Indonesia to impose blanket export ban on palm oil 

  Move reverses previous announcement that only cooking oil material would be banned 

  JAKARTA -- Indonesia will ban exports of all palm oil derivatives, the government said Wednesday, a reversal

  from an announcement made just a day earlier that the ban would apply only to products used in local

  production of cooking oil. 

  Airlangga Hartarto, the coordinating minister for the economy, said the ban taking effect Thursday will cover

  not just refined, bleached and deodorized palm olein (RBD olein), but also other palm oil derivatives including

  crude palm oil (CPO), red palm oil, palm oil mill effluent and used cooking oil. 

  "[President Joko Widodo] is committed to making the Indonesian people the first priority in government

  policies," Hartarto told reporters Wednesday evening. "This policy is intended to ensure that all CPO products

  are dedicated entirely for availability of bulk cooking palm oil at a price of 14,000 rupiah per liter -- especially

  at traditional markets and for small and medium enterprises' needs." 

  The average price of bulk cooking oil in Jakarta stood near 20,000 rupiah ($1.39) per liter on Wednesday,

  remaining at a high level since late last year despite various efforts by the government over that time to

  reduce prices. Cooking oil used in local dishes is sourced mainly from palm oil -- of which Indonesia is the

  world's largest producer and exporter. 

  Hartarto's remarks Wednesday were at odds with his statement on Tuesday that the ban would apply only to

  RBD olein. 

  The latest statement reaffirmed what Widodo said Friday, that the government would ban exports of

  "cooking oil" and "raw materials for cooking oil" -- which, despite a lack of details, was interpreted by the

  market as a blanket ban on palm oil, sending global edible oil prices upward. 

  Source: Nikkei Asia 

  Realized investment passes Rp 282 trillion in Q1 2022 

  The Ministry of Investment/Indonesian Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) posted Rp 282.4 trillion in

  realized investment in the first quarter of 2022. 

  The number is a annual growth of 28.5% or quarterly growth of 16.9% and is the highest in the past decade.

  Investment Minister Bahlil Lahadalia said  the achievement was proof of investors’ strengthening trust

  towards Indonesia’s economy. 

  Domestic investment reached Rp 135.2 trillion (US$9.21 billion) in the first quarter of 2022. Foreign investment

  reached Rp 147.2 trillion in the same period. 

  The capital city of Jakarta saw the highest investment of RP 40.4 trillion in the first three months of this year,

  followed by West Java with Rp 39.5 trillion and Riau with Rp 23.7 trillion. 

  In sectoral terms, the basic metal and non-machine metal goods and tools sector saw the highest inflow of

  investment of Rp 39.7 trillion, followed by the transportation, warehousing and telecommunication sector with

  Rp 39.5 trillion.  

  The Ministry of Investment also recorded increased employment as a result of the investment of 2.3%

  compared to the same period last year with a total of 319,013 people entering the workforce in the first

  quarter of 2022. 

  Source: Katadata 

  Macron defeats Le Pen and vows to unite divided France 

  Emmanuel Macron has won five more years as France's president after a convincing victory over rival

  Marine Le Pen, who nevertheless secured the far right's highest share of the vote yet. 

  He won by 58.55% to 41.45%, a greater margin than expected. 

  The centrist leader told jubilant supporters at the foot of the Eiffel Tower that now the election was over he

  would be a "president for all". He is the first sitting president in 20 years to be re-elected. Despite her loss,

  Ms Le Pen, 53, said her significant vote share still marked a victory. 

  The ideas her National Rally represented had reached new heights, she told her supporters. But far-right rival

  Eric Zemmour pointed out that she had ultimately failed, just like her father who preceded her: "It's the eighth

  time the Le Pen name has been hit by defeat." 

  Marine Le Pen took over the party founded by her father Jean-Marie Le Pen in 2011 in a bid to make it

  electable. She won more than 13 million votes on Sunday, on a platform of tax cuts to tackle the high cost of

  living, a ban on wearing the Muslim headscarf in public and a referendum on immigration controls. 

  “An answer must be found to the anger and disagreements that led many of our compatriots to vote for the

  extreme right," Mr Macron said in his victory speech. "It will be my responsibility and that of those around

  me." 

  More than one in three voters did not vote for either candidate. Turnout was just under 72%, the lowest in a

  presidential run-off since 1969, and more than three million people cast spoilt or blank votes. 

  Much of France was on holiday on the day of the vote, but the low turnout also reflected the apathy of voters

  who complained neither candidate represented them. Voters who said they were casting blank ballots told

  the BBC they wanted to punish the sitting president. 

  Anti-Macron demonstrators rallied in a number of cities, including Paris, Rennes, Toulouse and Nantes,

  refusing to accept the result.  

  Source: BBC