Indonesia Coronavirus Update #24    August 10, 2020

Cumulative number of reported cases:
127,083 (as of August 10)
5765 Deaths
82,236 Recoveries 
Rupiah to US$ 14,639
Jakarta Stock Exchange Index: 5157
Overview-
Nationally, COVID-19 cases in Indonesia continue to rise at a steady 10% growth rate.  However, due to a growth in the rate of recoveries, active cases remained basically unchanged. Areas with new week-on-week cases growing above the national average include North Sumatra (20%) and Jakarta (13%). President Jokowi issued a Presidential Instruction authorizing the imposition of penalties (backed by the military) to enforce health protocols.
Indonesia is slated to be one of the “guinea pigs” for a COVID-19 vaccine designed by Sinovac, a Chinese company.   A 6-month phase 3 trial begins this month with 1620 volunteers in West Java. President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo is scheduled to personally monitor the trial. If the trial is successful Indonesia expects to manufacture sufficient supplies locally.
Governance
  • Transitional Large-Scale Social Restrictions in Jakarta are scheduled to remain active until August 13th.
  •  The Indonesian government set the maximum tariff of rapid antibody tests at IDR 150,000 ($10.25). The maximum tariff is applicable for all citizens who want to take a rapid antibody test
Regulation, Economy, & Trade
  • According to the Indonesian Central Statistics Agency (BPS), Indonesia’s GDP contracted 5.32 percent in the second quarter, the lowest since the first quarter of 1999. The figure is deeper than the government’s estimate of 4.3 percent contraction and economists’ consensus of 4.6 percent contraction according to a Reuters survey.
  • The Presidential Special Staff for the Economy, Arif Budimanta emphasized that despite the negative economic growth in the second quarter, Indonesia has not yet entered a recession. He believes that Indonesia could still avoid a recession if the annual economic growth in the third quarter could reach a positive value.
  • Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said that the 2020 State Budget performed quite well in the first semester, despite facing heavy challenges. In the first half, state revenue amounted to IDR 811.2 trillion (USD 55.4 billion), down by 9.8 percent from the first semester of 2019.
  • Indonesia is accelerating disbursement of some $50 billion in fiscal stimulus to revive consumer spending and prevent Southeast Asia’s largest economy from sliding into a recession. The government will pay 28.8 trillion rupiah ($1.96 billion) to civil servants and state pensioners as a 13th month salary starting this week, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said. The bonus, along with 37.7 trillion rupiah as cash incentives to almost 16 million formal workers announced last week, is expected to boost purchasing power and stimulate the economy, she said.
  • The total government budget ready to be spent amounts to Rp203.9 trillion which will mainly help people endure the pandemic. The government reportedly had spent Rp85.3 trillion.
  • Indonesia’s fresh fruit exports from January to May 2020 jumped to 375,000 tons compared to the same period in 2019. In addition, the added value of fruit exports also increased by 73.4 % compared to the same period last year.
  • Several mass media reports last month said President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo seemed disappointed with the performance of the Financial Service Authority (OJK) and planned to reinstate the authority of Bank Indonesia to supervise the whole financial service industry.
(sources: International and Indonesia news media, Bali Update (from balidiscovery.com), Reformasi Weekly)