Indonesia is an economic power to be (reckoned) with and its decision to join the BRICS could have a huge impact in terms of the body’s credibility. Indonesian membership will definitely solidify BRICS’ capital composition, and also bring on board extraordinary fiscal capability,” Mashaka told IPS.
BRICS versus IBSA?
Thomas Lawo, executive director of the European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI) in Bonn, Germany, doubts that BRICS will be a major game-changer in global geopolitics in an increasingly multi-polar world, mostly because of its members’ divergent economic trends and political interests.
On the one hand, Russia is set to re-emerge as a strong global power with a dominant role in central and western Asia, along with India and China.
“But India needs to sort out its internal rifts and neighbourhood problems first, while China is becoming a strong force to reckon with in Asia, Africa and Europe. China is definitely the (primary) growth-engine of Asia and is stepping up its influence in the global economy (armed) with military strength to match its ambitions,” Lawo said.
Indonesia, on the other hand, is more comfortably clustered with South Africa and Brazil as a regional power and an economic anchor-country for the southeast Asian region, but lesser on a wider global scale.
Another possibility is the re-emergence of a politically stronger ASEAN, now that Burma (Myanmar) is opening up to its neighbours. In this context, the MIST countries – Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand – will become more relevant, if they can overcome their internal problems and play the regional integration card.
Alexandra A. Arkhangelskaya, head of the Centre for Information and International Relations at the Institute for African Studies at the Russian Academy of Sciences, explained to IPS that after the admission of South Africa, BRICS will likely be expanded to include Indonesia, Turkey, Australia, Nigeria and Mexico.
If this happens, she stressed, BRICS will be pushed to clearly articulate its specific identity in the international arena.
The rise of BRICS as regional bloc also raises the question of whether its role is very different from that of IBSA, the same group minus China and Russia.
BRICS has certainly attracted a lot of attention and it is widely accepted that the bloc will try to achieve certain broad economic reforms as well as attempt to restructure the Western-dominated global financial architecture.
Still, Arkhangelskaya believes that the extent to which IBSA will be forced to live in the former’s shadow will very much depend on South Africa, which is currently “sitting on two chairs”, as well as China’s role in BRICS and the world economy.
Experts fear that IBSA will be forced to dissolve in the light of BRICS’ expansion.
Some analysts still argue that IBSA and BRICS represent the old clash of India versus China; others believe it is more likely that the groups will find themselves on very different tiers of the South-South multilateral cake.
Although there is some overlap in core issues, the fact remains that the BRICS countries are more focused on economy, while IBSA is concerned with promoting democratic values and other causes common to the three countries, and has a distinct personality of its own.
Thus, IBSA can remain an instrumental and practical mechanism of the three countries representing three different continents, sharing their interests and strengthening their economic cooperation to further the interests of the South.
(Source : InterPressService IPS.org)
Indonesia’s “The Raid” kills American Action Movies Dead
I see a lot of movies. It’s not unheard of for me to go to two or three in a given week. I sit through the same trailers countless times, often for months in a row. Sometimes I wonder if my love for movies actually is a kind of addiction, something that I could be diagnosed with.
While I do appreciate originality and wild, new concepts, I’m not always looking for films that are going to re-invent the wheel. I don’t need a “game-changer.” In fact, the quest to be new, better and different often leads to a noticeable self-awareness that is at best smart-alecky and at worst, pompous.
That’s when the “mouthwash movies” come in. That’s a term I came up with several years ago for the kind of films you put on to cleanse your palate after seeing something particularly offensive or carelessly made. When I need a break from all the inventiveness and one-upmanship, the best antidote is to remind myself of those pure works of art. And it doesn’t have to be something snooty, either. Depending on what you’re looking for, “A Nightmare on Elm Street” and “Die Hard” work just as well as “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” or “The Godfather” to put things back where they belong. They’re not just great movies. They’re a reminder of why I love this particular art form, providing justification for this possible illness I’ve got.
Indonesian martial arts action flick “The Raid: Redemption” proved to be the perfect antidote to everything Hollywood has been threatening to push on me lately. Past experience has taught me that the best stuff usually comes out of nowhere. I had no idea this movie was even playing in Athens, and I ended up seeing it on Monday night with a crowd of three other people in the theater.
“The Raid” is about as meat-and-potatoes as it gets. A van full of heavily-armed cops dressed in riot gear pulls into the parking lot of a scary-looking building that’s packed to the gills with violent criminals and psychotic drug dealers. On the top floor is the leader of the bad guys, watching over everything on his trusty wall o’ monitors. As the cops make their way through the building, bullets fly like nobody’s business, and there are more bloody stabbings than any slasher movie I have ever seen. The audience barely has time to breathe before the next do-or-die situation is presented. But that’s only the first half of the movie.
Where “The Raid” goes from high gear to mind-numbingly awesome is when the kicking and punching start. Fans of Thai martial arts films like “Ong Bak” and “Chocolate” will love the matter-of-fact way these scenes are handled. There’s no flashy editing, no stylized camera moves. It really looks like it hurts, and the fights are some of the most unrelenting and eye-popping action scenes I’ve witnessed in a good while.
“The Raid” isn’t trying to show us something we’ve never seen before. Instead, its mission is to give us exactly what we want, leaving us wondering just how much we can take. The upcoming summer blockbuster season will be full of high-flying special effects and explosions, but I can guarantee that nothing is going to be able to do across the universe what “The Raid” manages to do in 33 floors of a broken-down crackhouse. Something tells me I’ll be looking for it again by the time September rolls around.
Four stars out of five. “The Raid” is currently playing at Beechwood Stadium 11 Cinemas on Alps Road.
Source : OnlineAthens.com
Amphibious Strength
Russia will soon sign a contract with Indonesia to deliver 37 infantry fighting vehicles worth more than $100 million, Russian state-controlled arms exporter Rosoboronexport said on Tuesday.
Rosoboronexport deputy chief Viktor Komardin said the deal for BMP-3F vehicles was expected later this month.
To date, Russia has delivered 17 BMP-3Fs to Indonesia.
Mengisi yang ditinggalkan Vietnam
by Akhyari Hananto
Tentu kita masih ingat, 3-5 tahun lalu, seluruh dunia menggambarkan betapa hebatnya pertumbuhan ekonomi China, India, dan Vietnam. Iya kan? Kita ingat betapa seolah-olah semua analisa ekonomi dari para ekonom dunia selalu terhubung dengan ekonomi ketiga tersebut. Terutama Vietnam, yang bahkan digadang-gadang akan segera melewati ekonomi Filipina dalam waktu dekat.
Beberapa teman saya dari Eropa mengatakan bahwa orang2 Vietnam bahkan lebih rajin dan disiplin dibanding dengan orang China sekalipun (yang terkenal rajin dan disiplin), sehingga kemajuan ekonomi Vietnam dalam 20 mendatang hampir tidak terhentikan. Saya setuju bagian pertamanya..
Di Vietnam sendiri, optimisme dan kepercayaan diri juga begitu membumbung tinggi. Mulai dari pemerintah, media, dan rakyat biasa meyakini bahwa inilah era kebangkitan mereka. Teman2 di Filipina pun..sebenarnya mulai grogi dan nervous karena kalau ekonomi Vietnam maju, Filipina-lah yang akan menjadi “korban” pertama yang dilewati.
Mungkin sangat sedikit yang menyangka, bahwa Vietnam akan “tumbang” bahkan sebelum benar-benar “tumbuh” secara nyata.
Menurut majalah The Economist, yang paling “pincang” dari perekonomian Vietnam saat ini adalah inflasinya yang “tidak terkendali”, dan dalam 3 tahun terakhir, 2 kali inflasinya menembus angka di atas 20%. Bahkan para jurnalis yang akan mengabarkan inflasi tersebut, dihalang-halangi oleh pemerintah. Banyak sekali perusahaan bangkrut, BUMN dan perbankan di Vietnam juga makin ketara ketidak-efisienannya serta terjerumus dalam korupsi.
Cukup mengagetkan kiranya, karena selama 2003-2007, ekonomi Vietnam tumbuh rata2 8% setahun, salah satu yang tertinggi di dunia, disebabkan oleh membanjirnya investasi luar negeri ke Vietnam. Namun saat ini, banyak pengamat yang memprediksi bahwa Vietnam hanya akan tumbuh di bawah 5%, sesuatu hal yang tak terbayangkan bagi negara yang sedang membumbung harapannya tersebut.
Masih menurut the Economist, pada 2020, ekonomi Vietnam hanya 1/3 dari seharusnya (kalau paling tidak tetap tumbuh 7% per tahun). Kebimbangan investor kini makin menjadi-jadi setelah inflasi menembus rekor 20%, dan lagi, biaya tenaga kerja di Vietnam tidak lagi murah. Sehingga di Indonesia kita sering dengar banyak perusahaan2 manufaktur yang memindahkan investasinya dari Vietnam ke Indonesia, atau negara lain.
Dan sepertinya, para pemimpin Vietnam menyadari itu, namun terlambat berbuat sesuatu.
Bukan karena ekonomi Vietnam turun saya gembira, namun ini momentum penting bagi Indonesia untuk mengisi “ruang kosong” yang ditinggalkan Vietnam, dan Indonesia mempunyai semua yang dibutuhkan untuk itu, inflasi yang rendah (4.5% tahun lalu), serta indikator2 ekonomi lain tetap tumbuh terjaga.
Yang penting bagi Indonesia adalah, menjaga agar ekonomi tetap tumbuh stabil, inflasi terjaga, defisit terjaga, politik dan keamanan stabil, serta yaa…tentu saja teman2 diplomat ekonomi mampu menjalankan tugasnya.
Mari, sebelum terlambat..
Asia’s emerging economies: driving sustainable global growth
Authors: Mahendra Siregar and David Nellor, Republic of Indonesia
While Asia’s emerging economies account for less than 30 per cent of global GDP, they contributed close to 60 per cent of global growth in 2011 and are expected to do the same in 2012.
The simple response here would be to assume that Asia is on the right track and that it simply needs to do ‘more of the same’. Following this rationale, there are four generally accepted drivers of growth in the region that should continue to be a focus throughout the Asian Century.
First, domestic economic policy is relatively sound. The government borrowing requirement in emerging and developing Asian countries was about 2 per cent in 2011, and the region’s external position was strong, with external debt below 30 per cent of GDP.
Second, fundamental drivers of growth are positive for most countries in the region, withfavourable demographics boosting labour supply and increasing domestic demand. For example, 50 per cent of Indonesia’s population is under the age of 30.
Third, the size of Asian markets is growing rapidly. Not only does the region have a large population, its effective market is growing — due to an expanding middle class — and reflects the region’s success in addressing poverty.
Fourth, many countries in the region have commodity endowments that are in high demand. The increase in wealth and cash flow related to the commodity boom has funded investment in the commodity sector and more broadly throughout the region’s economies.
These drivers of growth will continue to be important in ensuring that Asia contributes to, and perhaps drives, global growth. But the story is not quite so simple. Today’s global economy is not the same as it was yesterday, and Asia cannot simply use the recipe of the past. There is a more complex set of issues that must be addressed if Asia is to play its role in driving sustainable global growth in the future.
As a key global economic player, Asia must take on a multifaceted role that helps the global economy tackle serious imbalances at three different levels. Asian economies must have sound domestic policy; without this nothing will be possible. Regional cooperation must also take on greater importance. Increased trade and investment integration as well as greater macroeconomic and financial cooperation are both needed to secure regional economic stability. And at the global level, Asia should take on a stronger leadership role in discussions on current global economic developments and on the reform of the international monetary system. But, in turn, there are issues in each of these three areas.
The first challenge that needs to be addressed at the global level is macroeconomic imbalance. The way forward requires more concerted national policy action with global coordination. Asia’s emerging surplus economies will gradually rely more on domestic demand as a driver of growth, and countries in the region will support this transition through structural reforms in areas such as the passage of social safety-net laws. Indonesia, for example, recently passed laws on social security as an initial step in this direction.
But action in Asia must be complemented by action in the world’s advanced economies. The latter need to develop clearer policies to promote increased savings, including through medium-term fiscal adjustment. The global economy requires a comprehensive and durable solution to the euro zone crisis, and well-defined and credible plans for the debt challenges in other advanced economies, including the US. The slow progress in tackling these globally significant policy challenges has sapped market confidence in the capacity of relevant countries to address these challenges, and has contributed to the uncertain outlook.
A second issue is managing global liquidity, as it has important implications for the global economy. Developments in commodity prices, including food and energy prices, affect the region’s stability and the lives of the poor in the developing world. The global liquidity situation also has implications for capital flows. The current volatility is concerning, and the G20 initiative to support emerging economies in strengthening intermediation by developing domestic bond markets was created to combat the volatility of capital flows.
Finally, it is essential that economic governance reflect the realities of the global economy. This means better representation of emerging markets in international financial institutions, such as the G20. Without these changes, it will be difficult to realise the Asian leadership needed to help drive strong and sustainable global growth. There should also be a stronger role for ASEAN and ASEAN+3 in ensuring regional financial stability.
With success on the domestic front, particularly through sound policy decisions, Asia’s voice on the world stage will be stronger and more credible. American economist Nouriel Roubini stated that Indonesia will be the tenth-largest economy by the end of the decade and could be the sixth-largest economy by 2030, while projections for other countries in the region also show high growth potential. But these country-level goals will only be realised if there is an enabling environment for the necessary investment and employment opportunities in the region.
Beyond Indonesia’s strong economic fundamentals, realised investment also climbed by more than 50 per cent in 2010, with another big increase last year. This reflects Indonesia’s attractiveness as an investment destination, given its large market of 240 million people, rapidly expanding middle class, wealth of natural resources and strategic location. Indonesia is now building the financial and physical capital to complement its young and dynamic workforce as well. It is working to develop stronger capital markets to intermediate domestic saving and to ensure capital inflows are well used, while the government is also providing incentives to promote investment in priority sectors. To facilitate investment, Indonesia has passed a law to provide greater certainty around land access, addressed the political risks in public–private partnership infrastructure projects and enhanced the availability of long-term funding to finance long-term infrastructure projects.
Indonesia’s sustainable fiscal policy was key to protecting its economy from the global economic slowdown and also helped return the economy to investment grade status 13 years after the Asian monetary crisis. In the revised budget for 2012, the Indonesian government is now committed to reducing fossil fuel subsidies, improving education and health care systems for the poor, and addressing infrastructure and logistical connectivity challenges. This is a strategic step to further transform the Indonesian economy and help make Roubini’s prediction a reality.
The simple answer of doing ‘more of the same’ is correct insofar as it means that Asia is likely to account for a disproportionate share of global growth. But the changing global environment means that the way in which this growth is accomplished will be different from the past. A successful Asia requires the region to reform the global economy, address significant challenges within its own borders, and ensure that Asia’s domestic economies are retooled to deliver the sustainable growth that the world so desperately needs.
Mahendra Siregar is Vice Finance Minister, Republic of Indonesia and G20 Sherpa for the President of Indonesia, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
David Nellor is Advisor to the Ministry of Finance, Republic of Indonesia.
Indonesian Wings, Eight Skies
State aircraft-maker PT Dirgantara Indonesia (DI) received orders of 37 units of CN 235 aircraft from eight countries, company’s executive confirmed Tuesday.
Company’s spokesman Rakhendi Triatna said that he could not reveal the details of the purchase yet, including the country buyers.
However, he explained that the company had completed the last four of 12 aircraft units proposed by South Korea worth of US$94.5 million.
The company also claimed to sign US$80 million contract of five CN 235 units with the Indonesian Navy.
(The Jakarta Post)
Merawat Optimisme, Harapan, dan Kepercayaan
By Asep Mulyana
Pada 9 Februari 2012, kita memperingati Hari Pers Nasional. Peringatan yang dipusatkan di Jambi itu dihadiri oleh Presiden Soesilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY). Presiden SBY meminta komunitas pers Indonesia untuk menyampaikan kabar dan berita secara seimbang. Pemberitaan yang tak berimbang, lanjut Presiden SBY, akan meningkatkan sikap rakyat yang makin sinis, skeptis, kecurigaan (distrust), dan pada akhirnya mengkristal menjadi sebuah kegemaran publik untuk menyalahkan pemerintah, bahkan menyalahkan bangsanya sendiri.
Di masa lalu, ketika rejim otoriter berkuasa, kebebasan pers dibatasi–untuk tidak mengatakan dibungkam. Kritik yang dilontarkan dunia pers hampir tak pernah bisa muncul ke permukaan. Ada beberapa instrumen yang digunakan rejim otoriter masa lalu untuk mengerdilkan komunitas pers. Salah satunya adalah ancaman pencabutan Surat Ijin Usaha Penerbitan Pers (SIUPP) yang digunakan penguasa masa lalu untuk mengerangkeng kebebasan pers, utamanya ketika kritik dan pemberitaan suatu media dianggap mengancam kekuasaan. Pembreidelan terhadap Tempo, Detik, dan Editor menegaskan masa-masa kelam kebebasan pers di masa lalu.
Setelah rejim otoriter jatuh pada 1998, kebebasan pers di Indonesia membaik. Rejim-rejim Pasca-Soeharto membuka kran kebebasan pers seiring dengan diterimanya demokrasi dalam struktur politik Indonesia. Sebagai salah satu dari empat pilar demokrasi, media massa mengalami kebebasan yang hampir mencapai puncaknya. Media massa kita bebas memberitakan apapun tanpa khawatir akan ancaman pembreidelan. Namun kebebasan pers yang kita nikmati kini tak serta-merta memberi kontribusi positif bagi kehidupan demokrasi. Bahkan beberapa kalangan menilai kebebasan pers telah kebablasan. Mengapa begitu? Bagaimana memanfaatkan iklim kebebasan pers saat ini sehingga dapat memberikan kontribusi positif bagi kehidupan demokrasi substansial?
Ada dua fenomena yang patut dicatat jika kita membaca kebebasan pers di masa kini. Pertama, munculnya konglomerasi media. Kepemilikan media-media arus utama (mainstream) dikuasai oleh segelintir pengusaha (konglomerat), baik yang memiliki kedekatan politik dengan penguasa ataupun pengusaha yang mengincar kekuasaan politik. Sekurang-kurangnya hanya empat pengusaha saja yang menguasai kepemilikan media besar, yaitu Chairul Tanjung, Harry Tanoesoedibjo, Aburizal Bakrie, serta Surya Paloh.
Pemusatan kepemilikan media hanya pada segelintir pengusaha di ring politik harus diwaspadai sebagai ancaman bagi demokrasi. Media berhubungan dengan pembangunan wacana di wilayah publik dan lalu berdampak pada pengkristalan opini publik. Opini publik sendiri, dalam iklim demokrasi, akan sangat berpengaruh bagi penyusunan agenda kebijakan publik. Jika media hanya dikuasai oleh segelintir pengusaha yang berada di sekitar ring politik, pembangunan wacana publik dikhawatirkan mengalami abuse dan pembusukan. Agenda-agenda kebijakan publik pada akhirnya hanya akan dipengaruhi oleh “opini publik” yang lebih merepresentasikan kepentingan ekonomi-politik si empunya media, dan bukan kepentingan publik dalam arti sesungguhnya.
Dalam konteks pembangunan kebebasan pers yang sehat bagi demokrasi, langkah dan kebijakan pemerintah untuk membatasi pemusatan kepemilikan media di satu sisi dan mendesakkan diversifikasi kepemilikan media di sisi lain menjadi agenda penting dalam tahun-tahun ke depan.
Kedua, pemberitaan negatif. Ketika semua media massa bebas memberitakan peristiwa apapun, media massa kita cenderung mengeksploitasi paradigma lama dalam pemberitaan, yaitu “bad news is a good news”. Paradigma yang dianut oleh wartawan kita itu meyakini bahwa berita buruk adalah magnet bagi pembaca dan menjadi salah satu cara pengusaha media untuk meningkatkan oplah atau rating. Sementara oplah dan rating adalah kunci bagi membanjirnya iklan dan pendapatan media tersebut.
Paradigma lama ini telah mendorong pemberitaan di media massa kita sebagai ruang bagi eksploitasi kekerasan, konflik, dan intrik. Sejak bangun tidur di pagi hari, kita sudah disuguhi dengan berita-berita di televisi dan suratkabar yang penuh energi negatif: kekerasan, pembunuhan sadis, perkosaan, korupsi, intrik politik, dan berita-berita negatif lainnya. Hanya sedikit saja media massa kita yang menyuntikkan inspirasi dan energi positif kepada kita.
Dampak pemberitaan media yang negatif sangat besar. Selama puluhan tahun, semua informasi yang kita santap dari media massa kita mengendap dalam pikiran bawah sadar kita sebagai bangsa, kemudian diam-diam terinternalisasi menjadi nilai, pola perilaku, dan budaya. Karena pemberitaan media kita penuh dengan berita negatif, maka pada akhirnya kita menjadi bangsa yang sangat karib dengan nilai-nilai negatif pula: kekerasan, sinisme, skeptisisme, dan distrust. Alhasil, sebagai bangsa, kita amat sulit untuk merajut kohesi dan harmoni sosial.
Menjadi agenda mendesak bagi kita semua untuk mendorong media massa mengubah paradigma, dari paradigma lama “bad news is a good news” menuju paradigma baru “good news is a good news”. Media massa kita harus didorong untuk lebih banyak memberitakan peristiwa positif dan prestasi-prestasi anak bangsa lainnya yang menyuntikkan dan merawat optimisme, harapan, dan trust. Semua itu menjadi modal penting bagi pembangunan sosial kita sebagai sebuah bangsa.
Sumber : Klik disini
