Indonesia’s economy contracted in the third quarter, plunging it into its first recession since the archipelago was mired in the Asian financial crisis more than 20 years ago.
Activity in Southeast Asia’s biggest economy in the July-to-September period slumped 3.49 percent from a year earlier, Statistics Indonesia said yesterday, with tourism, construction and trade among the hardest-hit sectors.
The data marked the second consecutive quarter of contraction after a 5.3 percent decline in the April-to-June period.
Photo: AFP
However, the depth of the current decline was easing, Statistics Indonesia said.
The economy “continues showing a contraction year-over-year, but the quarter-on-quarter recovery was quite strong,” said Anwita Basu, head of Asia Country Risk at Fitch Solutions in Singapore, highlighting a gradual pickup in manufacturing. “Some government efforts to continue with public works are reflected in that.”
Indonesia’s economy was also in better shape than two decades ago, with once-troubled commercial banks now stronger and ample foreign currency reserves at the central bank, Basu said.
Governments around the world have been struggling to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, which has forced the shutdown of vast parts of the global economy.
Bank Indonesia cut interest rates several times this year in a bid to boost the struggling economy, while the Indonesian government has unveiled more than US$48 billion in stimulus to help offset the impact a large-scale shutdown amid the pandemic that hammered growth.
Several million Indonesians have been laid off or furloughed as the vast country, home to nearly 270 million people, has battled to contain the virus.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo has been widely criticized over his government’s handling of the pandemic, as it appeared to prioritize the economy.
Boosting annual growth above 5 percent had been a key priority for Widodo in his second term, which began late last year.
On Monday, the president signed into law a package of bills aimed at cutting red tape and drawing more foreign investment as he pushes an infrastructure-focused policy.
However, the legislation has sparked mass protests in cities across the nation, as critics say that it would be catastrophic for labor and environmental protections.
Taiwan Transport and Storage Corp (TTS, 台灣通運倉儲) yesterday unveiled its first electric tractor unit — manufactured by Volvo Trucks — in a ceremony in Taipei, and said the unit would soon be used to transport cement produced by Taiwan Cement Corp (TCC, 台灣水泥). Both TTS and TCC belong to TCC International Holdings Ltd (台泥國際集團). With the electric tractor unit, the Taipei-based cement firm would become the first in Taiwan to use electric vehicles to transport construction materials. TTS chairman Koo Kung-yi (辜公怡), Volvo Trucks vice president of sales and marketing Johan Selven, TCC president Roman Cheng (程耀輝) and Taikoo Motors Group
Among the rows of vibrators, rubber torsos and leather harnesses at a Chinese sex toys exhibition in Shanghai this weekend, the beginnings of an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven shift in the industry quietly pulsed. China manufactures about 70 percent of the world’s sex toys, most of it the “hardware” on display at the fair — whether that be technicolor tentacled dildos or hyper-realistic personalized silicone dolls. Yet smart toys have been rising in popularity for some time. Many major European and US brands already offer tech-enhanced products that can enable long-distance love, monitor well-being and even bring people one step closer to
RECORD-BREAKING: TSMC’s net profit last quarter beat market expectations by expanding 8.9% and it was the best first-quarter profit in the chipmaker’s history Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), which counts Nvidia Corp as a key customer, yesterday said that artificial intelligence (AI) server chip revenue is set to more than double this year from last year amid rising demand. The chipmaker expects the growth momentum to continue in the next five years with an annual compound growth rate of 50 percent, TSMC chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家) told investors yesterday. By 2028, AI chips’ contribution to revenue would climb to about 20 percent from a percentage in the low teens, Wei said. “Almost all the AI innovators are working with TSMC to address the
FUTURE PLANS: Although the electric vehicle market is getting more competitive, Hon Hai would stick to its goal of seizing a 5 percent share globally, Young Liu said Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), a major iPhone assembler and supplier of artificial intelligence (AI) servers powered by Nvidia Corp’s chips, yesterday said it has introduced a rotating chief executive structure as part of the company’s efforts to cultivate future leaders and to enhance corporate governance. The 50-year-old contract electronics maker reported sizable revenue of NT$6.16 trillion (US$189.67 billion) last year. Hon Hai, also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), has been under the control of one man almost since its inception. A rotating CEO system is a rarity among Taiwanese businesses. Hon Hai has given leaders of the company’s six