Indonesia President Jokowi takes camping trip
 to site of new capital 

  Indonesian President Joko Widodo took a camping trip to the country’s future capital ,

  he said on social media Tuesday (March 15, 2022), posing for photographs in a forest at the

  site of the new city. 

  The country is preparing to move its capital from overcrowded Jakarta to Nusantara, in a

  mega-project that has come under criticism from environmentalists who warn it could damage

  ecosystems in the region. 

  "Morning, how does it feel to stay overnight at the location of Nusantara? The air was cool and the

  weather was clear last night," Mr Widodo posted on Instagram, captioning a picture of the president

  sitting in front of his tent. 

  On Monday, Widodo - popularly known as Jokowi - and governors from across the country

  inaugurated the site with a ceremony in which they brought soil and water from their respective

  regions and mixed them together to symbolise the country's unity. 

  The new capital will cover about 56,180ha of the eastern part of Borneo island, which the country

  shares with Malaysia and Brunei. 

  But the project has faced hurdles - with fears over its environmental impact compounded by the

  loss this week of investor SoftBank Group, which withdrew from the project without explanation. 

  Mr Widodo announced plans to move the capital in 2019, citing rising sea levels and severe

  congestion on the densely populated Java island. 

  The move is set to begin in 2024, but Mr Widodo has cautioned the project could take over a

  decade to finish. 

  Indonesia is not the first country in South-east Asia to relocate an overpopulated capital, with both

  Malaysia and Myanmar moving their administrative centres in the 2000s. 

  Source: The Straits Times

  SoftBank pulls out of Indonesia's new capital project

  SoftBank Group on Friday confirmed that it is not investing in Indonesia's project to build the new

  capital in Borneo, saying it remains committed to backing startups in Southeast Asia's largest economy. 

  "We are not investing in this project, but we continue to invest in Indonesia through SoftBank

  Vision Fund portfolio companies," SoftBank said in a statement to Nikkei Asia. It declined to

  comment further. 

  Indonesian President Joko Widodo announced in 2019 the plan to relocate Indonesia's capital from

  Jakarta. SoftBank Chairman and CEO Masayoshi Son was named a member of the steering

  committee for the project, along with Abu Dhabi crown prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and

  former British Prime Minister Tony Blair. 

  In January 2020, Son met with Widodo in Jakarta to discuss potential projects. A "new smart city,   

  the newest technology, clean city and a lot of AI. That's what I'm interested in supporting," he told

  reporters after the meeting. SoftBank has not said publicly how much it is investing. 

  SoftBank is a major investor in Indonesia with stakes in companies such as internet conglomerate

  GoTo and Singapore-based Grab, which has a large presence in the archipelagic country. Its second

  Vision Fund recently invested in Singapore-based Funding Societies, which operates a digital lending

  service in Indonesia and other Southeast Asian countries. 

  Bloomberg reported earlier on Friday that Indonesia's Coordinating Minister for Investment and

  Maritime Affairs Luhut Panjaitan said that Son would no longer be an investor in the Borneo project. 

  Source: Nikkei Asia

  Jokowi inaugurates launch of Hyundai Ioniq 5 

  The President of the Republic of Indonesia Joko Widodo inaugurated the factory of PT Hyundai

  Manufacturing Indonesia in CIkarang on Wednesday, March 16, 2022. 

  At the event, Joko Widodo also inaugurated the launch of the Hyundai Ioniq 5, the first Battery

  Electric Vehicle (BEV) to be assembled in Indonesia. 

  “This car is the first electric car to be assembled in Indonesia, produced to meet demands in

  Indonesia and to be exported,” said Joko Widodo, as quoted from the State Secretariat Youtube

  channel. 

  Joko Widodo hoped that the Ioniq 5 can become an important milestone in the development of electric

  cars in Indonesia and drive the development of more sophisticated and attractive electric cars. 

  Euisun Chung, Chairman of Hyundai Motor Group said the Hyundai Ioniq 5 would play an important

  role in developing Indonesia’s electric car ecosystem. 

  “The styling, design, range and technology of the Ioniq 5 has been enjoyed throughout the world and

  we are very proud of the fact that it would begin production in Indonesia,” he said. 

  It is rumored that there would be two variants of the Ioniq 5 that would be sold in Indonesia. This is

  based on the recent listing of Hyundai Ioniq 5 at the Jakarta One-Stop Administration Services

  Office or Samsat. 

  The Hyundai Ioniq 5 was listed on number 7 and 8 in the Minibus category with the code name

  Ioniq 5 EV AWD AT and Ioniq 5 EV 2WD AT. The list also had the prices of the Ioniq 5 of

  Rp 450 million (roughly US$ 30,676) and Rp 473 million, respectively. 

  It should be noted however that the pricing does not reflect the actual price of the vehicle on the

  road. It is the basic value prior to the addition of tax, dealer margin, and so on. 

  Source: Kompas