Habibie Festival Honors Late President’s Legacy in Education and Technology
Source: Jakarta Post, October 16 2019 This year’s International Orbit Habibie Festival will be the first to be held after the passing of BJ Habibie, former Indonesian president and father of the festival’s founder, Ilham A. Habibie. The festival was first held in 2016 to commemorate BJ Habibie’s…
Nadiem Makarim Steps Down as Gojek CEO to Join Jokowi’s Cabinet
Source: Jakarta Globe, October 21 2019 By: ROBERTUS WARDI Jakarta. Nadiem Makarim, co-founder of unicorn startup Gojek Indonesia, announced on Monday that he had stepped down as the company’s chief executive to take up a post in President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s new cabinet. “Starting today, I…
Indrawati Reappointed Finance Minister in Indonesia Cabinet
Source: Bloomberg, October 22 2019 By: Karlis Salna, Arys Aditya, and Viriya Singgih Indonesian President Joko Widodo reappointed Sri Mulyani Indrawati as finance minister in a new cabinet, providing stability to his team as he seeks to deliver on pledges to boost Southeast Asia’s biggest economy. A…
Jokowi, Ma’ruf Inaugurated as President, Vice President
Source: Jakarta Post, October 20 2019 By: Karina M. Tehusijarana Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and Ma’ruf Amin have officially taken their oaths to serve the country as the President and the Vice President for the 2019-2024 term in a plenary session of the People’s Consultative Assembly…
One-on-One Interview Part 2
Jaspal Sidhu
Founder and Chairman of SIS Group of Schools
IEF’s running series, Game Changers, continues where it left off with the second part of the exclusive interview with Jaspal Sidhu, Founder and Chairman of Singapore Intercultural School (SIS) group of schools. Mr. Sidhu discusses his vision of making quality education accessible for Indonesians from every economic…
Trump Announces Partial Trade Deal with China, Lifting Hopes that Tensions Could Ease
Source: Washington Post, October 12 2019 By David J. Lynch President Trump said Friday that the United States and China have “agreed in principle” on a preliminary trade deal, marking the first tangible achievement in their 18-month trade war while leaving all of the toughest issues…
For a Second Time, The World Bank Predicts Indonesia’s Economic Growth to Decline
Source: CNBC Indonesia, October 11 2019 Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia- The World Bank returns with another prediction that Indonesia’s economic growth will decline and only grow 5% this year. Earlier in April the World Bank predicted the Indonesian economy would only grow 5.1%. More in the…
Indonesia’s Competitiveness Ranking Drops 5 Spots as Singapore Tops List: World Economic Forum
Indonesia’s ranking in the World Economic Forum’s global competitiveness index dropped five places in 2019 to 50th out of 141 economies, while Singapore takes over the United States as the world’s most competitive country. Indonesia, the largest economy in Southeast Asia, scored 65 out of…
Indonesia to Relax Rules, Launch More Special Economic Zones to Attract Investment
Source: Reuters, October 10 2019 JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesia will expand and simplify tax incentives it offers for investment in special economic zones (SEZs) and develop more such areas, aiming to attract over $50 billion investment into those zones in the next decade, a senior…
Blue Bird Introduces Indonesia’s First Fleet of Electric Taxis
Source: Jakarta Globe, October 12 2019 BY YUDHA BASKORO The Blue Bird Group, Indonesia’s largest taxi operator, has added two new electric vehicle models to its fleet in the greater Jakarta area. It introduced 25 Chinese-made BYD e6 all-electric compact multi-purpose vehicles, which will operate…