February 24, 2015 edition
The World Bank recently criticized the Indonesia Health Card (KIS) program for focusing too much on enrollment and not enough on improving the quality of public health services.
"Issuing cards but not paying attention to health services is an empty promise," said World Bank economist Cristobal Ridao-Cano during a presentation on the Bank's findings and recommendations on health spending in their December 2014 Indonesia Economic Quarterly report at their Jakarta headquarters.
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January 1, 1970 edition
The first day of President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo's visit to Malaysia went according to the plan set by his office. On that Thursday two weeks ago, Jokowi met Malaysia's King Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah at the National Palace. On the second day, after an official meeting with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak in Putrajaya, Jokowi was scheduled to visit Proton Holdings' automotive plant in Selangor.
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January 1, 1970 edition
Indonesia's latest inflation and trade balance data, both of which show slight improvements appear to have just a small impact on the rupiah. On Friday, the rupiah closed at Rp12,621 per US dollar a slight 0.4 percent stronger than a week ago. The JCI followed a similar trend, up 1.0 percent, to close at 5,342 for the week.
This was despite a sharp mid-week drop in the booming share price of the four publicly-listed state-owned construction companies, Adhi Karya (ADHI), Pembangunan Perumahan (PTPP), Wijaya Karya (WIKA) and Waskita Karya (WSKT). This is a response to parliament's decision to trim down, by about 18 percent, the government's plan to inject Rp48 trillion more capital in 38 state-owned companies, including the four listed construction companies. The capital injection is part of the government's revised 2015 budget, which is being reviewed by parliamentary for the last few weeks.
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January 1, 1970 edition
The hour-and-a-half meeting at the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry on Thursday afternoon two weeks ago ended without an agreement. After much debate, government representatives and Freeport Indonesia officials were unable to find common ground. The ministry's director-general for minerals and coal, R. Sukhyar, suspected Freeport was not taking its commitment to build a smelter in Indonesia seriously.
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January 1, 1970 edition
January 1, 1970 edition
THE thick cartons, labeled XO Furniture, had been piled up for a week in the Yogyakarta warehouse. Rian Hermawan, owner of the business, said the shipment destinated for Spain had been cancelled because he did not have a certain timber legality certificate. "I was told that an export declaration could be used to ship the goods, but they were denied passage by port customs authorities," he told Tempo last week.
The certificate, called a V-Legal, is granted under Indonesia's Timber Legality Verification System (SVLK), meant to combat illegal logging. "I didn't get the document because it cost too much," Rian said.
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January 13, 2015 edition
CURRENCY
Rupiah Rebounds as Government Bond Issues Begin
The start of this year's government's bond auction program at the end of the week helped the rupiah regain its value back to Rp12,647 per US dollar, a level it reached a few days earlier. The indicative amount of government bonds auctioned was set at Rp12 trillion, slightly higher than the usual amount. Those auctioned carried three-month, one-year, 10-year and 20-year tenors. This year's overall issuance target will depend on the government's 2015 revised budget to be discussed in parliament next month. Most expect government bond issuance this year to be less than previously proposed, given the savings from the cut in fuel subsidy late last year.
Rupiah Rebounds as Government Bond Issues Begin