Collaboration for Revival in 2021

TANGKAPAN LAYAR DARI WEBINAR KOMPAS100 CEO FORUM

President Joko Widodo spoke in the 11th Kompas100 CEO Forum webinar on Thursday (21/1/2021) with the theme "Let \'s Collaborate: Rising in Pandemic Era".

Collaboration is a solution for accelerating economic revival in 2021. Post-pandemic economic recovery and transformation can be realized through health reform and social protection.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — The year 2021 is the time for Indonesia to stand and rise above the crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. If we can get through the crisis well, we will be able to face the challenges of the future.

Collaboration is believed to be one solution to overcoming the pandemic and to restore the national economy.

To that end, President Joko Widodo has urged all parties to plan for the resumption of normal life and to seek various business opportunities after the Covid-19 pandemic.

"[Let us] transform our country into a new economic power so it grows stronger and becomes a developed country," the President said in his keynote speech at the Kompas100 CEO Forum, held virtually on Thursday (21/1/2021).

Also read: 2021 is the Starting Point of the Acceleration of Economic Recovery

The President delivered his keynote speech from the presidential palace compound in Jakarta, accompanied by Coordinating Economic Minister Airlangga Hartarto and Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) head Bahlil Lahadalia.

The speakers at the 11th Kompas100 CEO Forum, themed "Let\'s Collaborate: Rising in Pandemic Era" (sic), were Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin, National Development Planning Minister/National Development Planning Board (Bappenas) head Suharso Monoarfa, BKPM head Bahlil Lahadalia, State-Owned Enterprises (SOE) Deputy Minister Pahala N. Mansury, and PT Telkom Indonesia (Persero) president director Ririek Adriansyah.

Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati also delivered her presentation in a pre-recorded video at the forum, which was attended by the CEOs of companies on the Kompas100 list.

Meanwhile, in the medium term, the new habits adopted during the public health emergency would affect all aspects of people’s lives as well as the economic structure.

The President explained that the efforts to handle Covid-19, especially the vaccination program, were the foundation for restoring public and community activities. Meanwhile, in the medium term, the new habits adopted during the public health emergency would affect all aspects of people’s lives as well as the economic structure.

Also read: Consumer Behavior Triggers Collaboration

Kompas daily general chairman Lilik Oetama, who is also the CEO of Kompas Gramedia, said the Kompas100 CEO Forum was held annually as a forum for dialogue between the government, the business community and the public to find the best decisions and policy recommendations to solve the various economic issues in the country.

EVENT KOMPAS

The Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia Airlangga Hartarto and a number of CEOs took a group photo in the CEO After Lunch Discussion with the theme "Rising in the Pandemic Era", Tuesday (19/1/2021) which was held online. This discussion is part of a series of events on the Kompas100 CEO Forum.

PT Garudafood Putra Putri Jaya president director Hardianto Atmadja said the Covid-19 pandemic had forced every sector of industry to change. Businesses had to adapt quickly and must be ready to anticipate all conditions that had no precedent, he added.

PT Kalbe Farma president director Vidjongtius said the nation’s pharmaceutical industry needed to collaborate with academics, businesspeople, the government and health institutions at both home and abroad to grow further. Collaboration could be a solution as well as an accelerator, because all participating parties could cover the gap in competencies that were not yet available or ready, he added.

Also read: Indonesian Economy After Vaccination

Meanwhile, PT Pakuwon Jati president director A. Stefanus Ridwan S. said that collaboration among businesspeople could help combine their consumer reach. Synergy was important to cope with the changes in consumer lifestyle and spending due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to PT Wijaya Karya president director Budi Waskito, 2021 would be a turning point for national construction projects, supported by the vaccination program and the acceleration of national strategic projects.

Reform

Suharso said that accelerated economic recovery and post-pandemic economic transformation could be achieved by reforming health care and social protection. Health care and economic recovery were like a goose, which could only fly when its two wings were in balance, he said. "So, we are trying to overcome the pandemic, but at the same time, we must also recover the economy," he said.

A Bappenas study shows that improving and developing the national health system would lead to increased economic output and more jobs in other sectors. Every Rp 1 increase in the health output would cause economic output to increase by Rp 2.7.

BIRO PERS SEKRETARIAT PRESIDEN/LUKAS

President Joko Widodo accompanied by Coordinating Minister for the Economy Airlangga Hartarto (left) and Head of the Investment Coordinating Board Bahlil Lahadalia attended the opening ceremony of the 11th Kompas100 CEO Forum online from the State Palace, Jakarta, Thursday (21/1/2021).

Bahlil Lahadalia explained that investments in Indonesia showed an anomalous increase, because this increase was not matched by the same level of growth in the economy. This occurred because Indonesia\'s incremental capital output ratio (ICOR) was still high at 6.6 percent, which meant that investing in Indonesia still incurred high economic costs.According to Bahlil, the economic costs were high because illegal levies were involved at various stages of investment. “There are many invisible costs that make our products uncompetitive. That\'s why, at present, the issuance of all permits must be electronic and based on the Online Single Submission (OSS), [they can] no longer be manual. For entrepreneurs, the important thing is that access is cheap, fast, transparent, and if possible, cheaper and better,” he said.

The problems in investment were exacerbated by “sectoral egos” and regulatory overlap between the central and local governments. There were many players on the field, which Bahlil referred to as “ghosts with ties and ghosts with no ties", who took advantage of the complexity of investment activities.

Normalization

In her speech, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said the government had allocated Rp 61.84 trillion of the 2021 state budget to finance the country’s Covid-19 mitigation efforts. The budget could still change because of the uncertainty over a potential increase in the number of cases and the need to secure vaccine supplies.

KOMPAS/THEODORA AGNES

Tangkapan layar Wakil Menteri Badan Usaha Milik Negara (BUMN) Pahala N Mansury dalam Kompas100 CEO Forum, Kamis (21/1/2021)

According to Sri Mulyani, the nationwide vaccination program, when combined with improving discipline in health and hygiene, would encourage people to resume their normal activities, which would in turn help revive consumption, investment, and exports, so the economy could recover more quickly.Sintesa Group CEO Shinta Kamdani, who is also the international relations deputy chairman of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the transition of economic activities to normalcy should be carried out gradually to ensure the smooth recovery of domestic consumption. However, this would be possible only if the government and the public could successfully bring Covid-19 transmission under control. (LAS/SHR/AGE/DIM/JUD)

(This article was translated by Hendarsyah Tarmizi).