Coronavirus Update #48    January 25, 2021

Cumulative number of reported cases: 999,2565 (as of January 25)
Recovered: 809,488
Deaths: 28,132

 Rupiah to US$14,082
Jakarta Stock Exchange Index: 6258

Overview-

Because of the rise in COVID patients in Jakarta and other urban areas many hospitals are at or near capacity and alternate accommodations are being utilized.

Indonesia reached a 25% positivity rate throughout most of the last week. PCR testing levels have flatlined while daily case detections have jumped levels from 4,000 in November to 12,568 on January 20. The virus continues to reach its tentacles throughout the country and the above statistics may be masking a higher level of incidence.

The government extended social restrictions Jakarta in urban areas through February 8.  Private companies with good cold storage, such as ice cream distributor Unilever and pharmaceutical maker Kalbe Farma have been enlisted to use their logistics capabilities to store and ship vaccines to 20,00 health clinics.

Coordinating Minister Hartarto, head of the Committee on COVID 19 told AICC that 30,000 vaccinators are being lined up, each with the mandate to vaccinate 30 people a day. At that rate, and if sufficient supply is available, a substantial proportion of the population will be immunized within 6 months.

A recent COVID outbreak in China could threaten the availability of Indonesia’s main vaccine source, CoronaVac made by Sinovac. Indonesia does have agreements with other suppliers such as AstraZeneca but has not received any allocations yet.

Travel-

Foreigners are not currently permitted to enter Indonesia without a valid residency permit. The restriction expires February 8 but could be extended.

Visit Indonesian Immigration (https://www.imigrasi.go.id) and the Indonesian Embassy (https://kemlu.go.id/washington/en) for updated visa and entry requirements as regulations may change frequently.

Economic-

  • Spending Cut: Finance Minister Sri Mulyani has announced an across-the-board spending cut of 5% by all ministries for 2021. These savings will help fund vaccination and other response programs.
  • FDI in Q4: Foreign direct investment (FDI) into Indonesia in the fourth quarter of last year (2020) rose 5.5% to US$7.92 billion, despite a slowdown earlier in the year, data from the country’s investment board (BKPM) showed on Monday (01/25). For the whole of 2020, there was a US$29.44 billion of FDI into the country, down 2.4% from 2019, as companies put a hold on some investment plans due to the coronavirus pandemic.
  • Relocations: Sixteen companies have relocated to Indonesia from mainland China, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea and the United States despite the overall global downturn in investment due to the COVID-19 pandemic last year, an official has said. Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) head Bahlil Lahadalia said Thursday (01/21) that the companies had either started construction or production last year. The investment was estimated to reach US$7.15 billion and create around 68,600 jobs. According to BKPM, of Johnson & Johnson, KCC Glass, and Heinz ABC are among the firms confirmed/verified to relocate.
  • More on Proposed Investment Rule Changes: Indonesia is set to remove energy, communications and tourism from a list of sectors restricted to foreigners in a bid to boost investments and create jobs. The list of industries limited to foreign investment has been cut to just 48, from more than 300, according to a draft of the presidential decree. The government is set to remove restrictions for sectors such as communications, information and technology, energy, tourism and creative economy, although they may still be subject to other regulations.
  • No Rate Change: Indonesia’s central bank said early signs of inflationary pressure might be seen in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2021, but the bank would not immediately raise interest rates in response, Governor Perry Warjiyo said on Monday (01/25).

(sources: International and Indonesia news media, Bali Update (from balidiscovery.com), Reformasi Weekly)