North Korea fired an unidentified projectile
The South Korean military said Wednesday that North Korea has launched an unspecified projectile into the sea, in Pyongyang's first missile test of the new year.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff in Seoul said in a statement that the projectile was fired from the eastern coast of the peninsula toward the sea, without giving further details immediately.
The Japanese government said North Korea had launched a ballistic missile, the official Kyodo News Agency reported early Wednesday.
Minister of Industry appreciates Indonesian Manufacturing PMI ahead of Thailand and China
Minister of Industry Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita appreciated the achievement of Indonesia's Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) of 53.5 in December 2021, which surpassed the Manufacturing PMI of ASEAN countries including Thailand (50.6), the Philippines (51.8). ), Vietnam (52.2), and Malaysia (52.8).
In fact, the figures reported by IHS Markit show that Indonesia's manufacturing PMI is superior to the South Korean Manufacturing PMI (51.9), Russia (51.6), and China (49.9).
"We appreciate the confidence of the manufacturing industry players who are still high. In fact, they remain optimistic this year in line with the government's determination to carry out various strategic policies to create a conducive business climate," said Industry Minister Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita in a statement in Jakarta, Monday.
Thus, it can be seen that the manufacturing industry sector in the country is still quite stretched until the end of 2021, in line with increasing production and demand for the export market.
The Minister of Industry said that his party remained focused on spurring the downstream industry to increase the added value of natural resources in the country. This effort is considered to have made a major contribution to the national economy, including the creation of employment opportunities and foreign exchange earnings from exports, which lead to community welfare.
"According to what President Joko Widodo said, the national economy is starting to recover and be strong again. This is indicated by our trade balance which has a surplus of USD 34.4 billion, and this surplus condition can be maintained for 19 months. Our exports also increased y-on-y to 49.7 percent," he said.
The Minister of Industry said that so far the manufacturing industry sector has consistently provided the largest contribution to the achievement of the national export value. In January-November 2021, the export value from the manufacturing industry reached 160 billion US dollars or contributed 76.51 percent of total national exports. This figure has exceeded the manufacturing export achievement throughout 2020 of 131 billion dollars, and even higher than the export achievement in 2019.
When compared to January-November 2020, the export performance of the manufacturing industry in January-November 2021 increased by 35.36 percent. The export performance of the manufacturing sector at the same time maintains the trade balance surplus that was printed since May 2020.
“Why can our exports go up that high? One of them is because we dare to stop the export of raw materials, such as raw materials from mineral and coal, namely nickel. From the beginning, exports were around USD 1-2 billion, now it has almost reached USD 21 billion. Therefore, the President has given directions to continue to stop exports of bauxite, copper, tin, and others, because downstreaming is the key to increasing our exports," he explained.
Meanwhile, imports of raw materials and auxiliary materials also rose by 52.6 percent. These raw materials and auxiliary materials are needed to be processed by the domestic industry so that they can produce products that have a higher selling value.
Indicators of the recovery of the national economy are also shown from Indonesia's competitiveness rating which continues to increase, both from the business and digital aspects.
"In a very difficult position in 2021 due to the impact of the pandemic, we are still able to move up the rankings. In the business and digital aspects, all three ranks have gone up," said Agus.
Along with improving national economic conditions, the Minister of Industry is targeting manufacturing industry growth of 4.5-5 percent in 2022.
"We are focused on continuing to build a manufacturing industry sector that is sovereign, independent, competitive, and inclusive," he said.
Responding to the latest PMI Manufacturing Indonesia, Jingyi Pan as Associate Director of IHS Markit Economics said last sentiment is very positive overall, with a confidence level of business over the long term average shows that Indonesia is still optimistic about the manufacturing production growth sustained over a period of 2022.
President Jokowi to Inaugurate Randugunting Dam
President Joko Widodo is scheduled to inaugurate the Randugunting dam in Blora district, Central Java as part of a working visit to Central Java province.
As released by the Press, Media and Information Bureau of the Presidential Secretariat, President Jokowi departed for Central Java on Wednesday (5/1/2022).
The Head of State and his entourage took off from the Halim Perdanakusuma Air Force Base in Jakarta using the Indonesian Presidential Aircraft-1 at around 07.00 WIB.
Arriving at the Adi Soemarmo TNI AU Base, Boyolali, Central Java, President Jokowi plans to continue his journey to Sragen district. There, the President will hand over assistance to street vendors and stalls in Gemolong Market.
After that, President Jokowi will hand over similar assistance at Purwodadi Market, Grobogan Regency.
In addition, President Jokowi is also scheduled to review the implementation of vaccinations for children held at SD Negeri 3 Nglinduk, Gabus sub-district, Grobogan district .
After the review, President Jokowi and his entourage will continue their journey to Blora Regency using the Indonesian Air Force Super Puma helicopter. In Blora district, the President is scheduled to inaugurate the Randugunting Dam.
After that, President Jokowi will return to continue his journey to the city of Semarang using the Indonesian Air Force Super Puma Helicopter.
The President will inaugurate the Johar Market Semarang and hand over cash assistance for street vendors and stalls in the front yard of Kauman Square, Semarang City.
The President and his entourage are scheduled to return to Jakarta in the evening via the TNI AD Ahmad Yani Main Air Base, Semarang City, using the Indonesia-1 Presidential Aircraft.
Also accompanying the President on the flight to Central Java Province were Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung, Head of the Presidential Secretariat Heru Budi Hartono, Presidential Military Secretary Marsda TNI M. Tonny Harjono, Commander of Paspampres Major General TNI Tri Budi Utomo, and Deputy for Protocol, Press and Media Secretariat President Bey Machmudin.