RI-Malaysia Step Up Relations Ahead of AEC

AMANDA VENSKA PRATIWI
1801446102

Indonesia and Malaysia will step up bilateral cooperation in trade and investment to enable the two neighboring countries to fully benefit from the establishment of the ASEAN common market later this year. Malaysian International Trade and Industry Minister Mustapa Mohamed said,bilateral economic relations between Malaysia and Indonesia are important because Indonesia is the largest country in ASEAN in terms of population and size of economy. We think Indonesia has the chance to frame the future of ASEAN. 

Mohamed said the plan to enhance economic relations between the two countries had also been mentioned when President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo visited Kuala Lumpur last February to reciprocate for Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Rajak’s visit to Jakarta in October last year.
According to Mohamed, enhancing economic relations between Malaysia and Indonesia will not be difficult as both countries already have a close relationship, especially in trade.
As part of the plan, Mohamed said Indonesia’s Trade Minister Rachmat Gobel had agreed with him to arrange a special meeting in the near future for both countries’ ministers, as well as business associations, to discuss further efforts.
Among the sectors to be discussed thoroughly are trade in commodities, in which both countries are world players with ones like natural rubber, palm oil and cocoa.

As the ASEAN Chair, Malaysia also prioritizes several goals to be achieved before the AEC implementation, especially negotiating and orchestrating efforts to reduce non-trade barriers and promote standardization for trade goods, Mohamed said


Last year, the total value of trade between Malaysia and Indonesia reached US$20 billion, but it decreased by more than 5 percent from a year earlier. That is why we want to find a way to improve the trade situation in a win-win solution. Based on Indonesia’s Central Statistics Agency data, bilateral trade between the two nations reached $20.61 billion in 2014, a slight decrease from $23.98 billion in 2013

ASEAN, which has 10 member countries and a population of more than 600 million people, is set to launch the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) to integrate ASEAN as a single market and production base.

As the commodity prices fell due to the weakening global demand, it is important for Malaysia and Indonesia to collaborate in seizing opportunities to boost our trade. However, any strategy that will be taken should not violate international trade agreements. 
In addition, Mohamed said the Indonesian government had recently improved many things related to the procedures of doing business, saying Malaysian entrepreneurs praise the Investment Coordinating Board’s initiative to establish an online one-stop service for permits

SOURCE:
 www.thejakartapost.com
www.wsj.com

Asia stocks gain as weak global data raises stimulus hopes

AMANDA VENSKA PRATIWI

1801446102

Asian stock markets bounded higher Thursday after weak data from major economies boosted hopes for stimulus and a slow pace for U.S. interest rate hikes.

KEEPING SCORE: Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 1.6 percent to 19,339.70 and South Korea's Kospi added 0.1 percent to 2,030.06. Hong Kong's Hang Seng advanced 0.4 percent to 25,187.71 while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.6 percent to 5,897.10. Stocks in mainland China and Southeast Asia were also higher.

US DATA: Sluggish data from the U.S. showed the world's largest economy may have slowed in the first quarter. Payroll processor ADP said U.S. companies added fewer jobs last month than economists had expected, while an index of manufacturing activity declined for the fifth month in a row. In addition, the government said U.S. construction spending fell in February. After weak data from ADP, analysts said the government's March payroll employment data scheduled to be released on Friday may hit a softer note.

ANALYST'S TAKE: The policy implication is that the Fed is still leaning toward a rate hike this year. According to Mizuho Bank Ltd. The nuance though is that the pace of tightening will be more gradual and may be pushed back slightly depending on data

ASIAN DATA: The day before the weak U.S. data, two biggest economies in Asia reported dour industrial figures, adding to pressure on leaders to launch new stimulus. Two surveys by HSBC Corp. and the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing showed weak Chinese manufacturing in March and employers cut more jobs. That came after China's central bank governor's warning that economic growth had fallen "too sharply." In Japan, a central bank's quarterly survey found companies expect conditions to deteriorate and plan to cut investment.

WALL STREET: U.S. stocks fell for a second day in a row Wednesday. The S&P 500 index slid 0.4 percent to 2,059.69. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 0.4 percent to 17,698.18. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite lost 0.4 percent to 4,880.23.

ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude fell 54 cents to $49.55 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose $2.49 to close at $50.09 a barrel on Wednesday on signs that U.S. production growth is slowing. Brent crude, a benchmark for international oils, fell 31 cents to $56.74 a barrel in London.

CURRENCIES: The euro rose to $1.0773 from $1.0768 the previous day. The dollar inched down to 119.64 yen from 119.67 yen. (***)

Reference:

www.wsj.com

en.wikipedia.org

Rupiah rises 70 points to Rp 12,978 at opening

MAWADDAH FARHANY
1801441354

The rupiah interbank trade rate in Thursday's first trading session appreciated by 7 basis points to Rp 12,778 per US dollar from Rp 13, 048 per dollar in previous trade.

According to Chief Researcher of NH Korindo Securities Indonesia, the rupiah exchange rate continued positive movement as a result of improvement in the absorption of the government securities auction, which resulted in the bid-to-cover ratio being bigger than sales.

More than that, he said, the release of inflation data for March, which reached 0.17 percent or lower than the projection of 0.43 percent and a consensus of 0.19 percent, also sparked positive sentiment toward the domestic currency.

The rupiah rate tended to strengthen thanks to the existing sentiment. However, it should be closely monitored in case of pullback. The rupiah had shown strength as US employment data missed expectations. The manufacturing PMI [purchasing managers index] fell to its lowest level over the last 14 months

According to him, the deteriorating US data confirmed the US Federal Reserve’s statement in which it said that it would not be aggressive in raising its interest rate this year. This situation will result in the continued fall of the dollar in the Asian region today.

Reference:

www.thejakartapost.com

en.wikipedia.org