Indonesia raises 930 mln USD in Samurai bonds to fund pandemic response
The Indonesian Finance Ministry announced on July 3 that the country has raised 100 billion JPY (930 million USD) from the issuance of five-tranche Samurai bonds to offset the national budget deficit and fund the response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Japanese yen banknotes are pictured in this undated file photo (Photo: AFP)
Jakarta (VNA) – The Indonesian Finance Ministryannounced on July 3 that the country has raised 100billion JPY (930 million USD) from the issuance of five-tranche Samurai bondsto offset the national budget deficit and fund the response to the COVID-19pandemic.
In its statement, the ministrysaid this is the first issuance of the sovereignJapanese yen in 2020 and the first issuance from an Asian country since thepandemic hit.
The money raised will be used to finance the budget deficit, as well as fundCOVID-19 relief and recovery efforts, it noted.
The Indonesian government faces the daunting task of funding the budget deficitof 6.34 percent of gross domestic product this year, with 695.2 trillion Rp (49billion USD) set aside to bolster its economy and strengthen its health caresystem.
The government is planning to offer 900.4 trillion Rp worth of bonds in thesecond half of the year to fund the country’s response to the pandemic.
It had raised 630.5trillion Rp worth of debt papers until June this year, including 4.3 billionUSD from a three-tranche US-dollar bond in April and 2.5 billion USD from athree-tranche global sukuk (sharia-compliant bond) last month.
The joint leadarrangers of the above-mentioned Samurai bond issuance are Daiwa Securities,Nomura Securities, SMBC Nikko Securities and Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan StanleySecurities.
The government now expects the country’s full-year growth of only 1 percentunder the baseline scenario in 2020 or full-year contraction of 0.4 percent inthe worst-case scenario./.
A state of emergency over land and forest fires was declared in Central Kalimantan province of Indonesia on June 30, following the finding of over 700 hotspots and wildfires in some local areas.
Indonesia’s Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan on July 1 announced that the capital is extending its transitional travel restrictions in the city by 14 days and tightening supervision of traditional markets and train services.
Indonesia is now an upper-middle income country, an upgrade from its previous status as lower-middle income, according to the World Bank’s latest country classifications by income level published on July 1.
The House of Representatives of Indonesia has approved the Government’s plan to cut diesel subsidy by 50 percent to 500 RP (0.35 USD) per litre next year, on the back of expectations that crude oil prices will remain low in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Jakarta began a new chapter in reducing plastic waste on July 1, when a gubernatorial regulation banning single-use plastic bags in traditional markets, modern supermarkets and minimarkets across the capital city of Indonesia took effect.
In his article, Oscar Sanchez Serra highlighted President Ho Chi Minh’s founding of the Thanh Nien (Young People) newspaper on June 21, 1925, which marked the birth of Vietnam's revolutionary press rooted in a bold and far-sighted vision.
Several ASEAN meetings are scheduled to take place in Port Dickson this September, including the Senior Officials' Meeting (SOM) for ASEAN Plus Three (APT), the East Asia Summit (EAS), the 15th ASEAN Maritime Forum, and the 13th Expanded ASEAN Maritime Forum.
Thailand's Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has ordered the urgent implementation of a national policy to crack down on all forms of call centre scams, online fraud, and illegal gambling, which are now considered threats to national security.
Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto and EAEU Trade Minister Andrey Slepnev jointly declared the conclusion of FTA talks on the sidelines of the 28th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF 2025), according to the statement.
The article stressed that throughout his revolutionary career, the founder of modern Vietnam consistently regarded the revolutionary press as a vital part of the Vietnamese Party’s and nation’s revolutionary struggle.
Pichai said the trade talks with the US are important and need to move forward professionally, without regard for any political changes in Thailand, believing that Thailand has clear principles, guidelines and procedures in place.
The tax adjustment supports the Malaysian Government’s strategy to reduce reliance on foreign food supply chains and to assist domestic farmers, a finance official has said.
The proposed venue is located in the Chatuchak area of Bangkok, featuring eight public sites, including Krungthep Aphiwat Central Terminal and several nearby parks.
Connectivity is expected to improve further with the completion of the fifth Laos–Thailand Friendship Bridge by the end of 2025, facilitating logistics and agricultural exports to Vietnam, Thailand, and China.
Two naval gunboats intercepted a fishing vessel carrying 1.5 tonnes of methamphetamine hydrochloride off the coast of the main island of Luzon just before dawn, in a joint operation with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency.
In the today context of socio-economic development and growth, the professionalism of Vietnam’s revolutionary journalists continues to rise, guided by exemplary mastery of new information technologies and the modernisation of their founding principles to preserve the enduring values of revolutionary journalism.
Thai Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Commerce Vuttikrai Leewiraphan Thailand's formal proposal will be substantial enough for the US to consider further detailed negotiations. He hoped for a tariff rate not exceeding 10% and suggested that the US might extend the negotiation period if an agreement is not reached by the July 8 deadline.
Organised by the Ministry of Culture and the Association of Thai Silk & Culture Promotions, the event honors Her Majesty the Queen on her 47th birthday anniversary and promotes Thai craftsmanship on an international stage.
Prensa Latina's recent article on Vietnam’s assurance of smooth and effective transition to a leaner structure highlighted Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s latest directions on implementing 28 resolutions regarding the decentralisation and delegation of authority.
The lab focuses on four key thematic areas: energy transition and green innovation, sustainable agriculture, circular economy and sustainable cities, and nature-based solutions and biodiversity.
The key content of the document titled "Accelerating Innovative Strategies: Addressing the OOSCY Challenges" will be refined further in a seminar preceding the 47th ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur this October.
This follows Telegram’s serious failure to address the content that has been repeatedly reported to them, despite various efforts of negotiation and cooperation made by MCMC, it said.
Japanese yen banknotes are pictured in this undated file photo (Photo: AFP) 
