Remarks of President of the Republic of Indonesia at the Opening of the 2022 Trading of Indonesia Stock Exchange, Jakarta, January 3, 2022

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim,

Assalamu’alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh,
Good Morning,
May prosperity be upon us,
Om Swastiastu,
Namo Buddhaya,
Greetings of virtue.

First and foremost, I would like to wish you all a happy new year.

Ladies and gentlemen,

The year 2021 was a very tough one. In mid-July 2021, when our daily cases reached 56,000, it was a very discouraging moment for us. Hospital corridors and hospital yards were full of COVID-19 patients.

Thank God, yesterday on January 2, 2022, we recorded 174 daily cases. The 56,000 cases have dropped to 174 (cases) per day. We must be grateful for this and we must stay vigilant to prevent the situation like that of July last year (from happening again).

We should also be grateful that (our COVID-19 cases rate), compared to the total population, is 1.6 percent, with 4.26 million patients. The United States’ rate is 16.8 percent, Brazil’s at 10.5 percent, Russia at 7.2 percent, and India at 2.5 percent. We are ranked 147^th out of 220 countries. This is something we should be grateful for.

I was worried that at the end of last year we failed to meet the target of administering 280 million doses of vaccine. However, I got the report that we have administered 281,299,690 vaccine doses. Administering the 280 million doses is no easy task. Administering 280 million doses in one year is not easy. Due to our geographical conditions, we have to carry out vaccinations by boat, by motorbike, on foot to the mountains. That was no easy task.

We have also injected 3.8 million vaccine doses for children. As of today, the average rate for the first dose vaccination was 79.6 percent, with the second dose vaccination rate at 54.8 percent. In provincial capital cities and in cities with high mobility rate, the vaccination rate is higher than 70 percent. As many as 27 provinces have achieved target of higher than 70 percent rate for the first dose. This is thanks to the hard work of all of us, the Central Government, regional governments, the Indonesian National Defense Forces (TNI), the Indonesian National Police (Polri), the State Intelligence Agency (BIN), all big, medium, small private companies, and mass organizations.

Our strength is our unity and mutual cooperation.

Regarding the economy, we have made a strong economic recovery. Our trade balance has recorded a surplus of US$34.4 billion and we recorded a surplus for 19 consecutive months – something we have not achieved before. Our exports also rose 49.7 percent year-on-year. We also recorded a higher import value of 52.6 percent, including in raw materials and auxiliary materials.

Why is it possible for us to achieve higher export value? One of the reasons is because we stopped the export of raw materials, namely nickel. (Our export value) is usually only one or two billion, but at the end of last year we earned 21 billion, namely US$ 20.8 billion.

I am of the view that our courage to stop (raw material export) has brought a positive result. Therefore, we will continue the policy by stopping exports of bauxite, copper, tin, and other materials. Downstream industry is the key to increasing our exports.

We have also improved our competitiveness ranking. In a very tough year like 2021, it could go up three levels. We should also be grateful for this. In terms of business, we are ranked 37^th  and in term of digital business we are ranked 53^rd .

Our consumption indicators and production indicators have also improved. Consumer confidence, compared to that of March (113.8 percent), has risen to 118.5 (percent) in November. Our spending index has also risen to 120.5 (percent), our manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) has also risen to pre-pandemic levels (51 percent) and is now at 53.9 (percent). We have to stay optimistic after looking at those numbers.

Our electricity consumption has also increased to 14.5 (percent) for industry and 5.7 (percent) for business. We have to pay attention to the numbers. I always get daily reports on this matter.

We must redouble efforts in 2022 although we are aware there will be many challenges ahead, including Omicron, rising inflation, tapering off, container shortage, or energy shortage in other countries that might disrupt our exports. I believe with our best efforts we will be able to surmount these challenges.

We should also be grateful that, as previously mentioned by chairperson of the OJK, there was an increase in the Indonesian Composite Index (IHSG) in 2021 with a return of 10.1 percent. This is a relatively high number. Compared to the Philippines, Malaysia, or Singapore, we fared better. (The return growth) of Singapore was 9.8 (percent), Malaysia was -3.7 (percent), the Philippines was minus 0.2 percent, and ours was 10.1 percent. We should also be grateful for this.

Regarding investors joining the capital market, we also see a very significant increase. Chairperson of the OJK said that the number of investors were 1.1 million in 2017. Today the number of investors reached 7.4 million, mainly retail investors from younger generations, millennials, and Gen Z. We hope that (the stock exchange) will continue to grow and boost our country’s economic growth.

That concludes my remarks on this auspicious occasion. We must remain upbeat and do our best to overcome challenges in 2022 and we hope we can get through this year.

That concludes my remarks.

I thank you.

Wassalamu’alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.

(RI/EP)