Latest news with #StanleyWidianto
Mint
3 days ago
- Business
- Mint
Indonesia eyes sovereign AI fund to drive development, document shows
JAKARTA, Aug 11 (Reuters) - Authorities overseeing the development of artificial intelligence in Indonesia have proposed a "sovereign AI fund" to finance the archipelago's ambitions to become a regional hub for the fast-growing technology, a government document showed. Last month, Reuters reported that Southeast Asia's largest economy would release its first national roadmap on AI in a bid to attract foreign investment as it looks to join the global AI and chip-making race. The race has seen neighbouring Malaysia secure billions of dollars from global tech firms seeking to build critical infrastructure to meet growing demand for cloud and AI services. The Indonesia strategy, released in the form of a 179-page white paper seen by Reuters, recommends, among other things, a sovereign AI fund mainly handled by the country's new sovereign wealth fund Danantara Indonesia, which controls over $900 billion in assets. Danantara Indonesia did not immediately reply to a request for comment. The paper did not specify the amount that would be needed, but estimated a 2027 to 2029 timeline to set up the fund, and a public-private model to finance Indonesia's AI push. It also suggests increasing fiscal incentives for domestic investors in AI, without providing details. The strategy paper, which the communications and digital ministry said still awaits public feedback before the final draft, maps Indonesia's computational readiness for AI and makes recommendations for AI-related policy strategies until 2030. "Indonesia right now is in the early stages of AI adoption," the document reads. Industry players including Chinese giant Huawei and Indonesia's biggest technology company GoTo contributed to the report. An April report by the Boston Consulting Group said ASEAN nations were positioned for substantial AI-driven gains, with GDP contributions ranging from 2.3% to 3.1% by 2027, and Indonesia could see the highest impact in terms of absolute gross domestic output growth. The roadmap also details challenges for Indonesia including a lack of talent, low research funding, uneven connectivity outside big cities, risks of misinformation and data leaks. Global tech companies have courted the AI drive in Indonesia, including Nvidia and Microsoft. (Reporting by Stanley Widianto; Editing by Gibran Peshimam, Alexandra Hudson)
The Star
3 days ago
- Business
- The Star
Indonesia eyes 'sovereign AI fund' to drive development, document shows
FILE PHOTO: A message reading "AI artificial intelligence", a keyboard, and robot hands are seen in this illustration taken January 27, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo JAKARTA (Reuters) -Authorities overseeing the development of artificial intelligence in Indonesia have proposed a "sovereign AI fund" to finance the archipelago's ambitions to become a regional hub for the fast-growing technology, a government document showed. Last month, Reuters reported that Southeast Asia's largest economy would release its first national roadmap on AI in a bid to attract foreign investment as it looks to join the global AI and chip-making race. The race has seen neighbouring Malaysia secure billions of dollars from global tech firms seeking to build critical infrastructure to meet growing demand for cloud and AI services. The Indonesia strategy, released in the form of a 179-page white paper seen by Reuters, recommends, among other things, a sovereign AI fund mainly handled by the country's new sovereign wealth fund Danantara Indonesia, which controls over $900 billion in assets. Danantara Indonesia did not immediately reply to a request for comment. The paper did not specify the amount that would be needed, but estimated a 2027 to 2029 timeline to set up the fund, and a public-private model to finance Indonesia's AI push. It also suggests increasing fiscal incentives for domestic investors in AI, without providing details. The strategy paper, which the communications and digital ministry said still awaits public feedback before the final draft, maps Indonesia's computational readiness for AI and makes recommendations for AI-related policy strategies until 2030. "Indonesia right now is in the early stages of AI adoption," the document reads. Industry players including Chinese giant Huawei and Indonesia's biggest technology company GoTo contributed to the report. An April report by the Boston Consulting Group said ASEAN nations were positioned for substantial AI-driven gains, with GDP contributions ranging from 2.3% to 3.1% by 2027, and Indonesia could see the highest impact in terms of absolute gross domestic output growth. The roadmap also details challenges for Indonesia including a lack of talent, low research funding, uneven connectivity outside big cities, risks of misinformation and data leaks. Global tech companies have courted the AI drive in Indonesia, including Nvidia and Microsoft. (Reporting by Stanley Widianto; Editing by Gibran Peshimam, Alexandra Hudson)
The Star
03-07-2025
- General
- The Star
Four dead, 38 missing after ferry sinks near Indonesia's Bali, agency says
JAKARTA (Reuters) -Four people died, 38 were missing and 23 survived after a ferry carrying 65 people sank near the Indonesian island of Bali, the country's Search and Rescue agency said on Thursday. The KMP Tunu Pratama Jaya sank almost half an hour after leaving East Java province's Banyuwangi port on its way to Bali late on Wednesday, the agency said on Thursday. The boat was carrying 53 passengers and 12 crew members, as well as 22 vehicles, the agency said. A search for the missing is underway although it is being hampered by strong currents and winds, the agency added. There has been no official statement on the nationalities of the passengers, but a manifest list broadcast by news channel MetroTV indicated there were no foreigners on board. Ferries are a common mode of transport in Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands, and accidents are common as lax safety standards often allow vessels to be overloaded without adequate life-saving equipment. A small ferry capsized in 2023 near Indonesia's Sulawesi island, killing at least 15 people. (Reporting by Stanley Widianto in Jakarta and Gnaneshwar Rajan in Bengaluru; Editing by Stephen Coates)
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
ASEAN to dedicate two meetings to Myanmar conflict next week, chief says
By Stanley Widianto JAKARTA (Reuters) -The Southeast Asian grouping ASEAN will hold two meetings specifically on the civil war in army-ruled Myanmar ahead of its summit next week, the bloc's secretary-general said on Wednesday, in a bid to advance its faltering peace effort. The 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations has repeatedly called for a halt in hostilities between rebels and the ruling junta that have displaced an estimated 3.5 million people since the military overthrew the elected civilian government of Aung San Suu Kyi in 2021. ASEAN's peace proposal that same year, the "Five Point Consensus", which calls for an end to violence and dialogue between warring groups, has made barely any progress, resulting in Myanmar's ruling generals being barred from its summits. "This is something new that will specifically focus on Myanmar, that they will take no other issue," ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn told Reuters in an interview, referring to the two meetings in Malaysia on Myanmar. Kao Kim Hourn did not specify the issues up for discussion or if there were new proposals to be made. He said the first meeting would involve the current, previous and next ASEAN chair nations, namely Malaysia, Laos and Philippines, respectively. The second gathering would be of the bloc's foreign ministers, he said. Once seen as a promising frontier market following a decade of economic reform and tentative democracy, the 2021 coup plunged Myanmar into chaos, with the military struggling to govern and battling to contain a widening rebellion by ethnic minority rebels and a pro-democracy resistance movement. The military has been accused of widespread atrocities, including air strikes on civilian areas, allegations it has rejected as western disinformation. 'WE ALL ARE TOO IMPATIENT' Asked about the lack of progress on Myanmar, Kao Kim Hourn defended ASEAN's plan, describing it as "beautiful", but urged all stakeholders to implement it. "It will be presumptuous for any party to expect a quick fix to this issue. For us, we stay engaged," he said. "But it may take time. You see, the thing is that we all are too impatient." "And as long as we bring down, you know, large-scale fighting to a smaller one, as long as we can bring people to the table, that's progress." He declined to comment on the military launching multiple airstrikes and artillery assaults, as reported by Reuters, despite a ceasefire after a major earthquake in March. Kao Kim Hourn said it was unclear who had violated the ceasefire. He also reiterated ASEAN countries and China were committed to finalising a protracted code of conduct for the hotly disputed South China Sea by next year, stressing the need to support that effort by maintaining peace. "What is important for us in this region, number one, is to de-escalate the tensions and to prevent any possible risk of miscalculation, misperception that gives rise to unnecessary tension and maybe conflict," Kao Kim Hourn said. He also cited good progress towards admitting an 11th member to ASEAN - East Timor - which he said had fulfilled a number of required criteria. "More likely, it could take place maybe later this year," he said.
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Indonesia parliament set to ratify sea boundary with Vietnam, lawmaker says
By Ananda Teresia and Stanley Widianto JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesia's parliament is set to agree next week to ratify an agreement made with Vietnam that sets the boundaries of their exclusive economic zones in the contested South China Sea, a lawmaker said on Thursday. The South China Sea is a strategic waterway that has been a source of tension between China and its Southeast Asian neighbours, disrupting fishing and energy exploration in the area. Nico Siahaan, a lawmaker in the parliamentary commission overseeing the agreement, told Reuters the parliament and the government would formally agree to ratify it on Monday, with the actual ratification set for that week or the following week. The agreement, signed in 2022 after more than a decade of negotiations, determines the coordinates of the two nations' EEZs at sea. The Vietnamese parliament also needs to ratify the deal. Indonesia hopes it could reduce encroachments by Vietnamese fishermen in its waters, a frequent source of tension. Hikmahanto Juwana, an Indonesian international law expert who was consulted by the parliament last week, told Reuters on Thursday the agreement means the two countries are ignoring China's claims in the sea. China claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea, including parts of the exclusive economic zones of Malaysia, Brunei, the Philippines and Vietnam, and waters off Indonesia's Natuna Islands. In 2016, an international arbitral tribunal ruled that China's claims have no basis under international law. China does not recognise the ruling, and insists it operates lawfully in its territory. Indonesia's deputy foreign minister, Arif Havas Oegroseno, told Reuters on Wednesday that the agreement would provide legal boundaries for fishermen and clearly define relations between the two countries at sea. "To Indonesia, as an archipelago with a lot of neighbours, ideally sea borders are done. So we have a legal certainty: where we can make patrols, drill oil," he said. Indonesia's signing of a maritime deal with China last year sparked controversy, with analysts saying it could be interpreted as a change in Jakarta's long-held stance as a non-claimant state in the South China Sea. Indonesia's foreign ministry has repeatedly said the country is a non-claimant state in the South China Sea and has no overlapping jurisdiction with China.
