Indonesia, Singapore sign extradition, airspace and defence
 agreements with island nation 

  Indonesia and Singapore signed on Tuesday a bilateral extradition agreement, a move that
  Jakarta expects to help authorities in their effort to bring to justice people accused of
  stashing offshore billions of dollars in state money. 

  Senior cabinet ministers from both countries also signed bilateral agreements covering airspace
  and defence in a ceremony aired on Indonesia's State Secretariat YouTube channel. 

  The signings follow a meeting between President Joko Widodo and Singapore Prime Minister
  Lee Hsien Loong on the Indonesian island of Bintan as part of their annual leaders' retreat. 

  The issue of extradition has long been a frustration for Indonesia because of concerns over
  the difficulty of bringing some fugitives accused of embezzling large sums during the Asian
  financial crisis to justice. 

  "The extradition treaty will enhance cooperation and combating crime and send a clear,
  positive signal to investors," Prime Minister Lee said at the signing ceremony. 

  Under the extradition agreement, people who had committed 31 types of crime will be liable to
  be extradited and it will apply to offences committed up to 18 years ago, a statement from
  Indonesia's investment and maritime affairs ministry said. 

  The agreement would also mean that people would not be able to escape justice by
  changing their citizenship, it said. 

  "Therefore, the implementation of the criminal extradition agreement will create a deterrence
  effect for felonies in Indonesia and Singapore," the statement said. 
 

  In 2007, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Prime Minister Lee oversaw
  the signing of an extradition treaty and defence cooperation agreement, but it was never
  ratified by Indonesia's parliament. 
 

  Indonesia has set up a new so-called "BLBI" task force that is going after $8 billion of
  bailout funds given to bank owners and borrowers after the Asian financial crisis in the
  late 1990s that was never repaid. 

  "Specifically, for Indonesia, the implementation of the extradition agreement will reach effectively
  fugitives of the past and facilitate the implementation of a presidential regulation on BLBI,"
  said the ministry statement. 

  The other agreements signed between the countries include one giving Indonesia more control
  of airspace over the Riau and Natuna islands, areas close to both countries,
  and a defence agreement. 

  Source: Reuters

  Indonesian government starts implementation of Domestic Market
 Obligation (DMO) on palm oil 

  The Trade Ministry announced that it would obligate exporters of crude palm oil and its
  derivatives to supply the domestic market first through a Domestic Market Obligation
  mechanism, or DMO, through a special pricing scheme, or Domestic Price Obligation
  (DPO) starting Thursday, January 27, 2022. The policy was implemented to ensure the supply
  of the commodity and to stabilize the price of cooking oil in the country. 

  “The DMO mechanism or the mandatory domestic supply is required for all producers of cooking
  oil who will be exporting their products. Later on, all exporters must sell 20 percent of their
  total volume of cooking oil to the domestic market,” said Trade Minister Muhammad Lutfi
  in a press conference. 

  Lutfi said the national demand for cooking oil in 2020 was estimated to be 5.7 million kiloliters (kl).
  Domestic household demand was expected to be 3.9 million kl, comprising of 1.2 million kl of
  premium pack of cooking oil, 231,000 kl of standard packs of cooking oil,
  and 2.4 million kl in wholesale form. There is also an additional 1.8 million kl
  estimated demand for industrial cooking oil. 

  Under the DMO, Lutfi said producers are obliged to supply palm oil products in the form of
  CPO for Rp 9,300 per kilogram for the domestic market, and in the form of olein for
  Rp 10,300 per liter. 

  “Both prices are inclusive of VAT,” he said. 

  As per the implementation of this policy, Lutfi said the wholesale price cap for cooking oil
  would also be adjusted as per February 1, 2022. The price cap for wholesale cooking
  oil would be capped at Rp 11,500 per liter, while the price cap for the standard pack
  of cooking oil would be Rp 13,500 per liter. The price cap for the premium pack of
  cooking oil would be Rp 14,000 per liter. 

  “During the transitional phase, the policy of one-price for cooking oil at Rp 14,000
  per liter will remain in place in consideration of the time needed by producers and traders
  to make the necessary adjustments,” he said. 

  Lutfi said the policy was expected to stabilize the price of cooking oil and allow the
  general public to afford them. 

  As per January 26, 2022, the average price of cooking oil were still above Rp 17,000 per liter,
  despite it being lower than the prices observed in the previous week. The price of
  wholesale cooking oil was Rp 17,900 per liter, a 1.10% decrease compared to the price
  in January 19, 2022, of Rp 18,100 per liter. 

  Meanwhile, the price of the standard pack of cooking oil decreased by 3.66 percent week
  to week from Rp 19,100 per liter to Rp 18,400 per liter. 

  Source: Bisnis