Indonesia's parliament approves changes to healthcare laws
  amid protests 

  Indonesia's parliament on Tuesday approved sweeping revisions to healthcare laws aimed at
  attracting foreign talent and improving services, sparking protests by medical workers concerned
  that they could be disadvantaged. 

  Hundreds of medical workers protested outside parliament in the capital Jakarta, demanding
  further public consultation on the reforms, which they say could weaken their protections. 

  The new laws will make it easier for foreign doctors to practice in Indonesia, enable patients to file
  criminal complaints against medical workers for malpractice and remove a requirement for the
  state to allocate 5% of its budget to the health sector, a parliamentarian told Reuters on Monday. 

  Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said in parliament the law is aimed at transforming
  healthcare in the world's fourth-most populous country. 

  "After the COVID-19 pandemic, it is the time to rebuild our health system," he said. 

  Indonesia, a country of more than 270 million people, has about seven doctors for every 10,000
  people, according to World Health Organization data, below Thailand with 9 doctors, Philippines
  with 8 doctors or Australia with 41 doctors per 10,000. 

  The government has said granting permits for foreign doctors is intended to make up for staff
  shortages. In the new law, foreign specialist workers must already have worked for five years
  overseas and pass an evaluation, according to Charles Honoris, deputy chief of the parliamentary
  commission overseeing health. 

  Parliament also said the mandatory budget allocation was at risk of misuse whereas the new law
  would allow for more targeted spending. 

  But medical associations have raised concerns that slashing the mandatory budget allocation
  would strain public health centers across the country. 

  The law is set to take effect immediately but the government would need to issue other
  regulations for its implementation. 

  Mohammed Adib Khumaidi, head of Indonesia's Medical Association said the new law "will
  destabilize health sector". 

  The medical community also criticized the provision allowing patient data to be shared with
  overseas agencies. Parliament said the data can only be shared with the patients' consent. 

  Source: Reuters 

  AMRO maintains ASEAN+3 economic growth projection at 4.6 percent 

  The ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO) maintained its short-term growth
  forecast of ASEAN+3 region at the level of 4.6 percent in 2023 in its July quarterly update to
  the ASEAN+3 Regional Economic Outlook (AREO) 2023. 
 

  "The recovery of ASEAN+3 now depends on strong demand in the region," chief economist of
  AMRO Hoe Ee Khor noted in a press conference titled "Quarterly Update of AREO 2023"
  monitored online in Jakarta on Tuesday. 

 
  Although the ongoing weakness in global trade has prompted a slight reduction in ASEAN's
  growth forecast in 2023 to 4.5 percent, from April's projection of 4.9 percent, he remarked that
  this would be offset by an improved outlook for the Plus-3 economies: Japan, South Korea, and
  China. 

  
  Recovery in the labor market and reduced inflation, coupled with growing intra-regional tourism,
  are helping to protect growth against sluggish external demand that is dampening the region's
  exports. 

 
  Meanwhile, inflation has slowed in most ASEAN+3 economies due to the easing of global
  commodity prices and supply chain normalization that allowed several central banks in the region
  to halt to reduce the pace of monetary tightening, which in turn will strengthen consumption. 
 

  AMRO revised its inflation forecast in 2023 for the ASEAN+3 region, excluding Laos and
  Myanmar, to three percent, slightly lower than the earlier forecast of 3.4 percent. 

 
  For the next year, Khor affirmed that economic growth is expected to decline slightly to 4.5
  percent, while inflation is projected to slow further to 2.4 percent. 
 

  Without any new surprises, the ASEAN+3 region's export performance will change its direction
  soon. The turnaround in the global semiconductor cycle, which is likely to start later this year,
  will become a bright spot for several exporters in the region. 

 
  Pent-up demand from returning Chinese tourists will also provide additional boost to the growth.
  AMRO, however, gives a warning about some lingering risks going forward. 

 
  He revealed that one of these risks is the threat of a recession in the United States and Europe.
  While the current possibility is lower than three months ago, the potential for a recession in the
  two regions cannot be ignored completely. 

 
  “The downside risks to the prospects for the ASEAN+3 region have indeed reduced since April,
  but we are not out of predicament yet. Rising financial pressure due to tighter US monetary policy
  is a risk that ASEAN+3 policy makers must continue to watch out for," he warned. 

  Source: Antara News

  Indonesia probes possible illegal nickel ore exports to China 

  Indonesian officials are investigating whether there have been illegal nickel ore shipments to
  China, more than three years after Jakarta banned exports of the commodity, its mining minister
  said on Friday (Jul 7). 

  Indonesia, the world's biggest nickel ore producer, had stopped exports of the material since the
  beginning of 2020 to reserve raw material supply for its domestic stainless steel and
  battery-grade nickel production. 

  The policy had boosted the value of its nickel product exports to over US$30 billion in 2022 from
  US$1 billion in 2015, Indonesian government officials said. 

  However, data from China's customs office showed the country still imported nickel ore from
  Indonesia after the ban - 5.56 million metric tons between 2020 and May 2023. 

  China is the world's biggest nickel user. 

  Indonesia's customs office and the mining ministry are looking into possible illegal exports of the
  ore, Arifin Tasrif, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister told reporters. 

  "We are collecting data and verifying them. There are requirements that must be met to conduct
  exports, so how did the ore slip out?" Arifin said. He did not confirm the estimated size of the ore
  exports. 

  He said investigators were looking into the possibility of discrepancy in the categorization of
  products reported by exporters, among other potential cause. 

  Analysts and traders believe the material has been exported as iron ore but imported into China
  as nickel ore, which typically has high iron content. 

  Indonesia's statistics bureau data showed only less than 2 metric tons of nickel ore were exported
  from Indonesia from 2020 to 2022, compared to 32 million metric tons in 2019 alone. 

  Source: CNA