Indonesia Coronavirus Update #22    July 27, 2020

Cumulative number of reported cases: 100,303 (as of July 27) 4848 Deaths 58,173 Recoveries
Rupiah to US$ 14,605
Jakarta Stock Exchange Index: 5117

Overview- Active Cases Fall For First Time

The number of active nationwide COVID-19 cases (total cases less recoveries and fatalities) fell 1% last week for the first time since the pandemic’s outbreak from 37,598 on July 18 to 36,917 on July 23. Previously the active case week-on-week growth rates were in the 10-15% range. The change to a negative rate appears to be due to a higher rate of recoveries and slower growth rate in new cases rather than an increase in reported deaths. By no means is this evidence that Indonesia is out of the woods but is a hopeful sign; the pandemic continues to expand. Seen by region, Java’s 4 regions experienced a 12% growth in daily confirmed cases while other provinces recorded a 14% increase. Rates in East Java fell slightly but Jakarta and Central Java increased. Jakarta’s Governor, Anies Baswedan, announced he may extend the large scale social restrictions due to end July 30.
The Indonesian government has received 200 ventilators donated by the US and Australian governments to increase the country’s capacity in treating Covid-19 patients, Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi said on Thursday. The 100 from the US is the first batch of the US commitment to donate a total of 1,000 ventilators in stages.
Travel
Bali Governor I Wayan Koster has announced that the world famous resort island will reopen its borders for international tourists on Sept. 11 under strict health protocol and July 31 for domestic travelers.
Economic
  • Car Sales Up-National car sales jumped more than threefold in June to 12,623 units from a record low 3,551 units a month before, according to Association of Indonesian Automotive Manufacturers (Gaikindo) data compiled by diversified conglomerate PT Astra International. Despite the rebound, sales in June were almost 79 percent lower year-on-year (yoy).
  • BI Buys Bonds-The government will begin selling $39.4 billion sovereign debt papers (SBNs) to Bank Indonesia (BI) under private placement this week as part of the “burden-sharing” scheme to fund the country’s coronavirus response and reduce the government’s debt burden.
  • Foreign Ownership of Property-Indonesia plans to relax property rules soon to make it easier for foreigners to own homes in the country. Agrarian and Spatial Planning Minister Sofyan Djalil told property tycoons in a webinar that the new property rules set to be ratified into law by the end of next month (August), will allow foreigners to have the same rights as Indonesian property buyers. Its not yet clear if the new rules apply to landed houses (which would be a major change) or just apartment units. Currently, foreigners can own apartments through 30 year lease agreements with 20 year extensions; they can obtain but not own houses through leases. Their leases do not come with the same guarantees as Indonesian citizens making them harder to finance.
  • FDI Contracts- Foreign direct investment into Indonesia dropped 6.9% in the second quarter from the same period last year.
  • Expedited Shipping- The Ministry of Finance created an innovation called SiPakde-ATIGA to streamline export and import activities through electronic documents. With this innovation, importers do not have to show ATIGA physical documents to customs officials. Moreover, exporters are not subject to the additional burden of shipping costs between countries. SiPakde-ATIGA reduces the potential for additional overnight costs at ports which must be borne by importers.
  • Unemployment- According to Indonesia’s Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, Airlangga Hartarto, there are 3 million workers unemployed because of coronavirus.
(sources: International and Indonesia news media, Bali Update (from balidiscovery.com), Reformasi Weekly)