INDONESIA
GEOGRAPHY
The Indonesian Republic is a country located in South-East Asia. It’s the world’s biggest archipelago-state and the 4th most populous country in the world with almost 270.461.776 inhabitants (2019 estimates), right after China, India and USA. The nearest borders to Indonesia are Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines and Australia in the south. Jakarta is the biggest city and capital of the Archipelago. The Indonesian archipelago represents one of the most unusual areas in the world as it coincides with a major juncture of Earth’s tectonic plates. It’s composed by 17’508 islands (2018 official datas), which can be divided in two irregular lines: the southern islands (long and tight) of Sumatra, Java and Timor, and the northern islands (wide and irregular) of Kalimantan, Celebes, the Molucche islands and New Guinea. From east to west, from Sumatra to Timor, there’s a chain of vulcanic mountains which equalize 3500m to 5000m altitudes. The particular position makes the country historically subject of violent sismic and volcanic phenomenona. It counts almost 150 operative volcanoes, and one of the latest catastrophes happened in 2004, a deadly tsunami reportedly caused 160.000 deaths just in the Sumatra island.Although, during the ages the ashes of volcanic eruptions enriched of minerals the ground, making it ideal for cultivations. Also the forests are widely extended and cover two thirds of the land. Due to the same factor, the most important resources come from the underground, and are tin, bauxite, petroleus, natural gas, rame, nichel, coal, and also small amounts of silver and diamonds.
HISTORY
The history of the Indonesian archipelago is the history of a land colonized by the Western countries from the 1600 to 1900 due to the increasing demand of eastern goods, such as spices (at that time). In the beginning it was Portugal to discover these lands, and then the Dutches who were the first to reach the Spice Islands (the Moluccas of Indonesia). Infact, during the 17th century the Dutch government sponsored the creation of the so called ‘United East Indies Company’ (known later as the ‘Dutch East India Company’) in an effort to stabilize profits in the Dutch spice trade and form a monopoly, establishing later the foundations of the Dutch commercial empire over the archipelago and, not to forget, bringing European technology and ideas to Asia. As well as spices and tea, the imports for the Western included silks, cottons, porcelains and other luxury goods. Since few European products could be successfully sold in Asian markets, trade companies were used to exchange gold and silver, both imported from other countries, founding a ‘commercial-trade triangle’. It also expanded European exploration and opened up new areas to colonization and trade. The Dutch colony lasted until World War II, with the Japanese invasion and subsequent occupation that ended Dutch rule and encouraged the previously suppressed independence movement. Indonesian independence was formally recognised in December 1949 by the Dutch government. The rest is a story of corruption and anti-democratic governments, conducted by the president Sukarno first (1949), and later by Suharto’s “New Order” administration supported by the US (1969), until the popular discontent led by the 1997 Asian Crisis which ended Suharto’s presidency. In 2004 Indonesian Republic had its first direct presidential election. And although political, economic and social instability, corruption, and terrorism remained problems in the 2000s, however, in recent years, the economy has performed strongly, giving a sort of re-birth to the archipelago consequent development.
SOCIAL CULTURE AND RELIGION
Indonesia is an Islamic country, but doesn’t observe the Islamic laws. Although, women in rural areas are still expected to stay at home, highlighting sexism as one of the country’s problems still. Also child marriage is huge a problem: 1 on 9 girls are married before turning 18y.o. due to poverty and traditional culture where beliefs about modesty deter women to open their mind on the outside world, on something more than marriage. Infact, from the traditional people’s point of view, activities in general are seen as part of a free lifestyle which lead the women “to be naughty”, the parents believe. The country has the 8th highest number of child brides (1’459’000 estimated childs involved): it’s also caused by the 1974 Marriage Law which permits, with parental consense, boys to marry at 19 and girls at 16. It’s very recent the agreement among all the parliament’s factions which proposes the revision of this law to lift the minimum age at 19 also for girls. Bytheway, nowadays society still encourages girls to get married in their teenage years, otherwise they’ll be considered as spinters.
Indonesia has the world’s largest muslim population, with an 87,6% of people declaring to be part of the Islamic religion (2010 survey). The process of Islamization in Indonesia has been underway for many centuries and is still continuing today. Islam became an influential force through a series of waves (international trade, the establishment of various influential Muslim Sultanates during the history, and social movements). Gravestones indicate the existence of a Muslim kingdom in North Sumatra around 1211. Perhaps indigenous kingdoms adopted the new faith because it entailed certain advantages in trade as the majority of traders were Muslim. The populous western part of Indonesia contains a relatively much larger Muslim community than the eastern part. As trade played a significant role in the process of Islamization in Indonesia, islands closer to the main trade routes were more exposed to the Islamic influences. Indonesia is experiencing robust macroeconomic growth: the country’s middle class is expanding rapidly as is shown in its steadily rising per capita gross domestic product (meaning people can consume more products and services), and Indonesia’s society – as is today’s world – is becoming increasingly urbanized (a process that is closely linked to modernization and industrialization). Given that almost 90 percent of Indonesia’s total population is Muslim, this community is highly affected by these developments. This especially applies to the large moderate Muslim component within this community. They are increasingly living a ‘modern’ urban lifestyle, equipped with the latest electronic devices and fashion. Important indicators such as car sales and internet or mobile phone penetration have risen fast in recent years, while the young adults of the middle class and elite can frequently be found relaxing in places such as Starbucks in one of the many luxury malls in the bigger cities. During the last two decades Islam has become more visible on the streets in Indonesia and has begun to play a more important role in the daily affairs of the Muslims. For example, the number of Indonesian women that wear the headscarf (jilbab) has increased significantly, and it has become more common to visit the mosque. However, it is important to underline that this development of Islamization should not be mistaken for Islamic radicalism. By far most Indonesian Muslims are tolerant towards other religions or other streams within the Islam.
POLITICS
Just from the 90s Indonesia became a unitary presidential constitutional republic: previously the country was subject of an almost totalitarian government since the independence declaration (1945). The president is both head of the State and the Government. The 2019 presidential election, the fourth in the country’s history, used a direct, simple majority system, with former president Joko Widodo, known as Jokowi, running for re-election with senior Muslim cleric Ma’ruf Amin as his running collegue against former general Prabowo Subianto and former Jakarta vice governor Sandiaga Uno for a five-year term between 2019 and 2024. The election was a rematch of the 2014 presidential election, in which Widodo defeated Prabowo. Even this time Wibodo was declared victorious in the presidential election, with over 55% of the vote (almost 200M people has expressed a preference with an anti-corruption election method). The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (in Indonesian: Partai Demokrasi Indonesia Perjuangan) is the current president Jokowi’s party. It’s a centre-left ideology party based on Pancasila (Pancasila as the foundational philosophical ideology/theory of the new Indonesian republic), nationalism (also in the economic field), and populism. The democratic party is observer of the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats.
ECONOMY
The economy of Argentina is an upper middle-income economy for fiscal year 2019 according to the World Bank. It is the second-largest in South America behind Brazil. Argentina benefits from rich natural resources, a highly literate population, an export-oriented agricultural sector, and a diversified industrial base. Argentina’s economic performance has historically been very uneven, with high economic growth alternating with severe recessions, particularly since the late twentieth century, since when income maldistribution and poverty have increased. Early in the twentieth century Argentina had one of the ten highest per capita GDP levels in the world, on par with Canada and Australia and surpassing both France and Italy. In 2015, Argentina government, started a reintegration process in the global economy, after a default phase occured in 2014 due to the high inflation ratio of 28% that burst in the second national crisis with the Peso Argentino falling down 14% on its value. Argentina’s currency declined again by about 50% in 2018 to more than 38 Argentine pesos per U.S. Dollar and as of in that year is under a stand-by program from the International Monetary Fund. In 2019, it fell further by 25%. Argentina is considered an emerging market by the FTSE Global Equity Index (2018), and is one of the G-20 major economies. The government recently stated a new maneuver to regulate public and private investments, a new law on renewable energy as well as public infrastructure.
IMPORT/EXPORT
In 2018 Argentina was the number 24 economy in the world in terms of GDP (current US$), the number 49 in total exports, the number 47 in total imports. In 2018 Argentina imported $62.5B, making it the number 47 trade destination in the world. During the last five reported years the imports of Argentina changed by -$11B from $73.5B in 2013 to $62.5B in 2018. The most recent imports of Argentina are led by Cars ($5.05B), Refined Petroleum ($2.93B), Vehicle Parts ($2.85B), Petroleum Gas ($2.4B), and Soybeans ($2.36B). The most common import partners for Argentina are Brazil ($15B), China ($10.8B), United States ($8.21B), Germany ($3.47B), and Paraguay ($1.73B). in 2018, Argentina exported a total of $60.8B, making it the number 49 exporter in the world. During the last five reported years the exports of Argentina have changed by -$17B from $77.7B in 2013 to $60.8B in 2018. The most recent exports are led by Soybean Meal ($9.2B), Corn ($4.44B), Delivery Trucks ($3.94B), Soybean Oil ($2.95B), and Wheat ($2.49B). The most common destination for the exports of Argentina are Brazil ($11B), China ($4.34B), United States ($4.23B), Chile ($3.05B), and Vietnam ($2.08B).
ASPECTS TO CONSIDER FOR BUSINESSES
The Global Transparency International Ranking 2018 sees Indonesian Republic ranked 89/180. Corruption in Indonesia is present both in parliament and private business since the independence of the country. According to a study conducted by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), less than half of the people trust the local government, police and private sector. Transparency International identified decentralized decision-making, ambiguous legislation and a weak judicial system as main sources of corruption in Indonesia.
The second government ever of the Indonesian Republic, under Mohamed Suharto, which lasted over 31 years (beginning in 1967, ending in 1998) was called “The New Order” government, highlighting a strong anti-Communism vision with a political role of the military, the bureaucratisation and corporatisation of political and societal organisations, and selective but effective repression of opponents.
Recently Forbes named the former President Suharto one of “the world’s all-time most corrupt leaders.” Throughout his reign, it’s suspected of embezzling between $15 and $35 billion. Statistics say the 13.6% of companies identifies corruption as the biggest obstacle in running a business in Indonesia. Furthermore, around 30% of firms has faced extortions while conducting business in Indonesia, paying bribes or giving gifts.
Latest years have seen a slightly decreasing corruption compared to previous years, and many people attribute this to the twice in a row president Wibodo. By the way, recently the DPR (Indonesia’s House of Representatives, known for the high corruption rate) wanted the revision of the new Corruption Eradication Commission (the KPK, one of the few hopes of the people) without even consulting legal experts, the public or the KPK itself. The aim of the revision is probably weakening the independence and authority of the KPK, which means destroying the whole anti-corruption efforts done in recent years.
Unfortunately people are concious of the KPK death, and now they see raising again the spectre of Suharto and the ‘New Order’. Also the wildfires situation is badly managed. Wildfires are not uncommon in Indonesia, especially recently due to the El-Ninho Weather that caused extraordinary dry conditions. Small scale farmers, infact, have tradition to use small and well controlled fires to clear land for the planting of new crops, often to produce palm oil. But now fires frequently burn out of control, leading to a detection of more than 35’000 wildfires in 2019 causing hazardous air pollution.
But the biggest problem Indonesia is facing these years is the plastic pollution. At the moment, the country is second only to China in terms of tons of plastic waste into the world’s oceans: an estimated 3.22 million metric tons of plastic waste is tossed annually into the ocean surrounding Indonesia. In Indonesia, plastic is everywhere. Currently, 81% of waste in Indonesia is unsorted; making it difficult to recycle, causing plastic waste to end up in landfills or leak into the ocean instead. Aside from plastic bags, one can find everyday objects such as tables and chairs made from plastic too. This is probably due to the fact that plastic products are cheap to produce in the country. And, as plastic takes hundreds of years to degrade, plastics in landfills and oceans will continue to pollute for several generations.
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
Argentina was the first Latin American country to formalise relations with the EU under a 3rd generation cooperation agreement. The Framework Trade and Economic Co-operation Agreement between the EU and Argentina entered into force in 1990 and includes two recurrent principles of their cooperation: the strengthening of democracy and human rights, as well as regional integration. An EU-Argentina Joint Commission has also been established. A number of sectoral agreements were established in the 1990s. The main focuses of cooperation are education and training; economic competitiveness; capacity‑building in the public and academic sectors. Argentina is part of the EU’s negotiating with the regional bloc Mercosur for a free trade agreement which will form the back bone of EU.
Latin American relations. The EU is Argentina’s second largest export market (after Brazil). Argentina’s exports to the EU are mainly agricultural and other primary goods. The EU exports less goods to Argentina in return (giving the EU a deficit of €3.4 billion) but has a surplus in services of €0.4 billion.
The EU as a whole is Argentina’s first partner in cooperation, the first investor and its second largest trading partner, with a trade volume of 18.1 bn. EU is Mercosur’s first trading partner as well accounting for 19.8% of Mercosur’s total trade with the World and worth €109.895 billion in 2013.