Will Indonesia Be The World’s 5th Largest Economy?
Since surviving from the recent global crisis, with economic growth rate at 4.5 percent in 2009, while many other countries suffered economic contraction, some economic observers have started projecting the emerging economic power of Indonesia. They began adding “I” (for Indonesia) to the emerging BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) countries, to make BRICI or IBRIC.
Recently, businessman Chairul Tanjung, who is also the chairman of National Economic Committee, an ad hoc forum for the President of Indonesia, made another grouping.
He said that in 2030, Indonesia, with a 285 million population, will become the fifth largest economy in the world, after China, the US, EU and India. He said that the gross domestic product of Indonesia will jump from the current US$700 billion to $5,100 billion in 2030.
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In other words, Tanjung predicted that Indonesia’s economy would grow at an average of about 10.0 percent every year from next year until 2030. Per capita income in 2030 will be $17,895, assuming $1 is equal to 9,000 rupiah. Nevertheless, with an exception in 1987, Indonesia never achieved an annual economic growth rate of more than 9.0 percent.
Even though, after the start of the reform period in 1998, growth rates have never passed 6.5 percent. This year, the economic growth is predicted not to exceed 6.5 percent. Therefore, will Indonesia’s economy grow much faster since next year until 2030? Can Indonesia achieve that?
Let us see what has happened in Indonesia’s economy. Coordinating Economic Minister Hatta Rajasa, just mentioned that Indonesia’s per capita income has increased rapidly, from $1,196 in 2004 to $3,000 now. He implied that the per capita income rose by an average of 15.3 percent annually from 2004 to 2010.
A fantastic growth rate! This rate is much higher than what I mentioned earlier that economic growth rates never exceeded 6.5 percent during the reform period.
Did he make a mistake? I checked the statistics from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS). As the statistics for the whole 2010 is not yet available, and I do not want to use a projected rate, I have done my own calculation for the period of 2004-2009.
I found that the national income (measured by GDP) grew only at 5.4 percent annually. If the average growth rate of the population is 1.4 percent, then the per capita income growth rate will only be 4.0 percent. This rate is much lower than Rajasa’s calculation.
However, I did the calculation by assuming no inflation, that prices did not rise during 2004-2009. I calculated the changes in real income (no change in price level), to measure the change in purchasing power. Rising income with rising prices means a smaller rising purchasing power.
I then calculate the per capita income growth rate if I include changes in price level, the nominal income. I found that the growth rate of the nation during 2004-2009 was 17.9 percent. If population growth rate is 1.4 percent annually, the growth rate of per capita income is also fantastically high at 16.48 percent, which is not much different from what Rajasa implicitly said. So, is it correct, that Indonesia’s per capita income rose so fantastically during 2004-2010? Therefore, is the prediction for 2030 reasonable?
Yes, their numbers are reasonable. However, we should be aware that the impressive statistics on current per capita income is measured at the 2010 price. The prediction for the year 2030 is made using price levels in 2030.
During the last six years, prices of goods and services have been soaring in Indonesia.
The prices of goods and services will also keep rising in the next 20 years. The prices have been rising along with the (nominal) income, and therefore the increase in the purchasing power is smaller than the increase in income.
Let us see some illustrations using statistics from the BPS. Measured with 2009 prices, the per capita income in 2009 was about $2,696. With a similar method, using 2004 prices, the per capita income in 2004 was $1,179. It was a fantastic jump, more than double during 2004-2009.
However, a very different story emerges if we hold the prices constant during 2004-2009 so that we can measure the change in purchasing power. Using the price level in 2000, the statistics from the BPS reveal that the per capita income in 2009 was $1,045, only about one fifth higher than $851, the per capita income in 2004. In other words, the impressive increase in per capita income during 2004-2009 was much attributed by rising prices of goods and services.
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How about the prediction that Indonesia’s national income will attain $5,100 in 2030, with an annual rate of growth of at least 10.0 percent during 2010-2030?
It is possible, if the predicted growth rate does not reflect a change in purchasing power, that the predicted income is measured at the price level in 2030. It can be achieved for example with real economic growth at 6.0 percent and an inflation rate of 4.0 percent.
Yes, it should be remembered that prices keep rising. Therefore, the predicted $5,100 billion in 2030 will be accompanied by ever increasing prices of goods and services. The living cost will be much higher if the predicted number is achieved through lower real economic growth and higher inflation.
In a nutshell, we should be aware that those impressive statistics on Indonesia’s income hide the ever-rising prices.
Indonesia achieved and will produce a larger national income and per capita income at an increasingly more expensive living cost.
Aris Ananta, Singapore – The writer is senior research fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore.
Source: The Jakarta Post
Why Some Foreigners Like To Live In Indonesia
Ever wondered why some foreigners like to live in Indonesia? Well, maybe my list of TOP 10 best of living in Indonesia will explain. Here it goes…
1. Best coffee and tea in the world.
Cultivation of coffee trees in Indonesia started on Java in 17th century when Dutch first brought coffee to Batavia (city changed its name to Jakarta in 1942) and started export of the second oldest commercially produced coffee in the world – Java coffee. Ever since Indonesia has been one of the major exporters of coffee and today it is the world’s fourth largest exporter. Majority of production is a Robusta coffee, but production and export of high quality Arabica coffee is slowly increasing. If you happen to be in Indonesia you can enjoy freshly roasted high quality coffee from Java, Sumatra, Aceh and other areas of Indonesia.
A cup of cappuccino in Jakarta can be as good as in Rome or even better, thanks to the optimum freshness of coffee – it is premium quality up to one week after roasting. My favourite choice of locally produced coffee is Merdeka Coffee, Excelso is also great. I leave Starbucks to amateur coffee drinkers. I’ll just mention one thing that I’ve found fairly ridiculous about local cafés and especially Cup&Cino café at Plaza Semangi. They don’t have Indonesian coffee in their offer, so it is foreign franchise selling imported coffee in country which is 4th largest exporter of coffee in the word and a producer of high quality coffee! I consider this to be an example of awful lack of support for Indonesia and when I and my friends found out we decided to boycott the place.
How about tea than? Well, in Poland everyone knows Java tea and it is one of the most popular beverages (if not most popular) in Poland! There’s nothing better than enjoying a cup of original Java tea in the early morning mountain mist at the place from which this tea originates i.e. tea fields around Puncak. Incredible experience.
2. Hot weather all year long.
Yup, sun shines here all year long with only short periods of rain during rainy season. When I decided to emigrate I had to make a choice between Canada and Indonesia. Although Canada is a great place to live, I decided to move to Indonesia. I simply hate winter and perspective of not having to experience it each year was just too tempting. Since I also like when it rains this place is just perfect for me. There are number of advantages of living in a tropical country among which most interesting is: not having to buy new winter clothes each year; enjoying sun anytime during year; no winter depression and ability to wear simple cloths such as t-shirt all year! It’s just a fantastic place to live for everyone who likes hot weather.
3. AMAZING tourist attractions.
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Indonesia has some of the most famous diving spots and beaches in the world. The most famous is certainly Bunaken National Park, considered as one of the top 10 dive spots in the world. However, with 25 percent of world’s coral reefs to be located in Indonesia, there is plenty of opportunities for divers. Beside Bunaken, other known diving areas are located around Lombok Island, channel between Nusa Penida and Nusa Ceningan, Sanighe Island (North Sulawesi), Biaro Island, Bangka Island etc.
Bali has some of the world’s most famous beaches such as Kuta or Jimbaran. I’ve personally found Siau (North Sulawesi) to be most impressive as it was my favourite spot among all my travels around Indonesia, yet unfortunately it is poorly developed and not ready for a mainstream tourism.
Indonesia has also quite a few UNESCO World Heritage sites, such as:
Komodo National Park,
Ujung Kulon National Park,
Borobudur Temple compound,
Prambanan Temple compound,
Sangiran Early Man Site,
Lorentz National Park,
Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra.
Borobudur
Overall Indonesia has so many tourist attractions, from tropical beaches and diving spots, to rare rainforest flora and fauna, volcanoes, hot springs and simply whatever you could imagine.
I’ll jut conclude that tourists pay thousands of dollars to get here for short holidays. If you happen to live in Indonesia all these world’s famous tourist destinations are available only few hours of flight away. This also means you can get fancy holidays for ridiculously low amount of money and with no special preparations. Moreover, if you have KITAS (stay permit) you can get discounts in hotels and pay lower entrance fee at some tourists spots such as Borobudur or Bunaken.
4. Indonesian people.
The national motto of Indonesia “Bhinneka tunggal ika” (Unity in diversity) reflects the union of a various different cultures. The significant variety of cultures transfers also to the daily life and simply makes it more interesting. We can enjoy various arts from different parts of Indonesia, variety of food (more about this in next point), variety of local traditions, various religion ceremonies which overall is extremely interesting and definitely enriching our experience. Moreover, in general Indonesian people are so friendly and life enjoying that I think we could learn a lot from their positive nature. It’s hard to stay positive thinking even when everything around “sucks” and somehow locals can deal with this perfectly well. Beside, the specific culture that is so much different makes our lives here interesting every day, there’s always something new that surprises us.
Note: If you’re Caucasian you’ll have to get used to hearing “Hello mister!” and if you happen to visit place lest frequently visited by foreigners you may observe crowds of people surrounding you and asking various questions. The best advice for such situation is “smile and wave”. All this can be very surprising experience and it simply reflects interest of local people in foreigners. Nothing to worry about, just enjoy the unusual situation.
5. Great variety of food and fresh fruits.
Ever seen Durian, the infamous smelly king fruit loved by Indonesians?
Well, you can actually eat it here for most of the year. Beside if you live here you can enjoy, lots of other unique fruits that you won’t be able to find in supermarkets in Europe such as fresh Mango, Rambutan, Bali fruit, Snake fruit etc. Most of all you can enjoy all these tropical fruits daily and fresh. Beside this the variety of food available in Jakarta is also interesting. Padang food (spicy), Balinese food, Manadonese food, various of soto and satay from all over Indonesia or even such a strange delicates like snake satay (can eat it in Kota). Additionally, lots of unique Chinese food and very cheap seafood.
Well, there is one minus, that is a lack of immunity to local diseases which can quickly result in a very bad stomach-ache. However, the good news is that after two years or so you’ll get immune to nearly everything, including typhoid and God or “kaki lima” chef knows what strange food related diseases.
6. Exciting and challenging life.
Since Indonesia is so big and different, it is actually a big challenge to live here in so much different culture. However, this can just make our lives lot more interesting. Actually, there are so many events here daily that you’ll hardly get bored. If you’re news junkie you’ll here about number of disaster each month, from crashing planes, sinking ferries up to mudflows or floods, earthquakes and volcanoes, you name there’s everything here. It’s quite sad actually. It also frightens foreign tourists a lot – especially frequent bomb events – but for those of us who live here slowly get accustom to such extreme life and simply watch these extreme events on news and discuss it with friends. Are we crazy that we still stay here? Well, foreign news agencies like to exaggerate a lot and the truth is that Indonesia is lot safer than most think, actually often even safer than it could be in your own country. Just to let you know USA just released new travel warning for Indonesia and let me quote it:
Due to the possibility of terrorist attacks directed against American or other Western citizens and interests, the Department of State urges American citizens to evaluate carefully the risks of travel to Indonesia. The October 1, 2005, terrorist attacks in Bali in which suicide bombers killed 20 people and injured more three than 100 are a reminder that terrorists remain active in Indonesia. The possibility of future attacks in Bali, Jakarta, or other areas of Indonesia cannot be ruled out.
They are certainly right, but base on plain statistics lot less people died as a result of terrorism in Indonesia than in USA, so it really is not that bad as you might think. Life is unpredictable and we can’t be completely safe anywhere. Actually, I find myself feeling lot safer at night on the streets of Jakarta than in my small city in Poland. More than five years here and I had not a single incident of someone attacking me or trying to start a fight, while I had such experiences quite often in Poland.
7. Efficient government service.
Now, it’ll get bit controversial as opinion on this subject is highly diversified.
Few months here and you probably already know the term KKN (Korupsi-Kolusi-Nepostisme), which obviously means Corruption-Collusion-Nepotism. Indonesians often use it to describe all corruption related experience and it is definitely significant issue here and has a various forms. You’re probably surprised with my introduction as what corruption has to do with efficiency of government services? Well, I see several kinds of corruption and surprisingly, one small type of corruption activities of local government officials I actually consider as beneficial. Why? Well, if I lose some important document in Poland it could take a month to get a replacement, while In Indonesia if you are in rush you can simply pay bit more to the officer and get your documents done the very same day, as I’ve heard. If for some reasons you have a problem with documents, i.e. you can’t find Hungarian/Russian/Mandarin/Hindu/Hokien/Irish translator of some document that you need for certain govt procedure, you’ll only have to pay bit more and government official will suddenly read not only the previously mentioned languages, but also Dutch or even Farsi, Klingon and any language you can imagine – as I’ve heard. So, some are of something called here KKN is actually often helpful. In our countries red tape can be very annoying and time consuming while here we you still have other options and don’t have to look for certified Klingon translator in your area.
FYI I’m very surprised to read information about suppose lack of efficiency of local government in the process of establishing companies here in Indonesia as compared to neighbour countries. If you want to know how ridiculous it is just take a look at this document. According to some Law Firms Interview (World Bank 2005), number of days for setting up a business (PT. company) in Indonesia is about 151 days! In reality, it is very different from what was described in the report. For comparison The University of Indonesia’s Institute of Economic and Social Research (LPEM) shows that it takes only 80 days (57 working days) and all Indonesians know it can take even shorter, less than 14 days and if you are really in hurry can even have everything done in one week – with some additional budget and help of professional notary service. So, I personally think some government offices are functioning here fairly well and definitely not as bad as described in some strange reports.
Of course there are number of bad examples of corruption in Indonesia such as the one that results in loss of lives, state funds or results in unfair judgement. However, not everything considered as corruption is all bad and some kick-back just helps to go quicker through all the red tape. Unfortunately, with limited funds a service of a government official can be very slow, thus clearly there are two sides to this story and my point of view is obviously not objective.
8. Dynamic business environment.
Indonesia’s Economic growth accelerated to 5.1% in 2004 and reached 5.6% in 2005. The most interesting is that markets here are still relatively unexplored and full of opportunities. It’s definitely not easy to do business here due to number of factors, but if you happen to succeed the potential revenue is substantial. Considering the big population, consumer attitude, richness of natural resources I believe Indonesia has a huge potential and it is definitely good place to invest.
Furthermore, Indonesia has number of highly skilled people in various areas, such as IT, art, mining etc. My focus is mainly in IT and I already noticed how highly skilled Indonesian programmers can be. It’s interesting to know that Indonesia has one of the largest Java (programming language) user communities in the world and many local Java programmers able to work on most difficult Java projects – I believe the popularity of this language has lot to do with its name. Indonesia is actually a very good place for outsourcing and I myself managed to outsource several IT project to Indonesia with a successful result. I hope more will follow and one day Indonesia will be as popular destination for outsourcing as India. Unfortunately, Internet connection is still extremely expensive here, but I believe it will eventually get cheaper.
9. Domestic servants.
Ability to hire domestic servants is one of the significant advantages of life here. An average monthly salary of a maid who can take care of your house of apartment can be around 100$ a month – if they work at apartment usually they take care of few apartments to make more profit. Driver’s monthly salary can be in range of 150$ plus overtime. Clearly it does not cost much to hire domestic servants in Indonesia. Their work make our lives lot easier and save us lots of precious time.
Certainly, presence of domestic servants in Indonesia is caused by poverty and overall it is quite sad. Yet, I personally think that considering high unemployment in Indonesia giving job to people is always a good thing, even if it is job of gardener, house keeper or security guard. Just make sure you appreciate their work and help them in some ways i.e. by supporting education of their children.
10. Low cost of living.
Indonesia can be very cheap place to live and if you have foreign source of income you’ll definitely enjoy staying here. The gasoline is extremely cheap if compared to Europe (only around 0.5$ per litre). Food at restaurants is also lot cheaper than in neighbour countries and extremely cheap if compared to Europe or USA. Property is also not too expensive (yet) and if you’re a smoker you can buy very cheap cigarettes.
Clearly, Indonesia is a very interesting place to live and now you probably understand better why some foreigners decide to live in Indonesia. Simply speaking it is a beautiful, dynamic country with fantastic people. Definitely a great place to live, invest and enjoy your life.
Source: Expro IAAS Indonesia
You Can Do Anything In Indonesia
Fransoa has been gaining momentum on Youtube lately. Since he was featured on the Jakarta Globe a couple of days ago, he’s been getting 10,000 views per day. It’s quite possible that this song could become insanely popular in Indonesia, certain elements make it appealing to the average Indonesian – the guy is a family man, he’s a bule (Westerner) yet humble because he can’t handle too much money. If the melody sounds familiar, then you might have heard your parents playing PPM songs when you were a baby. Well, hopefully the song will make him rich and we will see what he really does with his money then.
Indonesia really is a place where a Westerner can do a lot of things that would be dreams in their homeland. Two of my former colleagues convinced a bunch of Indonesian musicians to join them in a band, even though they had no musical experience themselves. They even released a couple of CDs. My neighbour became a popular talk back radio announcer, even though he’d not so much as put a foot into a radio station before he left England. What I’m trying to say is – you can go a lot further than white water rafting or parasailing during your expat experience in Indonesia.
As for myself, I haven’t done anything so dramatic. Although I’ve had experiences that my friends and colleagues at home would consider huge lies if I ever told them.
It’s not for everyone though. You’ll need a tolerant attitude and a heap of patience. I’ve seen a lot of expats who came to Indonesia hoping it would solve their problems. None of them lasted. You need to solve your problems before you go to a place like Indonesia, or accept that you will carry them with you until you do face them.
Source: AboutIndo blog
Indonesian 10 Sweetest Things
1. SODA GEMBIRA
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There is something about a tall glass of “happy soda” that makes you, well, happy. Maybe it’s the way the ice cubes clink in the glass, as the shocking pink syrup blends together with the gooey sweetened condensed milk at the bottom. Or the electric jolt of fizz from the soda that balances the sweetness of it all when you finally sip on this bright, vivacious mess. Happy soda makes you sit up, laugh, and puts a spring in your step – a little like falling in love.
2. KLAPERTAART
The West gave Indonesia sponge cake, rum and custard, and we gave them Klapertaart. This North Sulawesi dessert embodies fusion at its very best. First, enjoy a whiff of its heady, aromatic smell, before tucking into the delectable sponge cake soaked with strong rum and runny custard, then topped with juicy young coconut flesh, meringue, chopped canary nuts, raisins and a sprinkling of cinnamon. Usually eaten straight from the fridge, this more-ish, melt-in-your- mouth dessert is a cooling, sweet treat after a typically spicy Manado meal.
3. CENDOL
These green jelly-like strands made from mung-bean flour taste quite plain on their own. But mixed with lashings of palm sugar syrup, fresh coconut milk and heaped ice cubes, it springs to life. In traditional Central Javanese wedding receptions, guests will barter broken tiles for glasses of cendol, “sold” by the parents of the bride. The guests flocking for their fix, and the generous amounts of cendol in everyone’s glass, signify bountiful fortune for the newlyweds. Even more reason for you to order a second helping.
4. GETUK
Eaten with lightly salted, freshly grated coconut, Getuk started life as a humble rice-substitute in more desolate times, and today it remains a popular Javanese snack. The plump, chewy, colorful cake (ranging from caramel brown to bubblegum pink) is usually made from cassava, though nowadays people experiment with yams, potatoes and taro. Variations include getuk lindri (the most popular), getuk ciwel (less common, black in color), fried getuk from Sokaraja and banana getuk originally from Kediri.
5. KUE PUTU
Putu vendors only come out after sundown, and you know they’re in your neighborhood because of the characteristic whistles and long toots from the bamboo molds used in steaming the putu cakes. The vendor stuffs the mold halfway with moist rice flour, shaved palm sugar, then more rice flour before steaming the bamboo. In mere minutes they are pushed out of their molds and sprinkled with freshly grated coconut. Voila, a soft yet firm cake with a pleasing burst of hot, melted sugar in the middle.
6. SERABI
Watching this Indonesian pancake being made is truly satisfying.The batter of rice flour and coconut milk is ladled onto hot-fired claypots, which are covered until the cakes are ready, then served with palm sugar syrup and coconut milk. Some variations of the cake are eaten without sauce. Serabi Solo has crispy tanned edges, with toppings in its center like cheese, chocolate or jackfruit. And Serabi Jakarta (or “breast cake”) has no topping and even wider edges, with a center that puffs up into a pillowy delight.
7. BUBUR KETAN ITEM
When it’s cold outside, a bowl of warm black glutinous rice porridge hits the spot for many Indonesians. Its simple presentation belies the effort behind this rich comfort food. The black glutinous rice has to be soaked overnight and needs to be constantly stirred when cooked. But it is well worth the wait. There are few things in life better than curling up on a rainy day and devouring this creamy, sticky and slightly gritty black glutinous rice porridge – drenched in thin, aromatic coconut milk.
8. BIR PLETOK
Looking for something sweet and spicy? Although the name says beer, bir pletok doesn’t contain alcohol, is drunk warm, and is actually good for your health. This native Jakarta drink is made from 12 spices boiled together with sugar and water, and is not fermented, despite undergoing two distillations. The sound of cracking cardamom during boiling lends the ‘pletok’ part of the name. But why beer? One account says that Pitung, a local Robin Hood-style hero, likened the drink to the Dutch favorite tipple.
9. COLENAK
The Sundanese love to name snacks with acronyms. In this case, colenak is short for “dicocol enak” (good when dipped), a name suggested by blue-blooded customers when the snack was first introduced in Bandung during the early 1930s. Popular with people of all ages and different rungs of society, this concoction of grilled fermented cassava (peuyeum), dipped in a sauce of grated coconut and melted palm sugar, was served to visiting foreign dignitaries during the Asian African Conference in 1955.
10. DODOL
Anthony Bourdain doesn’t care for it, but 200 million Indonesians can’t be wrong. Made from glutinous rice flour, sugar and coconut milk, then cooked for three hours until caramelized, dodol is sticky, chewy and comes in many flavors – chocolate, sesame and all manner of fruit. The most popular flavor is durian, and the best place to buy it is in Garut, West Java. In Bali, the taffy-like sweets are wrapped in dried corn leaf and used in ritual offerings on the holy days of Galungan and Kuningan.
Source: Mandala Inflight Magazine
At Last – On Board Visit Processing
Having visited Vietnam and Indonesia recently the most irritating part of the trip was the process I had to go through to get a visa for either country.
I have to say that I reckon that visas to most countries have very little do with security and immigration but are more a very nice cash raising activity by the relevant governments, but that’s another story!
I was delighted though to hear recently that Garuda has launched onboard visa processing facilities on all direct flights from Sydney to Jakarta, allowing passengers to fast track through immigration, avoid currency exchanges and notorious airport queues. Yes – go Garuda!
How it works apparently is Garuda passengers will have their visa processed by immigration officials onboard the aircraft and payment will be processed when checking-in at Sydney airport, which is awesome and well done Garuda and the Indonesian Government for introducing such a service.
I look forward to hearing that other government are going to do the same, but I suppose I might be hoping for too much that they drop the fees as well – ah well, I can dream – at least the process is getting easier
Industry Insider Commentary and Opinion by John Alwyn-Jones, e-Travel Blackboard Special Correspondent (eTravelBlackboard.com)
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Indonesia’s flagship airline, Garuda Indonesia has launched its unique service, offering visa and immigration on board to inbound tourists and other visitors from as many as 63 countries.
With this special service Garuda passengers will save time on arrival at Jakarta airport, instead of standing in the immigration lines, by just walking out through immigration showing the stamped passport to the immigration officer at the exit.
Immigration officers onboard Garuda plane, during the flight, process their visa issuance and immigration and stamp the passports.
Tourists and visitors are required to just purchase the ticket from Garuda’s main office in Dubai or airline’s designated GSAs across the UAE and board the plane.
The visa on arrival is only intended for tourists who are visiting Indonesia, and not for expatriates intending to work and live for an extended period of time.
These visas will be sponsored by friends or family members of visitors flying to Indonesia to visit them for a certain period.
The cost of a tourist visa for 30 days is $25 and the visa fee is paid in cash, not through credit card or any other mode of payment.
Tourists from the UAE are required to hold their passports with residence visas, valid for at least six months. Garuda has a fleet of 68 Airbus planes and operating from Dubai to Amsterdem via Jakarta. The airline is expanding fast and will increase number of flights from Dubai keeping in view the passenger load.
Garuda and Indonesia’s tourism and hospitality sector have joined hands to promote tourism in the country and offer attractive packages to visitors from the UAE and other countries from where Garuda operates.
Indonesia is a country that has over 17,000 islands, which are a source of attraction for tourists. Countries included on Garuda’s list are:
Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Brasil, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Canada, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Estonia, Fiji, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, India, Iran, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Laos, Latvia, Libya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxemburg, Maldives, Malta, Mexico, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Panama, People’s Republic of China, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Surinam, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, USA.
Indonesian: A (5x) Wealthier Generation
For some people who don’t think deeply, this news might not be the most heartwarming news, but to me it is. The rising number of rich people , to me, always mean the rise of income of people around them. A new townhouse in the west of Surabaya called Puri Safira is inhabited by newly-rich families, and hundreds of them makes the once-empty-land a new spot of economic growth. Imagine of millions of newly rich people. Now, let’s see this..
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Credit Suisse, a financial services company which offers clients financial advice in all aspects of private banking, investment banking and asset management has release a report titled “Global Wealth Report” that measures and analyzes trends in wealth across nations, from the very bottom of the “wealth pyramid” to the ultra high net worth individuals.
The report is prepared by Professors Anthony Shorrocks, Director of the World Institute for Development Economics Research of the UN University (UNU-WIDER) in Helsinki from 2001 to 2009 and Jim Davies, Professor in the Department of Economics at the University of Western Ontario in Canada, and the architects and principal authors of “Personal Wealth from a Global Perspective,” released by Oxford University Press in 2008.
Credit Suisse defined wealth as the household net worth or value of financial assets plus non-financial assets (such as housing) owned by individuals less their debts. The figures are obtained by applying techniques to data derived from a great variety of sources.
The total world wealth is close to USD 200 trillion. To be among the wealthiest half of the world, you only needs USD 4,000 in assets, once debts have been subtracted. However, you need more than USD 72,000 to belong to the top 10% of global wealth holders and more than USD 588,000 to be a member of the top 1%.
The bottom half of the global population together possess less than 2% of global wealth, although wealth is growing fast for some members of this segment. In sharp contrast, the richest 10% own 83% of the world’s wealth, with the top 1% alone accounting for 43% of global assets.
The Global Pyramid of Wealth breaks down the number of people in each wealth brackets. More than 3 billion people or 64% of the world population has wealth of less than USD 10,000. A little bit more than a billion people or 23.5% has wealth ranging from over USD 10,000 up to USD 100,000. 334 million people or 7.5% has wealth of over USD 100,000. While only 24 million or 0.5% at the top of the pyramid with wealth of over USD 1 million.
In high income countries, the threshold of USD 100,000 is well within the reach of middle-class adults once their careers have been established. In contrast, residents from low-income countries would need to belong to the top percentile of wealth holders, so only the exceptionally successful, well endowed or well connected can qualify.
Indonesia is defined as a “Frontier Wealth” which means transition nations outside the European Union with majority of their wealth ranging from USD 5,000 to USD 25,000. In this category are also countries such as Thailand, most of Latin America (Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and El Salvador). A number of African nations (South Africa, Botswana, and Namibia) and the Mediterranean coast countries (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Egypt).
The rise of personal wealth in Indonesia has been spectacular during the past decade, with average wealth growing by a factor of five. The comparison between Indonesia and India is interesting as they had very similar wealth per adult at the start of the decade, but the figure for Indonesia is now more than double that for India. India now along with all of South Asia, including Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal, and almost all of Central and West Africa are in the less than USD 5,000 bracket. Noted that India population is more than 1.1 billion while Indonesia only has 240 million people which may affect the overall wealth of the country.
Indonesia has 25% of its population with wealth less than USD 1,000 and only 2% of its people have wealth over USD 100,000. The average wealth in Indonesia is USD 12,112 which means that if all wealth in Indonesia is combined and distributed equally to everyone, each person will have USD 12,112.
While the report shows an encouraging sign for Indonesia, because of the nature of the analysis, this doesn’t necessarily mean that the quality of life have improved in Indonesia. It does mean that at least some people in Indonesia are getting richer.
Source: Jakarta Updates
Rooms For Foreign Development
Waskita’s Overseas Projects
By Seng Hansen
Waskita Karya is one of main leading state-owned contractor company . It has successfully developed amazing projects and wonderful building across the nation since many years back. But, only few know that the company has been expanding its wings beyond the borders and erecting beautiful projects mostly in the Middle East countries. Lemme show u some of their projects in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Riyadh.
Pictures below are some of the projects.
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Flood From The Sky
Indonesia tourism industry is arguably growing. This year, number of foreign tourists visiting the archipelago nation will surpass 7 million, beating forecast of 6.7 million.
Numerous airlines (some of them might be something new to you) are adding Indonesia into their new routes, in addition to already flooded aviation market.
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Recently, we just got information that Mihin Lanka, Sri Lanka’s national budget airline will commence direct flights to Jakarta starting Dec 2010.
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Bali and Manila may soon be connected by Philippines Airlines ( PAL ) with services planned to commence in December 2010. The popularity of Bali as a tourist destination continues to grow. PAL has a good network from Japan, Korea and China to Manila; therefore, opening Manila-Bali means business for the airlines.
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Strategic Airline of Australia have added more flights to Bali. Al-Wafeer, a Saudi-based airline had earlier said they’d commence direct flight from Jeddah to Jakarta, Iranian Mahan Air has also added Jakarta as their 14th destination. Russia-based airlines Aeroflot and Transaero have also showed their interest to open route to Jakarta or Bali.
Akhyari Hananto, Founder of Good News From Indonesia network and an airlines enthusiast.
Source: Bali Discovery, Sunday Observer, The Jakarta Post, Antara
Indonesia Is Not A Tiger, It’s A Giant!
Late next month, President Barack Obama will return to Indonesia for the first time in more than two decades. It will be a homecoming of sorts for the president, who lived in Jakarta for several years as a kid. Foreign investors aren’t waiting for the presidential visit. They have been pouring into Jakarta stocks and bonds all year.
More than $11.5 billion of net new foreign cash has flooded into Indonesian capital markets so far this year—about $9 billion into the local rupiah bond market and $2.5 billion in local stocks. That’s on top of $8 billion in foreign direct investments and billions more in infrastructure and real estate.
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“Indonesia is the next big growth story in Asia, after China and India,” says Fauzi Ichsan, an economist for Standard Chartered Bank in Jakarta. With 240 million people, a relatively young demographic and strong economic growth, “Indonesia is this year’s story,” just as China, India and Brazil were the big stories in recent years, he says.
Standard Chartered is projecting 6.2% growth in gross domestic product this year, and 6.5% next year. Jakarta is targeting 7% to 8% medium-term growth as infrastructure bottlenecks are removed and the economy gets back to the high growth track it was on before the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis.
Investors like what they see. The benchmark Jakarta Composite Index is up 42% year-to-date in local-currency terms and 51.1% in dollar terms. “This is the third year running that Jakarta has been the best-performing market in Asia,” says Mark Mathews, regional strategist for Macquarie Securities in Hong Kong.
Last week, two initial public offerings—noodle maker CBP Indofood and coal miner Harum Energy—raised more than $1 billion.
A stronger currency and huge interest-rate differentials with developed markets make Indonesia all the more attractive. The rupiah two weeks ago touched 8,900 to a dollar—the strongest it has been in years, despite central-bank intervention to keep the currency from appreciating further and eroding competitiveness.
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As central banks have opened their taps with quantitative easing, $2 billion a day has been pouring from the U.S., Europe and Japan into Asian emerging markets since April last year, notes David Carbon, an economist with DBS Bank in Singapore. Foreign reserves in Asia have risen by $962 billion, or 13% of Asia’s GDP since then.
Stocks are clearly getting richer. “Yes, multiples are high at over 13.5 times next year’s earnings, but that’s not so expensive when you consider a forecast of 25% earnings growth next year,” says Nick Cashmore, head of research for CLSA in Jakarta.
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A good way to play Indonesia is through NYSE-listed ETFs like Market Vectors Indonesia Index ETF (IDX) or iShares MSCI Indonesia Investable Market Index Fund (EIDO). Cashmore says as the stocks have surged this year, investors are rotating from consumer stocks to raw materials. He likes palm-oil- plantation company London Sumatra (LSIP.Indonesia), a beneficiary of higher palm-oil prices; cement maker Holcim Indonesia (SMCB.Indonesia), which is benefitting from the huge local infrastructure boom; and the largest financial institution, Bank Mandiri (BMRT.Indonesia). •
Assif Shameen covers Asian capital markets from Singapore.
Article: BARRON’s Why Indonesia is the next China?
Pictures: The Jakarta Press , Iwan Maket
Indonesian Fight Clubs
A number of cultures in Indonesia have practiced war rituals passed down from generation to generation. The blood spilt onto the soil was seen as natural fertilisers and casualties were considered as offerings for the power that be. Fadil Aziz recounts watching four sacred wars in eastern Indonesia.
Erich Fromm, the influential researcher in the field of violence, argues that there are two types of aggression in human beings: defensive aggression and offensive aggression. But in Indonesia, we discover a third type: sacred aggression. A number of cultures in the archipelago have strong traditions of war, which, uniquely, are noble-aimed and guarded by sacred values. Victims may fall, but ties of friendship are still maintained and vendettas are highly taboo. What looks primitive to foreigners is actually a holy ritual for the participants.
Pajura
In the dark of the night, after a 40-kilometre trek through Sumba’s wild, I finally reached the end of the road. Asphalt now turned to soil. About an hour later, the road completely vanished. I had to leave my motorcycle behind and continued on foot, relying on flashlight. Not all the regions in Sumba enjoy the flow of electricity.
I came to see the Pajura, a boxing custom typical of Sumba and a tradition that is rarely seen by outsiders. By midnight, people began arriving, walking distances of dozens of kilometres with bare feet. The flow of people pouring into the arena, a small area on the beach flanked by cliffs, never seemed to cease. Within minutes, the makeshift arena filled up with people numbering in the hundreds, the majority of which are men. Precisely how so many people from different villages were able to figure out where the arena was, in the dark of the night, without the use of some kind of electronic communication device or navigational system, remains a mystery to me.
The spectators settled anxiously, their collective impatience for the impending show emanated a droning buzz. The fight atmosphere was starting to thicken. From amongst the crowd, 26 mighty men appeared and came forward, and were subsequently divided into two groups. Their fists were wrapped in weeds, which functions like boxing gloves. Referee and police checked their hands to make sure no sharp objects were secretly inserted. Spectators pushed and elbowed each other, fighting to get the best spot.
And then, without warning, it started. Under the dim light of the moon, the fighters began hitting each other. The audience howled. Pajura is not a sporting event; there is no winner or loser. This brutal tradition is also not a mindless brawl between villages or groups. Although split into two groups, participants within the same group may hit at each other. It was unclear which was friend and which was foe.
A boxer got in a good punch. The loud crack emitted from the opponent’s face made me cringe, but everyone else in the audience howled cheerfully. Another boxer ate the sand, hard. The audience laughed merrily while jeering on the collapsed boxer. The referee was busy holding the audience back to keep them from coming into the arena.
Although seemingly barbarian, the Pajura in its purest form is a sacred tradition. To the local community, any spilt blood is considered as an offering to the earth, a sort of nutritious fertilizer to enrich the soil. After the fight, the fighters shook hands with each other. Faces may be bruised, but the heart must stay pure. There must be no revenge. If a desire to return the favour occurs, then they must wait for next year’s Pajura.
Pasola
The story goes that once upon a time, three brothers from Waiwuang set sail to look for rice for the starving village. But after a long time gone, the three brothers were never heard of anymore. The anxious villagers tried to track them down, but their effort was in vain.
Unable to cope with her husband’s apparent demise, one of the victim’s wives then remarried. But at that exact moment, her husband, thought to be lost forever, suddenly returned. The entire village was caught in a furore. After a lengthy deliberation, the village council decided that the marriage that the widow had already performed with the new husband was indubitably legal. To console the lost husband’s heart, the villagers held Pasola, a spear-throwing game.
Pasola is derived from the word “sola” or “hola”, meaning “wood that is shaped like a spear”. In Pasola, the main weapon is a two-metre spear made of lamtoro wood, in which the end should not be sharpened. But because villagers use machetes to cut the lamtoro wood and not the saw, the tip of the wood inadvertently becomes rather sharp.
Participants in the Pasola are split into two groups. Each participant rides a horse and carries a spear. After the cue is given, the action begins. In the vast prairie, each man throws a spear from the saddle. This is a difficult thing to do. Participants need to control their horses running at full speed with one hand, while the other hand throws the spear. When an attack comes, a Pasola warrior must duck down to avoid the oncoming missile or dodge away by hanging on to the side of the horse’s body, much like the Indian American way. Not infrequently, the spears flew toward the crowd of spectators. This is one truly “interactive” show.
According to customary rules, everything that occurs within the arena must be accepted with gallantry and sportsmanship. Families cannot demand retribution if one of their members is injured or possibly killed, and police are forbidden to interfere. Like Pajura, any blood spilled in Pasola is also considered as fertilizer for the soil so that harvest will be more abundant in the future. But that does not mean that Pasola is a barbaric tradition. There are many rules that must be obeyed by the participants. One is to never attack a participant who had fallen from their horse.
Pasola is a very popular cultural attraction in Indonesia. Tourists from around the world come to watch the event every year. A number of anthropologists claimed that Pasola is rooted in the riding culture and Marapu religion adopted by the Sumba community. This tradition is usually held at the beginning of the year, although no one knows the exact date. Only the Rato (a sort of preacher in Marapu) has the right to decide the date of Pasola on a particular year. According to custom, Pasola is held only if nyale (green sea worms) had crept down to the beach. The Rato will usually sit on a large rock as he cast a spell to find out when the worms will appear.
Perang Pandan
War tradition in Bali? Sounds strange indeed. We know the island as a place where beautiful smiles always readily grace the faces of its residents. It is rather unimaginable to think that this peaceful heaven holds a bloody war ritual in its arsenal.
The Perang Pandan (Pandan War), held in the Village of Tenganan on Fifth Sasih which falls around June-July, is intended as a tribute to the god Indra who is regarded as a god of war. Traditionally, the Pandan War (or Mekare-kare in local language) is practised as a ceremonial war game to keep one’s warrior spirit ablaze in the body.
The primary weapon used here is a sharp, thorny pandan (pandanus or wild screwpine) leaves bunched into a club, about 40-centimetres long. These are plucked from the woods around the village. A peresai or woven bamboo shield is also used to parry the blow, but in the actual game the peresai is largely abandoned by the majority of participants—they just let the pandan club hit their bare bodies hard until blood flows freely from their bodies.
Anyone may participate in this war game; parents, teenagers or children of primary school age come all. Even foreign tourists frequently participate in the rite. Balinese geguron music reverberates before the war begins. This specialised music composition is considered sacred and only played on certain days. A melodious gamelan tune then follows and, to add courage, participants drink tuak (palm wine) on leaf glasses before the cue is given to start attacking each other.
Once the cue is given, the fighters without fear or hesitation jump at each other, whipping the pandan club as hard as they could toward each other. A vigorous battle ensues. Sometimes the warriors wrestle on the ground, the pandan club squeezed in between their bodies and the ground as they roll around. Blood begins to sprout here and there and the audience subconsciously wince, imagining the intense stings the participants must have been feeling. But strangely, these brave warriors instead laughed ecstatically as they keep hugging and rubbing each other’s backs with the pandan club. Mekare-kare is really not quite a fencing match; no one wins or loses. It is rather a point of certain pride for the participant who manages to collect the most wounds. Clearly, this is not a spectacle for the weak of hearts.
After the fight, thorns that were stuck to the bodies were removed and wounds treated with a herbal mixture that makes the pain even worse, i.e. turmeric, vinegar and ginger. After, the warriors sit together to eat a variety of Balinese snacks. They all look happy, sharing jokes and laughter, just as if they had finished a jovial party. And this may have well just been the case, as in their minds, the god Indra, watching them from above, was smiling looking at his loyal “warriors”.
Presean
Presean or stick fighting has no fixed schedule. Like a firecracker show in the culture of the Betawi people, the Presean is held in every big event. I came in as the community was celebrating one of Lombok’s grandest rituals, Bau Nyale, or the worm festival.
Bau Nyale, for the people of Lombok, means “to catch the worms”. The festival usually takes place at the beginning of the year with thousands of people gathering on the southern beaches to celebrate the event. The festival commemorates the legend of Princess Mandalika, an extremely beautiful princess of a large kingdom who committed suicide by jumping off a cliff to prevent all-out war. The colourful worms are said to be the reincarnation of the princess.
Participants in the Presean are bare-chested, wearing only sarongs wrapped around their waists. Their right hands hold the stick and left hold the shield. Anyone may participate, even the audience, although one condition applies: bravery. The swift, forceful strike of the rattan on the body will positively leave it battered and bruised for days on end.
Typical Lombok gamelan accompany the dynamics of two men hitting and parrying each other with rattan sticks and shields as hard as they could, but their movements were no less graceful. Sometimes, in the midst of battle, the participants danced. The atmosphere was nothing less than lively.
Presean, unlike other war games however, is not a loose free-for-all smack down event. There are strict rules to follow, such as fallen fighters should not be attacked and the lower bodies should not be stroked. It also recognises a clear winner and loser. The winners are those who got in the most successful hits into the opponents’ bodies—much like boxing. But the prize does not amount to much. In the event that I watched, the winner only got a sarong. Not quite comparable with the stinging pain from the rattan strikes, but perhaps the materialistic reward is nothing compared to the satisfaction from bravely undertaking such rite of passage.
