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    • SingCham is the premier business chamber for Singaporean interests in Indonesia. Founded in 2006, SingCham aims to promote the business interests of individuals or companies operating in Singapore and/or Indonesia. SingCham provides networking activities, events, and useful information for its members, and acts as the liaison between the Singaporean business community and the Singapore and Indonesian governments. With a focus on fostering better networking and feedback among members, SingCham is committed to providing valuable resources and insights to help members connect, learn, and grow their businesses in Indonesia. Join SingCham today and become part of a thriving business community that benefits from exclusive resources, networking opportunities, and business insights.

    13Sep, 2018
    Trade war pushes China to go on charm offensive over free-trade credentials

    Increasingly convinced that the trade war with the United States is unlikely to end soon, Beijing is stepping up its charm offensive to reassure foreign politicians and business leaders of its commitment to global free trade by opening and reforming its domestic economy.

    And next week’s “Summer Davos” – or the World Economic Forum’s Twelfth Annual Meeting of the New Champions – in Tianjin will serve as the next occasion for Beijing to outline its stance.

    “The Chinese government has high expectations for the conference,” Xia Qing, deputy head of the National Development and Reform Commission’s international department, said on Wednesday.

    It was at the World Economic Forum at Davos in January last year that President Xi Jinping made a now-famous keynote speech defending free trade while opposing the rising tide of protectionism. Xi sought to portray China as the new leading champion of globalisation.

    “As the trade war is tending to escalate, [China] is sending strong signals that it will firmly promote globalisation, trade liberalisation, that it will support the Belt and Road Initiative and actively respond to global technological changes,” Xia said.

    (read more: South China Morning Post)

    9Aug, 2018
    Rupiah is prone to falling due to the strengthening of the US dollar

    The rupiah exchange rate was opened at the position of Rp14,432 per US dollar (US) in today’s spot market trading, Thursday (9/8). This position strengthened from the close on Wednesday (8/8) which was at the level of Rp14,439 per US dollar.

    In line with the rupiah, the majority of currencies in the Asian region also strengthened before the US dollar. The Japanese yen strengthened 0.16 percent, Thai baht 0.22 percent, South Korean won 0.10 percent, and Malaysian ringgit 0.01 percent.

    Despite strengthening, Senior CSA Research Institute Analyst Reza Priyambada said that rupiah movements were still vulnerable.

    The rupiah is vulnerable to falling due to the weakening of China’s renminbi and euro Europe yesterday. The weakening of the renminbi and euro is expected to make the US dollar move in the green zone.

    Renmimbi China weakened amid plans by the government of the Bamboo Curtain State to reply to import duties on US products.

    While the European euro weakened due to continued discussion of the UK’s exit from the European Union (Britain Exit / Brexit).

    “Again, it is appreciated that the US dollar can withstand the possibility of the rupiah to be able to move positively. Even market participants will take advantage of these conditions by increasing demand for the US dollar,” he said.

    For this reason, in order to sustain the strengthening of the rupiah which is more durable, support is needed from internal sentiment. Unfortunately, internal sentiment is still minimal, after the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) released economic growth figures last Monday.

    (Source: CNN Indonesia)

    23Jul, 2018
    China probes stainless steel imports from Indonesia, EU, Japan and Korea

    China on Monday launched an anti-dumping probe into stainless steel imports worth $1.3 billion, including from a privately owned Chinese mill with operations offshore, after complaints that a flood of product has damaged the local industry.

    The Commerce Ministry said on Monday the investigation will target imports of stainless steel billet and hot-rolled stainless steel sheet and plate from the European Union, Japan, South Korea and Indonesia, which nearly tripled last year.

    The move follows a complaint by Shanxi Taigang Stainless Steel (000825.SZ), with backing from four other state-owned mills including Baosteel’s stainless steel division, which blamed cheap imports on falling prices, it said.

    China makes and consumes around half of the world’s stainless steel, which is used to protect against corrosion in buildings, transportation and packaging.

    While the complaint targets eight foreign producers, it also lists a number Chinese companies, including the Indonesian unit of one of the world’s top producers, Tsingshan Stainless Steel, and 19 traders who import product.

    Some private Chinese companies have opened or started building plants in Indonesia in recent years, drawing on its plentiful nickel resources and lower-cost of production.

    A significant portion of the new production has been sold in China, analysts say.

    The rapid increase in imports damaged the Chinese market, according to the complaint filed by Shanxi Taigang and released with the commerce ministry document.

    Almost two-thirds of China’s stainless imports came from Indonesia last year, up from 5 percent in 2016 and zero in 2015, the complaint said. That rose to as high as 86 percent in the first quarter, it said.

    Imported prices of the stainless steel products fell 23 percent to $1,867 a ton in 2017 from $2,436 a year earlier.

    “If we allow these products to continue to enter the Chinese market with low prices and take more market share, sales of China’s domestic products will continue to decrease,” the complaint said.

    Peter Peng, senior consultant at CRU in Beijing, said the investigation was “totally driven by an industrial dispute between SOEs (state-owned enterprises) and the fast-growing private mills.”

    “Due to their cheap production costs, it’s more competitive than Chinese products,” he said.

    Tsingshan opened a mill there last year with annual capacity of 3 million tonnes while Delong Holdings (DELO.SI) plans to start production there next year.

    (Read More: Reuters)

    11Jul, 2018
    US-China trade war: China vows ‘countermeasures’ to proposed US$200 billion US tariffs

    China on Wednesday (July 11) vowed to take “countermeasures” after the United States said it would slap 10 per cent tariffs on an extra US$200 billion worth of Chinese imports.

    “The Chinese government as always will have no choice but to take the necessary countermeasures,” said China’s ministry of commerce in a statement, without elaborating further.

    The ministry said it “solemnly protests” the latest tariff list published by Washington, calling it “totally unacceptable.”

    (Read More: The Strait Times)