Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Jakarta recorded almost 18.48 million passengers in the H1 of 2024, more than half of the full year target. PT MRT Jakarta, the operator of the Jakarta MRT, is targeting to serve 33.67 million passengers this year, in line with the Jakarta Government’s efforts to improve the use of public transportation.

Vice President Ma’ruf Amin, for the first time, inaugurated commercial operation of the last section of Jakarta Outter Ring Road-2 (JORR), connecting Cikeas-Cibitung, on Tuesday (Jul 9). Completion of the toll road should be a relief for the troubled state construction firm Waskita Karya (WSKT), owner of 35% shares. It might also raise attractiveness of the toll road should Waskita decided to offload the remaining shares.

Iron and steel are currently the second largest non oil and gas export group behind thermal coal for Indonesia. Export volume skyrocketed over 200 percent in the past four years or so. It is unfortunate, however, that steel price in international market retreated 10% year-on-year due to higher production and weaker demands.

Indonesia’s temporary national data center in Surabaya, East Java has been compromised in a cyberattack since June 20, disrupting services across hundreds of national and local agencies. The Jakarta Post wrote that state-owned communication company PT Telkom Indonesia (TLKM) reported that 282 databases belonging to central and regional administrations linked to the temporary data center in Surabaya were still affected by the breach as of last Tuesday, according to press release from Ministry of Communication and Information Technology (Kominfo). Bear in mind that Telkom’s subsidiary Telkomsigma operates the Surabaya facility, where data recovery processes are ongoing.

With series of governance issues at Kimia Farma (KAEF) and Indofarma (INAF), some wonder whether it is worth to keep the State’s involvement in the pharmaceutical industry. Still, PT Bio Farma, a holding company for state pharmaceutical firms, is proposing additional state capital placement or injection (PMN) of Rp2.21 trillion for 2025, used for funding the construction of new production facilities, also to upgrading existing machines and technology. 

State-owned postal service company PT Pos Indonesia has recently attracted public attention regarding its plan to conduct sizable layoff this year. Layoff or termination is one of the most difficult tasks in business. As we know, Pos Indonesia is one of the oldest state-owned companies. As of today, the Company is involved in the courier and logistics services business.

The government continued to claim positive impacts from the special economic zones (SEZs), and, accordingly, awarding more. There are currently 21 SEZs that spread throughout Indonesia with claimed total investment worth Rp187.5 trillion with the creation of a workforce of 126,506 people until March 2024.

We’ve seen correction of EV sales in some European countries, especially Germany and UK, following the end of incentive packages. Slowdown in Europe might have contributed to correction of nickel prices this year. But, China, the world’s second largest market after USA, is still showing a rapid rate of growth in electric vehicle (EV) adoption after China’s plug-in car sales increased to 704,000 units or 44% market share in April 2024 compared to 35% in the same period of last year.

The competition for the cement industry in Sumatra, the second largest market after Java Island, is becoming increasingly tougher with the entry of new players from China. PT Kobexindo Cement, a consortium of the Hongshi Holding Group from China, has reportedly signed a memorandum of understanding with the South Aceh Regency Government regarding the establishment of a new cement factory. This agreement was signed on May 18, 2024 in Jakarta.