AmCham Update
AmCham Update Vol. 2 #107
Get on Your Bike, Low Numbers, Debt Picture OK, Thomas Cup Triumph for Indonesia
Oct 18, 2021 | AmCham Indonesia

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COVID WRAP: Low Numbers, Odd-Even, More Travelers

As a sign of the falling number of cases in Indonesia, Jakarta’s 131 positive cases on Oct 17 led the nation’s reported 747 Covid-19 cases that day. Central Java was the second highest (87 cases), followed by West Java (70), and East Java (60). There were 19 deaths recorded from 11 provinces.

Meanwhile, Soekarno-Hatta International Airport is seeing more activity, with 56,085 international passengers arriving between Sept 19 and Oct 16, the majority of them returning migrant workers. Some 29,270 were quarantined at Wisma Atlet, while 26,815 were quarantined at other hotels.

In Jakarta, lower case numbers mean more exercise as cycling for exercise is now allowed on the odd-even areas of Sudirman, Thamrin, and Rasuna Said. This follows the allowing of bike-to-work for commuters since Sept 7. Cyclists are reminded to comply with strict health protocols and not stop on roads as they might draw crowds. Director of Traffic Management of the Greater Jakarta Metropolitan Police Sambodo Purnomo said the policy will be constantly evaluated.

Jakarta is also starting to enforce its new odd-even (ganjil-genap) vehicle plate system on a number of key roads in Jakarta starting today, Oct 18. Just as in pre-Covid days, there are now two odd-even sessions, from 06:00 to 10:00 and 16:00 to 20:00 Monday to Friday. Police officers will check traffic only in the middle of the areas impacted by the system, Director of Traffic Management of the Greater Jakarta Metropolitan Police Sambodo Purnomo Yogo said.

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Thomas Cup Finally Home after 19 Years

Indonesia has finally brought home the Thomas Cup by beating defending champions China 3-0 in the final. The top seeds won their group against Thailand and Olympic gold medalists Chinese Taipei, beat Malaysia 3-0 win in the quarterfinals and edged out home favorites Denmark 3-1 in the semifinals. After nineteen years of waiting, Indonesia’s fourteenth Thomas Cup win cements its status as a powerhouse in men’s badminton.

In the final, Anthony Sinisuka Ginting capitalized on the absence of China’s top men's singles player Shi Yuqi due to injury and secured a three-set victory against Lu Guangzu. Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto then showed their class against He Jiting and Zhou Haodong and gave Indonesia a 2-0 lead. Jonatan Christie’s game of patience and perseverance against Li Shifeng finally sealed the victory, bringing the trophy home.

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AmCham Cares: Facebook

Facebook’s Asah Digital project, the YCAB Foundation, and Do Something Indonesia, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and Culture, have sealed another joint commitment to provide digital skills to more than 5,000 teachers and 100,000 students in Indonesia. Asah Digital aims to instill a sense of responsibility, critical thinking, and awareness of an individual’s digital footprint. With these skills, students and teachers will create a safer and more positive digital world for all.

From March 2020 to April 2021, Asah Digital helped eight provinces in Indonesia – Aceh, Jambi, Riau Island, Southeast Sulawesi, Bali, Central Java, Special Region Yogyakarta, and South Kalimantan – reaching 723 teachers and 16,746 students. The new era of online learning has sparked Asah Digital 2.0 – a new idea for 21st-century learning – a game-style self-learning tool, which will start from January 2022 onwards.


Indonesia’s External Debt Healthy

Indonesia’s external debt in August was $423.5 billion, with 2.7 percent growth year-on-year (YoY) – higher than 1.7 percent YoY in July. This was due to the increasing public sector external debt of the government and Bank Indonesia (BI). Government external debt increased to $207.5 billion (3.7 percent YoY) from 3.7 percent YoY in July; while BI external debt was $9.2 billion, a $6.3 billion increase due to the additional International Monetary Fund (IMF) special drawing rights (SDR) allocation to all member countries.

BI reported the structure of Indonesia’s external debt remained healthy, as seen by the external debt to gross domestic product (GDP) ratio at 37.2 percent and the domination of long-term maturity debt, which had an 88.5 percent share of total external debt.

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Support Independent Journalism: Subscribe to The Jakarta Post

In these difficult times, our hometown English language newspaper, The Jakarta Post, is more important than ever. Given the difficulties of physical circulation and the economic slump, the Post needs to boost its online subscribers – a goal we heartily support at AmCham Indonesia. Quality English language news is vital for our businesses, our home offices, and the flow of information out of Indonesia. It is for this reason, that we are urging all of our members and readers to subscribe to JP! Information is what will help get us through this crisis. Below is information about how to sign up.

JP Premium Digital Subscription Packages

https://www.thejakartapost.com/packages

Monthly subscription – Rp 50,000

Yearly subscription – Rp 600,000


Now is the Time to Join AmCham!

Now is the Time to Join AmCham!

We offer a full slate of meetings, events, and information for our community online. But we can only do this through the support of our members. If you are not yet an AmCham member, please join now.

AmCham Indonesia is open to all companies with an interest in US business relations and we have many non-American members. We are a community and we welcome you!

Reach us at [email protected] or click below!

JOIN AMCHAM

 


AmCham Office and Events

AmCham Office and Events

The AmCham Office is on the work-from-home status and all face-to-face meetings and events have been postponed. We are having a number of meetings online using the Zoom platform. You will be notified of virtual meetings as they are scheduled.

 

 


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What is Your Company Doing on COVID-19?

Please let us know what measures your company may be taking in the form of donations and other assistance to help Indonesia during this time of confusion and concern. Contact [email protected] with your news. We would like to publicize the ways that our AmCham companies are pitching in.


Stay well

We urge you to send us press releases and other information that we can pass on to the broader AmCham community. If you have items of interest, please email material to [email protected]. Follow this link to information provided by the US Embassy

Stay safe, call a doctor if you have a high fever, cough, or difficulty breathing. Stay healthy above all else.


AmCham Update is AmCham's regular newsletter on developments related to the pandemic crisis and other issues in Indonesia. It is edited by AmCham Managing Director A Lin Neumann and written by the AmCham Staff. Paul L Goddard is the Managing Editor

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