With the Chinese economy facing massive challenges, there have been concerns over its growth potential, at least in the immediate future.

Yet a key exception is emerging in the form of domestic tourism.

Last week’s five-day public holiday to mark labour day saw 295 million trips made within China, according to figures from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. This was 28% higher than pre-pandemic figures recorded in 2019.

The Transport Ministry’s figures are also staggering: 92 million rail trips; almost 10 million air trips and 1.25 billion highway journeys.

However, this comes as international arrivals continue to lag, with foreigners currently entering China at barely 30% of 2019 levels. Why the disparity?

The beautiful historical river town of Wuzhen, a short drive from Shanghai, is considered one of China’s top visitor sites for travellers of all types. When we arrive the little pathways and old bridges which cross narrow waterways are filled with visitors.

A popular thing to do in Wuzhen is to pose for photos dressed in traditional hanfu clothing – as if you have really been transported back hundreds of years.

Two women in their 20s, friends since high school, are visiting from Jilin Province in the north east. After arriving, they spend an hour getting their hair done in an elaborate imperial-era style – and they are full of praise for Wuzhen’s classical beauty.

We ask if, following the post-Covid opening up, many of their family and other friends have been travelling much? “Of course, after the pandemic, we’re all visiting other places.”

Nearby a local man who is selling ice-creams also says tourist numbers are “not that bad lately”.

As good as before Covid? “Almost the same,” he replies.

Shopkeeper Wang Ying, who sells traditional snacks, echoes this sentiment with a big smile on her face. “Business is going well, and it’ll only get better.”

All this will be seen as good news for the Chinese government. It’s been saying that a push on domestic consumption can counter the significant faltering portions of the economy.

Major players in the once-mighty property sector are struggling to stay afloat, local government debt continues to rise, and persistent youth unemployment has left highly qualified university graduates uncertain of their future.

Amid all these challenges, the Communist Party has set a target of “around 5%” GDP growth for this year. Apart from the fact that analysts have long questioned the veracity of the country’s official growth figures, economists are also asking how such a target can be reached, in any genuine sense, in 2024 without significant extra stimulus.

One lifeline could be a more buoyant travel scene which could bring broader business opportunities and greater service industry employment.

Schubert Lou, chief operating officer at travel agency Trip.com, told the BBC: “We’ve seen very strong domestic travel demand with search volumes in hotels up 67% compared to last year, and flight volumes up 80%.”

Tourism industry consultant Peng Han from Travel Daily is following the investment trail to see how the business community really views the possibilities in the sector.

“With famous international hotel brands – like Intercontinental, Marriott and Hilton – you just have to look at their growth in China in 2023,” he says. “Then check the performance goals for these large hotel groups in 2024 which have also been set relatively high. This shows that they are very optimistic about the growth potential of the Chinese market.”

But, while the volume of local travellers might be up, Mr Peng does point to the problem of per capita consumption which remains persistently low.

He says general uncertainty about the Chinese economy is putting more emphasis on saving, so people are looking for good value options. They are going on holidays and paying for things but doing so much more frugally.

This is where an increase in big-spending foreigners could help. But they are simply not travelling to China in the numbers they used to.

In 2019, nearly 98 million international visitors came to the country. Last year it was only 35 million – including business trips, students and the like. Mr Lou describes the domestic versus international market as “uneven”.

For many in the tourism industry here specialising in services for foreign travellers, “uneven” would be an understatement. Three years of harsh Covid prevention measures drove down arrivals from other countries, but that alone can’t account for the current situation.

Huang Songshan, the head of the Centre for Tourism Research in the School of Business and Law at Australia’s Edith Cowan University, blames this weakness in part to “the shifting geopolitical landscape globally”.

In the peer-reviewed East Asia Forum, he pointed to a 2023 survey carried out by the Pew Research Centre, writing that, “Most individuals in Western nations hold unfavourable views towards China. The Chinese government’s tightening grip on societal regulations could potentially cause discomfort for foreign travellers in China.”

Official travel advice from some governments echo this sentiment, at times quite harshly.

Washington warns potential travellers to “reconsider travel to Mainland China due to the arbitrary enforcement of local laws, including in relation to exit bans, and the risk of wrongful detentions”.

Australia advises “a high degree of caution” warning that “Australians may be at risk of arbitrary detention or harsh enforcement of local laws, including broadly defined National Security Laws”.

The political environment has also taken a toll on flight availability and price. This is especially the case with connections to and from North America. Last month’s 332 scheduled round trips between China and the US contrasts with 1,506 in April 2019.

As a result, finding a seat on a direct flight can be extremely difficult and those that are available are very expensive.

President Xi Jinping made a speech at a dinner on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation conference in San Francisco last November addressing this point. “Today, President Biden and I reached important consensus,” he told the crowd.

“Our two countries will roll out more measures to facilitate travels and promote people-to-people exchanges, including increasing direct passenger flights, holding a high-level dialogue on tourism, and streamlining visa application procedures. We hope that our two peoples will make more visits, contacts and exchanges and write new stories of friendship in the new era.”

Washington has since increased the number of Chinese airline flights permitted to land – but only from 35 per week to 50. It is still well short of the 150 weekly trips pre-Covid.

The Biden administration is coming under pressure from unions and US airlines to not increase this any further because, they argue, Chinese airlines have an unfair advantage over them as they have state support; don’t face the same onerous Chinese regulations; and, crucially, can fly over Russian airspace, making trips shorter and cheaper.

A letter to the US government from the Chair of the House Committee on China, Mike Gallagher, and the committee’s top Democrat representative, Raja Krishnamoorthi, reads: “Should the US-China passenger carrier market expand without the US government addressing these significant issues, US aviation workers, travellers and airlines will pay a hefty price tag.”

Mr Lou says the frequency of international flight connections is definitely having an impact.

“What we are seeing right now, based on civil aviation data, is that inbound flight capacity won’t get back to even 80% of 2019 [levels] by the end of 2024.”

Then there are other potential turnoffs for those considering travelling in China, like the country’s state-of-the-art phone app payment and booking systems which work very smoothly for Chinese citizens and residents, but which can be an enormous headache if you have just arrived.

There are certain sites, transport options, and purchases which can only be accessed via Chinese electronic apps which are, at times, only available in Chinese.

Professor Chen Yong at Switzerland’s EHL Hospitality Business School is an authority on the economics of tourism in China. He thinks that hurdles relating to payment and booking apps can pose a real problem.

“Technologies such as social network websites, online maps, payment apps, among others, which foreigners have long been accustomed to using, are either unavailable or inaccessible when they travel to China,” he says.

“On the other hand, there are Chinese alternatives to these technologies that remain inaccessible to foreigners due to language barriers and differences in user habits. We need to bridge this divide because it affects the tourist industry badly.”

Back in Wuzhen, the presence of international travellers is much smaller than in years gone by, but there are still a few foreign faces in the crowd.

An Italian couple says the process of linking up to and using China’s payment apps was a challenge but that it was not insurmountable, though they add, with a laugh, that it is “much, much, much easier” if you have a Chinese friend to help you.

Eliseo, from California, says he has had problems making payments to small vendors who don’t accept credit cards and really no longer deal with cash. Another hurdle for him has been his bank at home which has blocked some payments, flagging them as potentially fraudulent coming from China.

Chinese officials have acknowledged that the foreign traveller numbers have been low but they are now trying to turn this around.

One way they’re attempting to attract more foreign visitors is by increasing the number of countries whose citizens don’t need a visa to enter. Trip.com says this resulted in an almost immediate increase in passenger arrivals from Southeast Asia.

In 23 Chinese cities, transit passengers from more than 50 countries are also able to stay for a few days visa free if they have an onward ticket. In Shanghai, hotels above a three-star level have been told that they should prepare to deal with international credit cards and an initial batch of 50 taxis have also started accepting them.

However, Professor Chen says “it would be too optimistic to envision a long-term growth in China’s inbound tourism”.

“The key is to establish a culture that puts service providers in the shoes of foreign tourists. They should imagine themselves being a foreigner who can’t speak or read Chinese and who doesn’t have a Chinese mobile number, payments apps and so on.”

He says that the culture around this can’t be changed overnight.

Yet, in places like Wuzhen – where the local travellers have already returned – the tourism companies are hoping that incredible sites like theirs will eventually be too much for foreigners to resist as well.

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BBCInfluencers like Ranting Gola (left) and Sham Sharma are using their social media presence to promote political parties

Just weeks before the first ballot was cast in this year’s Indian election, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was at an event in Delhi rubbing shoulders with people known by names like BeerBiceps and Curly Tales.

The event – an awards show, congratulating some of the country’s top social media stars on their work – was an acknowledgement of the power of the influencer which a few years ago may have seemed unimaginable.

And as politicians prepared to battle it out for India’s billion votes, these influencers were being lined up to play a crucial role in reaching the young, the disinterested and the disillusioned.

But even as some celebrate social media’s democratisation of the media – a place where any one can share their views freely – others paint a darker picture, one where threats are rife, and the truth can be set aside for the right pay cheque.

A decade ago, you would have struggled to find anyone calling themselves an “influencer”.

But now, says Vinay Deshpande, co-founder of Rajneethi, a political management consultant firm, “it’s become a profession”.

“I know teenagers who are doing this part-time to earn pocket money.”

Pocket money underplays the earning potential somewhat, however. At the lower end, people can charge around 2,000 rupees ($24; £19) a day, but top influencers can pull in about 500,000 rupees for a post – equivalent to the monthly salary of someone in top-level management.

The creator of the Ranting Gola channel revealed to the BBC that political parties and election management firms have offered as much as “100,000 to 500,000 rupees for a single campaign”.

It is no small amount – but then, it could turn the tide in a candidate’s favour.

Mr Deshpande says they have helped an opposition candidate win an assembly election by pushing out content through a curated list of local influencers with a small but active following.

“Social media content is powerful and can influence the way a person feels about an issue,” Mr Deshpande says. “It gives social currency to a belief or opinion – but this can lead to a lack of critical thinking about an issue,” he adds.

Preethi Aggarwal, 25, is one of those who turns to apps like Instagram, YouTube and Twitter to help her understand the news.

Like thousands of others, Ms Aggarwal follows a bunch of “political influencers”, or people who talk about politics on social media to “really understand what’s going on”.

“News can get boring and complicated sometimes. I think these people [influencers] make it fun and easier to understand,” she says, adding the context and their own perspective help her form her opinions.

But the problem is, whose perspective is she getting?

PMO India / YouTubePM Modi congratulated Ranveer Allahbadia (left, known as BeerBiceps) and other influencers at a recent event

YouTuber Samdish Bhatia reveals numerous politicians have reached out to him, especially in the months before this election, offering him millions of rupees to interview them.

“But they wanted me to share questions in advance or get the video approved before it’s published,” he says, adding that he declined the offers because he “likes to maintain editorial control”.

The particular trend for longer form, slightly chummy interviews – where politicians get to show off their human side – is particularly vulnerable to management, says Joyojeet Pal, an associate professor at the University of Michigan.

“Many of these interviews are carefully managed by politicians,” Mr Pal says.

But even if they aren’t, a gentler style of questioning can also blur the line between interview and promotion, says Mr Pal.

“If your questions aren’t holding power to account, then the interview just becomes a platform for easy publicity.”

But for Mr Pal, this is just one of the problems he sees with politics on social media.

In a recent research paper, he examined some of India’s top influencers and who they interviewed, finding BJP leaders were featured more often than opposition leaders.

His research also found an overall drop in the number of accounts posting content critical of the incumbent government in recent years, while the amount of pro-BJP content had increased.

“This hints at a growing hesitancy among people to be openly critical of the government whereas there seems to be more confidence in putting up polarising content or content that supports the government’s ideologies,” Mr Pal says.

“And this is dangerous for democracy,” he adds.

Getty ImagesEven in the most remote areas, Indians have access to a mobile phone and internet

Influencers supporting the opposition certainly suggested they were working in a hostile environment.

A number who post content that’s critical of the government declined to speak to the BBC for this piece citing fear of repercussions by the government. They also run their channels under pseudonyms to keep their identities secret.

The Ranting Gola told the BBC that she has often received comments that are abusive or threatening because of the videos she posts and that her Instagram account has been disabled numerous times, even though the platform hasn’t given her a clear reason for doing so.

She also only spoke to the BBC on the condition that her name not be revealed.

The BJP government has denied allegations that it has clamped down on dissent and free speech.

But even pro-BJP YouTuber Sham Sharma told the BBC that freedom of speech could be a problem in India:

0:52YouTuber Sham Sharma talks about the positives and perils of sharing his views online.

But even given these concerns, opposition parties are using the same influencer system to reach voters in what they say is a difficult environment.

“The mainstream media has been taken over by the BJP,” alleges Supriya Srinate, who heads social media for the Congress party.

“Our funds have been frozen; we have no money to advertise,” she adds, referring to action taken by India’s tax department weeks before the elections. Congress leaders have accused the government of political vendetta, but the government has denied the allegation and said that the federal department was doing its job independently.

Influencers, Ms Srinate argues, are a good way to reach voters as a result of these alleged hurdles, explaining the Congress has been working with “volunteers” who believe in the party’s ideology and want to share its work on social media.

Ankit Lal, former political advisor of the opposition Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), agrees that influencers have helped democratise the publicity landscape.

Akash Banerjee, a former journalist who runs the YouTube channel, The DeshBhakt, argues that influencers are also able to push boundaries more than the traditional media can.

He cites the video ‘Is India becoming a dictatorship?’ – made by popular content creator Dhruv Rathee, who is based in Germany – which takes on the government directly, and has been viewed about 24 million times on YouTube so far. The government hasn’t reacted to the video yet.

“After the video, the term ‘dictatorship’ has popped up more in conversations, and this is something that has never happened before,” Mr Banerjee says.

“Our job as influencers may not be to open the window and check if it’s really raining, but we owe it to the nation to take a look outside the window and let people know if dark clouds are approaching and that they can do something about it by voting.”

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Getty ImagesThe Dali was a ‘clearly unseaworthy’ ship with ‘an incompetent crew’, the city of Baltimore argued in a lawsuit filed Monday

Baltimore has sued the operators of the container ship that hit and destroyed one of the US city’s main bridges last month, killing six people.

The city says the Dali was “clearly unseaworthy” and accuses its owners and manager of negligence.

The ship’s Singapore-based owner and manager have already asked a court to limit their liability.

The region is reeling from the closure of its busiest maritime transit port after the span collapsed on 26 March.

“None of this should have happened,” attorneys representing the Baltimore mayor and city council argued in a federal lawsuit.

The city is asking the US District Court of Maryland for a jury trial to hold the defendants fully liable.

Naming the Dali’s owner, Grace Ocean Private Limited, and its manager, Synergy Marine Private Limited, the suit alleges the Francis Scott Key Bridge’s collapse was a direct result of their “gross negligence, and recklessness, and as a result of the unseaworthiness of the Vessel”.

On 1 April, Grace Ocean and Synergy Marine petitioned the same federal court in Maryland to cap its responsibility for the incident.

Citing a pre-Civil War maritime law, the pair of companies estimated their liability for the vessel and the cargo’s value at $43.6m (£35m).

Monday’s court filing from the city of Baltimore rebuts that number as “substantially less than the amount that will be claimed for losses and damages arising out of the Dali’s allision with the Key Bridge”.

The path taken by the cargo ship – which was exiting the Port of Baltimore under the Key Bridge – is “no stranger to large freighters”, the city’s representatives wrote.

They said the vessel “had been experiencing an inconsistent power supply” that was either not investigated or not fixed.

“The Dali left port anyway, despite its clearly unseaworthy condition,” said the lawsuit.

The filing also says the Dali was manned by “an incompetent crew that was inattentive to its duties” and “lacked proper training”.

Contains upsetting scenes.Tracking data shows the path of the Dali container towards the bridge

On Friday, port officials opened a third temporary channel for boats to enter and exit the corridor, but these channels can only sustain about 15% of pre-collapse commercial activity.

A fourth channel, that will allow most traffic back into the port, is expected to open by the end of the month.

Darrell Wilson, an attorney who represents Synergy Marine and is also handling media inquiries on behalf of Grace Ocean, told the BBC it would be inappropriate to comment on the litigation while federal investigations into the collapse were ongoing.

New drone video shows close-up view of debris from the Baltimore bridge collapse

Six construction workers who were fixing potholes died when the bridge collapsed. Two of the bodies have yet to be recovered.

Workers are still extracting thousands of tonnes of debris from the water and from atop the stationary Dali, whose original schedule would have seen it arrive at a Sri Lankan port on Monday.

Apart from two of the ship’s pilots, 21 crew members – almost all of whom are of Indian origin – remain on the ship. There is no timeline yet for when the crew will disembark or head back to sea.

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RM.id  Rakyat Merdeka – Presiden Jokowi meresmikan Makassar New Port di Kota Makassar, Sulawesi Selatan, Kamis (22/2/2024). Eks Wali Kota Solo itu berharap kehadiran pelabuhan dengan nilai investasi Rp 5,4 triliun tersebut dapat menekan biaya logistik.

“Ini akan menjadi pelabuhan besar di Indonesia bagian timur yang kita harapkan bisa mengefisiensikan biaya-biaya logistik yang ada di Tanah Air kita,” ujar Jokowi dikutip dari situs Presiden RI, Kamis (22/2/2024).

Jokowi mengingatkan, persaingan antarnegara saat ini sangat ketat, baik produk-produk hasil dalam negeri maupun negara lain. Oleh karena itu, dia menekankan pentingnya efisiensi untuk memenangkan persaingan antarnegara.

“Siapa yang memiliki efisiensi yang baik, itulah yang memenangkan pertandingan, itulah yang akan memenangkan persaingan,” ungkap Jokowi.

Jokowi menyebut, biaya logistik di Indonesia masih berada di angka 24 persen pada 10 tahun yang lalu. Hal itu dikarenakan lokasi antara pelabuhan, kawasan industri, hingga pabrik-pabrik yang tidak saling terintegrasi sehingga biaya logistik menjadi tidak efisien.

Dia juga mengapresiasi biaya logistik di Indonesia yang saat ini sudah turun ke angka 14 persen. Meski masih lebih tinggi dibanding dengan negara lain, Presiden meyakini kehadiran Makassar New Port akan membantu menurunkan biaya logistik di Tanah Air.

“Makassar New Port ini adalah terbesar setelah Tanjung Priok. Kedalamannya 16 meter, juga termasuk pelabuhan terdalam yang sangat baik untuk bersandarnya kapal-kapal besar untuk mengangkut kontainer,” ucap Jokowi.

Selain biaya logistik, Jokowi juga mengapresiasi dwelling time yang turun dari yang semula tujuh hari menjadi dibawah tiga hari. Terkait kapasitas, Makassar New Port juga memiliki kapasitas hingga 2,5 juta TEUs sehingga diharapkan dapat bersaing dengan pelabuhan-pelabuhan besar di negara lain.

“Inilah kekuatan, potensi yang terus kita perbaiki sehingga competitiveness kita, daya saing kita menjadi lebih baik dari negara-negara lain,” tutur Presiden.

Turut mendampingi Presiden dalam peresmian tersebut adalah Menteri BUMN Erick Thohir, Menteri PUPR Basuki Hadimuljono, Menteri Perhubungan Budi Karya Sumadi, Pj. Gubernur Sulawesi Selatan Bahtiar Baharuddin, Wali Kota Makassar Mohammad Ramdhan Pomanto, dan Dirut PT Pelindo Arif Suhartono.

Teheran Kirim Pesan Keras Ke Israel Dan AS

RM.id  Rakyat Merdeka – Berbagai negara dari belahan dunia, termasuk Indonesia, mengecam keras serangan Israel ke gedung Konsulat Iran di Damaskus, Suriah, pada Senin (1/4/2024). Tindakan tersebut melanggar hukum internasional dan memperkeruh kondisi di Timur Tengah.

Pejabat dan media Pemerin­tah Suriah melaporkan, sebagian gedung Konsulat Iran di kom­pleks kantor Kedutaan Besar Iran hancur dalam serangan udara Israel yang menewaskan dua penasihat militer senior Iran dan lima orang lainnya.

Reuters, Selasa (2/4/2024), melaporkan suasana di lokasi ke­jadian di Distrik Mezzeh, Ibu Kota Suriah. Nampak asap mengepul dari puing-puing bangunan yang rata dengan tanah dan kendaraan darurat terparkir di luar. Sebuah bendera Iran digantung di tiang di depan puing-puing.

Serangan udara tersebut menunjukkan meningkatnya fokus Israel dalam menarget tokoh-tokoh militer Iran dan mitra mereka di Suriah. Aksi Israel itu semakin meningkat sejak kelompok militan Hamas melan­carkan serangan terhadap Israel 7 Oktober lalu. Israel menolak memberikan komentar.

Pemerintah Iran memberikan pesan keras atas serangan udara Israel tersebut. Teheran menegas­kan, Tel Aviv akan menanggung konsekuensi dari tindakannya.

Seperti dilansir Press TV, Selasa (2/4/2024), Menteri Luar Negeri (Menlu) Iran Hossein Amir-Abdollahian dalam per­nyataannya menyebutkan, Per­dana Menteri (PM) Israel Benja­min Netanyahu telah kehilangan keseimbangan mental.

Selain ke Israel, Iran juga mengirim pesan khusus untuk Amerika Serikat (AS). Duta Besar Iran untuk Suriah Hossein Akbari sebelumnya menyebut, serangan udara itu dilakukan jet tempur F-35 dengan menembakkan enam rudal ke gedung tersebut.

Gedung yang menjadi target se­rangan disebut berada di sebelah gedung utama Kedutaan Besar Iran. Pada bagian depan gedung itu terdapat foto besar mendiang Qassem Soleimani, arsitek operasi militer Iran di Timur Tengah yang tewas dalam serangan drone AS di Irak pada 2020.

“Amerika Serikat harus ber­tanggung jawab,” tegas Dubes Akbari dikutip Al Jazeera, Se­lasa (2/4/2024).

AS, sekutu terbesar Israel, membantah mendukung dan mengetahui insiden penyerangan tersebut. Pihak Gedung Putih menolak memberikan keterangan lebih lanjut mengenai serangan tersebut. Begitu juga dengan Isra­el, enggan memberikan komentar.

Sejumlah negara mengecam serangan Israel tersebut, terma­suk Indonesia. Kementerian Luar Negeri (Kemlu) menyampaikan kecamannya melalui akun media sosial X, Selasa (2/4/2024).

“Serangan ini adalah pelangga­ran hukum internasional dan Pia­gam PBB. Serangan ini merupakan satu dari sekian banyak aksi Israel yang meningkatkan eskalasi kon­flik dan dapat menghapus prospek perdamaian di kawasan,” bunyi pernyataan Kemlu Indonesia.

Kemlu Rusia juga menyam­paikan kecaman keras. Rusia menilai serangan Israel tidak dapat diterima. Apalagi dilaku­kan terhadap gedung diplomatik.

“Kami sangat mengutuk serangan terhadap misi konsuler Iran di Suriah,” bunyi pernyataan Kemlu Rusia.

Moskow mendesak Pemerintah Israel untuk menghentikan tin­dakan provokatif kekerasan ber­senjata terhadap wilayah Suriah dan negara-negara tetangganya. Kemlu Yaman menyebut serangan Israel sebagai tindakan brutal.

“Israel harus memahami batas norma dan hukum. Tindakan ini sudah melewati batas tersebut,” kecam Kemlu Yaman.

Menteri Luar Negeri Irak Fuad Hussein menilai, serangan Israel sudah terang benderang melang­gar hukum internasional.

“Beginikah cara Israel mem­perlakukan negara yang mem­bela Palestina? Sungguh tidak tahu adab,” sindir Hussein.

Kecaman serupa juga disam­paikan Pemerintah Arab Saudi, Uni Emirat Arab, Qatar, Yor­dania dan Pakistan. Dari benua Amerika, Menteri Luar Negeri Kuba Bruno Rodriguez Parilla mengingatkan bahwa aksi Israel tersebut hanya akan menambah rumit situasi di Timur Tengah.

Menteri Luar Negeri Iran Hos­sein Amir-Abdollahian mende­sak komunitas internasional untuk memberikan hukuman kepada Israel.https://yangterbaik.com/wp-admin/ 

RM.id  Rakyat Merdeka – Poros Muda Indonesia mengimbau seluruh masyarakat, terutama tokoh-tokoh agama dan simpul-simpul relawan untuk tetap bergandeng tangan, bersama-sama menjaga kerukunan dan kedamaian pasca pelaksanaan Pemilu yang telah berlangsung baik.

“Pemilu telah selesai, untuk selanjutnya kepada seluruh lapisan masyarakat, mari kita tetap menjaga kedamaian dan kamtibmas,” ujar Ketua Umum Poros Muda Indonesia Frans Freddy, Minggu (18/2/2024).

Diingatkannya, pasca pesta demokrasi lima tahunan, semua pihak harus bersatu kembali, agar bisa mewujudkan Indonesia Emas pada 2045.

“Kita bergandengan tangan membangun bangsa dan negara bersama-sama. Kami optimis Indonesia akan terus maju dan bisa meraih Indonesia Emas pada 2045,” tuturnya.

Pada kesempatan itu, Frans mengucapkan terima kasih kepada para penyelenggara pemilu yang sudah bekerja luar biasa sehingga pemilu bisa terlaksana dengan lancar.

Juga, kepada masyarakat yang telah ikut menyukseskan pemilu yang damai dengan tetap menjaga persatuan dan kesatuan bangsa.

Selain itu, Frans juga berterima kasih kepada aparat keamanan yang telah melakukan pengamanan Pemilu.

“Kami mengharapkan agar TNI-Polri tetap mengayomi dan melayani masyarakat dengan sikap yang humanis dan profesional,” harap Frans.

Frans kemudian mengajak masyarakat menolak segala bentuk provokasi terkait hasil pemilu.

Dengan mengedepankan semangat persatuan dan kedamaian, Poros Muda Indonesia berharap Indonesia tetap menjadi negara yang aman, damai, dan berdaya.

“Mari kita jadikan persatuan sebagai kekuatan untuk menghadapi segala tantangan dan meraih kemajuan bersama,” ajak Frans.https://yangterbaik.com/wp-admin/

RM.id  Rakyat Merdeka – PT Pertamina Gas (Pertagas), afiliasi dari Sub Holding Gas Pertamina, menegaskan komitmen untuk mendukung pemerataan energi ke berbagai industri.

Salah satu wujud komitmen tersebut dilaksanakan melalui memastikan keandalan penyaluran energi serta memastikan kesiapan sarana dan fasilitas milik perusahaan.

“Kami juga terus berkomitmen dalam mendukung pemerataan energi ke berbagai industri di wilayah Jawa Tengah, khususnya dalam menopang kebutuhan kelistrikan,” ujar Direktur Utama Pertagas Gamal Imam Santoso dalam kegiatan Management Walkthrough (MWT) di Semarang, Jawa Tengah, Sabtu (2/3).

Kegiatan yang diikuti dewan direksi dan komisaris Pertagas dilaksanakan dalam rangka memastikan kehandalan penyaluran energi khususnya di wilayah Jawa Tengah dan sekitarnya.

Gamal juga menyampaikan bahwa kegiatan MWT kali ini berfokus pada pemenuhan aspek keselamatan dan keamanan kerja di wilayah operasi Pertagas agar dapat berjalan dengan baik.

Serangkaian agenda MWT direksi dan Dewan Komisaris Pertagas tersebut dilaksanakan dengan mengunjungi beberapa fasilitas penyaluran gas yang dioperasikan oleh Pertagas Operation East Java Area (OEJA) yaitu Onshore Receiving Facility (ORF) Tambak Rejo.

Kunjungan lapangan dilanjutkan ke fasilitas afiliasi Pertagas yaitu Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) Plant milik PT Perta Daya Gas yang menyuplai kebutuhan pembangkit Listrik milik PT PLN Indonesia Power (IP).

Dalam kunjungannya, Komisaris Utama Pertamina Gas Wahyu Utomo memberikan apresiasi atas kinerja baik perusahaan yang telah menunjukkan performa optimal dalam mengelola seluruh unit bisnisnya.

“Kami berharap Pertagas Group mampu menjadi leading sector dalam mencapai Operational Excellence melalui penyediaan infrastruktur yang handal dalam mendukung transisi energi” ujar Wahyu.

Turut hadir dalam kegiatan kunjungan Dewan Komisaris Pertagas, Martinus Sembiring, Reynhard S.P. Silitonga dan Diaz Hendropriyono.

Serta Direksi Pertagas di antaranya Direktur Teknik & Operasi Pertagas, Indra P. Sembiring, Direktur Strategi & Pengembangan Bisnis, Agung Indri Pramantyo, Direktur Komersial, Kusdi Widodo, Direktur Keuangan & Dukungan Bisnis, Arifin Ahmad serta jajaran manajemen Pertagas.

Bantuan Banjir Masih dalam serangkaian kunjungan, sebagai wujud kepedulian perusahaan terhadap masyarakat bufferzone di wilayah operasionalnya, manajemen dan direksi Pertagas juga menyerahkan bantuan bencana banjir di wilayah Jawa Tengah kepada Badan Penanggulangan Bencana Daerah (BPBD) Provinsi Jawa Tengah.

Penyerahan bantuan diserahkan secara langsung oleh Komisaris Utama Pertagas, Wahyu Utomo dan Direktur Utama Pertagas, Gamal Imam Santoso kepada Kepala Bagian Tata Usaha BPBD Jawa Tengah, Syafrudin.

Syafrudin mengapresiasi setinggi-tingginya atas kepedulian Pertagas kepada masyarakat yang terdampak bencana banjir & longsor di wilayah Jawa Tengah.

“Kami mendoakan Pertagas menjadi perusahaan yang semakin maju & berkembang dan kami siap untuk terus bersinergi dengan Pertagas dalam berbagai program bantuan kebencanaan khususnya di wilayah Jawa Tengah dan sekitarnya,” kata Syafrudin.

MWT Direksi Pertamina Gas merupakan kegiatan yang dilaksanakan secara berkala di seluruh wilayah operasi PT Pertamina Gas sebagai wujud komitmen dalam memastikan terpenuhinya kebutuhan energi melalui infrastruktur yang handal (Operational Excellence) serta pemenuhan aspek HSSE, khususnya dalam mendukung transisi energi melalui pemanfaatan gas bumi sebagai energi yang lebih bersih serta mendukung program pemerintah Republik indonesia berupa Net Zero Emission (NZE) 2060.https://yangterbaik.com/wp-admin/

RM.id  Rakyat Merdeka – Ganda putra Indonesia, Mohammad Ahsan/Hendra Setiawan memutuskan mundur di pentas India Open 2024. Pebulutangkis lain siap meraih gelar.

Pasangan Mohammad Ahsan/Hendra Setiawan mundur karena Ahsan mengalami cedera pinggang pekan lalu di Malaysia Open 2024.

Chico Aura Dwi Wardoyo juga ditarik karena kondisinya belum 100% pulih.

Tim bulutangkis Indonesia berharap meraih sukses di tur Asia bagian pertama di New Delhi, India mengikuti turnamen India Open 2024.

Sembilan wakil Merah-Putih dipastikan akan turun di ajang BWF World Tour Super 750 ini.

Mereka adalah Anthony Sinisuka Ginting, Jonatan Christie (tunggal putra), Gregoria Mariska Tunjung (tunggal putri), Fajar Alfian/Muhammad Rian Ardianto, Bagas Maulana/Muhammad Shohibul Fikri, Leo Rolly Carnando/Daniel Marthin (ganda putra), Rinov Rivaldy/Pitha Haningtyas Mentari, Rehan Naufal Kusharjanto/Lisa Ayu Kusumawati dan Dejan Ferdinansyah/Gloria Emanuelle Widjaja (ganda campuran).

Kepala Bidang Pembinaan dan Prestasi Rionny Mainaky berharap pencapaian yang lebih baik.

“Jadi untuk anak-anak dilihat dari semua sektor pada intinya mereka penampilan awalnya sudah baik. Tinggal di penyelesaian akhir, poin-poin kritis, poin mepet fokusnya harus ditingkatkan lagi,” ungkap Rionny.

“Dalam waktu yang singkat ini karena minggu depan sudah ada India Open saya harap mereka banyak evaluasi saat sedang memimpin harus bagaimana, saat lawan mulai mengejar harus bagaimana, variasi terima servis dan jangan banyak melakukan kesalahan sendiri. Video analisis akan sangat berperan jadi mereka harus menonton lagi pertandingan kemarin. Mudah-mudahan semua bisa mengambil hasil yang lebih baik,” harap Rionny.

India Open 2024 bakal bergulir pada 16-21 Januari di K.D.Jadhav Indoor Hall, Indira Gandhi Sports Complex, New Delhi. Turnamen ini menawarkan hadiah total $850.000 Dollar Amerika Serikat.https://yangterbaik.com/wp-admin/

RM.id  Rakyat Merdeka – Sukses dengan kepemilikan kapal tanker gas ramah lingkungan terbesar dunia Pertamina Gas Amaryllis, PT Pertamina International Shipping (PIS) kembali melakukan penambahan aset untuk ekspansi bisnis di market internasional sekaligus mengembangkan bisnis masa depan. 

PIS menambah aset kapal milik, jenis small LPG yakni Gas Antasena dan PIS Prolific yang masing-masing berkapasitas 3500 meter kubik. Kedua kapal ini memiliki capability dalam mengangkut komoditas LPG, chemical cargo dan amonia.

Seperti diketahui, PIS tak hanya gencar ekspansi menambah rute-rute pelayaran internasionalnya tetapi juga diversifikasi portofolio bisnis, di antaranya adalah pengangkutan kargo petrokimia untuk pengembangan bisnis ke depan. 

Kapal PIS Prolific rencananya akan dioptimalisasi untuk melayani rute trading luar negeri dengan fokus utama di area West of Suez dan North West Europe. Sejalan dengan visi dan misi PIS untuk terus mengembangkan bisnis ke pasar Eropa, Amerika, dan Timur Tengah.  

Penandatanganan dokumen protokol Delivery and Acceptance berlangsung pada 4 Januari 2023 oleh Direktur Operasi PIS sekaligus Managing Director PIS Singapore Brilian Perdana dengan Head of Business Intelligence BW Epic Kosan, Menezes Waye Diogo. 

“Penambahan aset kapal PIS Prolific ini tentunya untuk mengembangkan bisnis yang potensinya masih sangat terbuka lebar, sejalan dengan visi untuk menjadi perusahaan shipping terkemuka di Asia,” ujar Brilian, Rabu (8/2).

Sementara, penandatanganan kepemilikan kapal Gas Antasena berlangsung pada 25 Januari 2023 di Singapura. Penandatanganan protokol Delivery and Acceptance dilakukan oleh Direktur Armada Muhammad Irfan Zainul Fikri dan Head of Sale and Purchae Commercial Department BW Epic Kosan, Jack Davis. 

“Kapal ini nantinya akan melayani rute trading overseas dan juga melayani rute domestik. Dengan ukuran kapal saat ini, Gas Antasena bisa menghantarkan energi hingga ujung Indonesia. Selain itu, kapal ini juga mampu mengangkut kargo chemical,” jelas Irfan.https://yangterbaik.com/wp-admin/ 

RM.id  Rakyat Merdeka – Asosiasi Perkumpulan Bank Syariah Indonesia (Asbisindo) mendukung langkah strategis Otoritas Jasa Keuangan (OJK) dalam mengakhiri stimulus berupa restrukturisasi kredit perbankan, untuk penanganan dampak negatif pandemi Covid-19.

Ketua Umum Asbisindo Hery Gunardi mengatakan, dukungan dari Asbisindo tersebut memiliki alasan kuat.

Saat ini, kondisi perbankan Tanah Air khususnya perbankan syariah, memiliki resiliensi yang tinggi pasca-pandemi meskipun kondisi perekonomian Indonesia masih dibayangi ketidakpastian perekonomian global.

Hal ini tak terlepas dari strategi dan respon Pemerintah yang tepat dalam menghadapi krisis akibat pandemi maupun ketidakpastian ekonomi global.

“Strategi dan respon cepat ini membantu meringankan nasabah perbankan yang terdampak pandemi,” katanya dalam keterangan resmi, Senin (1/4/2024).

Dari sisi tingkat permodalan industri perbankan nasional khususnya perbankan syariah cukup kuat. Likuiditasnya pun sangat memadai.

“Faktor-faktor tersebut diperkuat pula oleh manajemen perbankan syariah yang mampu menerapkan pengelolaan risiko yang baik,” ujarnya.

Selain itu, menurut Hery, Asbisindo mendukung OJK dalam mengakhiri restrukturisasi karena saat ini pemulihan ekonomi semakin menunjukkan peningkatan.

Tingkat inflasi terus mampu ditekan dan semakin terkendali. Investasi di dalam negeri juga kian bertumbuh.

Hery menjelaskan, faktor-faktor tersebut menjadi bukti kondisi perekonomian pasca-pandemi semakin pulih.

Hal ini sejalan dengan status pandemi Covid-19 di Indonesia yang dinyatakan berakhir oleh Presiden Joko Widodo melalui Keppres No. 17 Tahun 2023 yang terbit pada Juni tahun lalu.

“Kebijakan Pemerintah tersebut kembali memutar roda perekonomian masyarakat menjadi lebih cepat,” tutur Direktur Utama di PT Bank Syariah Indonesia Tbk atau BSI ini.

Memasuki tahun 2024, sambung Hery, indikator industri perbankan Indonesia dalam kondisi prima. OJK mencatat, pada Januari 2024 rasio kecukupan modal (CAR) berada di level 27,54 persen.

Kondisi likuiditas dilihat dari Liquidity Coverage Ratio (LCR) mencapai 231,14 persen. Sedangkan NonCore Deposit (NCD) sebesar 123,42 persen dengan tingkat rentabilitas yang memadai.

“Rasio-rasio tersebut mencerminkan perbankan di Tanah Air utamanya perbankan syariah diperkuat dengan mitigasi risiko yang solid,” kata Hery.

Berdasarkan laporan Statistik Perbankan Syariah yang dirilis oleh OJK, jumlah aset perbankan syariah terus meningkat.

Pada akhir 2023, aset bank umum syariah (BUS) dan unit usaha syariah (UUS) mencapai Rp868,98 triliun, tumbuh 11,1 persen secara tahunan (year on year/yoy).

Pertumbuhan aset tersebut didorong oleh peningkatan pembiayaan dan dana pihak ketiga (DPK).

“Data-data tersebut menunjukkan bahwa industri perbankan syariah cukup resilien dan terus bertumbuh. Untuk itu, kami optimis bahwa pasar siap dengan berakhirnya restrukturisasi, yang efektif per 31 Maret tahun 2024,” ujar Hery.https://yangterbaik.com/wp-admin/