The Indonesian government is accelerating its efforts to bring down the country’s Gini ratio, a measure of wealth inequality.

A Gini ratio of zero represents complete equality and one represents complete inequality – the government wants to bring it down to 0.370 from its current 0.393 by 2019.

“We hope the figure will decrease once again; if not to 0.36, then to 0.37,” said National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) head Bambang Brodjonegor.

The latest figure is more optimistic than the government’s previous target of 0.380.

Bambang said the government was |working to reduce inequality both between |the poor and wealthy, as well as between regions.

It has also set itself a goal of reducing Indonesia’s poverty rate to between seven and eight percent from 11.22 per cent in 2015.

The country has already launched social safety net programs, such as cash and rice assistance for low-income families to improve their welfare.

“We hope that the effort to reduce inequality will be carried out more sustainably,” Bambang said, adding that one of the programmes encouraged the unemployed to open their own businesses. – The Jakarta Post

Tata Motors aims to double its sales in Indonesia

Indian automaker Tata Motors subsidiary PT Tata Motors Distribusi Indonesia (TMDI) has doubled its sales target for the March 2017 to April 2018 fiscal year.

TMDI president director Biswadev Sengupta said his company was set to substantially improve on the 900 vehicles in the previous 12 months.

“The market is picking up. We want to sell between 1,500 and 2,000 vehicles,” he said during the launch of Tata’s new dump truck at the Gaikindo Indonesia International Auto Show 2017 in South Tangerang, Banten.

Sengupta, however, said sales volumes were currently not the company’s main focus in Indonesia, where it was still working to build its brand.

He said the company planned to add 10 more dealerships to the existing 20 dealers and 26 outlets in Java, Bali, Sumatra and Sulawesi and had budgeted $150.000 (BT5 million) to $225,000 for the expansion.

Sengupta, however, stressed his company was not trying to take over a market currently controlled by the Japanese.

“We are here to learn from them and see what we can do to expand the market,” he said. – The Jakarta Post

Malaysia expects record rubber glove exports this year

Malaysia’s exports of rubber gloves increased 25 per cent to 7.95 billion ringgit (Bt64 billion) in the first half of 2017, compared to the same period last year.

Addressing a meeting of industry leaders, Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Mah Siew Keong said: “The high export growth in the first six months of 2017 signalled that the rubber glove sector is on track to record an outstanding new high in export sales in 2017.

“This will represent an increase of 20 per over the whole of 2016.”

Rubber gloves have been the largest single contributor to the Malaysian rubber products industry – exports of rubber gloves accounted for more than 70 per cent of rubber products in the first six months of 2017.

Mah believes the local industry is on track to secure at least a 65 per cent share of global rubber glove exports by 2020.

This is given that the industry is expanding its production capacity and improving manufacturing processes to meet growing demand for higher quality medical gloves in major emerging markets.

The Ministry of Plantation Industries and Commodities and the Malaysian Rubber Export Promotion Council expect world demand for rubber gloves to increase from 211 billion pieces in 2016 to 287 billion pieces by 2020. – The Star

Michelin-starred restaurant chain opens in Phnom Penh

Tim Ho Wan, the famed Hong Kong-based dim sum chain, has opened its first branch in the Cambodian capital, drawing on its roots as “the world’s cheapest Michelin-starred restaurant”.

The Chinese dim sum restaurant officially opened its branch at the upmarket Aeon Mall and has been drawing thick crowds of dim sum aficionados – up to 700 a day, according to its general manager.

“We’re full of customers all the time,” Chum Phirun, general manager of Tim Ho Wan Cambodia, said yesterday.

The Tim Ho Wan chain has come a long way since its founding in 2009 as a hole-in-the-wall eatery in Hong Kong’s bustling Mong Kok district.

The original restaurant earned a Michelin star in 2010 and at the time was the least expensive Michelin-starred restaurant on the planet. The chain has quickly built on this reputation, expanding to 45 locations in Asia, Australia and the US.

Highly anticipated openings in Singapore and New York saw huge queues, with customers waiting up to three hours for a table. The turnout has been strong, but far less intense at the 33-table Cambodian branch, Phirun said, noting that many Cambodians were not aware of the dim sum chain’s fame or the significance of a Michelin-star rating.

“In other countries, when customers see a hotel or restaurant with a Michelin star they already know the quality of the restaurant in terms of taste, services, hygiene, environment and other aspects,” he said.

“The income of Phnom Penh residents is growing rapidly and many people are now seeking hygienic, high-quality food, so we want to educate them on the advantage of eating at a Michelin-starred restaurant like Tim Ho Wan.”

While Tim Ho Wan’s Aeon Mall restaurant does not yet have a Michelin star, two of the chain’s branches – both in Hong Kong – do.

The restaurant serves 24 varieties of dim sum priced modestly from $2.50 (Bt85) to $6 a dish, according to Phirun, who says there are plans to open two more branches in Phnom Penh next year.

Hak Lina, director of operations of Topaz restaurant, one of the capital’s most highly acclaimed restaurants, said the opening of a dim sum eatery backed by a Michelin star was a positive development for the country’s food and beverage sector.

To date, no restaurant in Cambodia has ever earned a Michelin and Topaz is hoping to be the first.

Hak said the restaurant, which frequently hosts visiting Michelin-star chefs, has also benefited from the training these master chefs have provided to its staff.

“There are many terms and conditions to be awarded a Michelin-star restaurant and it is truly valuable to prepare for that,” she said.

“I believe that once there is a Michelin-star restaurant here, there will soon be two-star Michelin restaurants because everyone will seek to get [the rating] to attract customers.” – Phnom Penh Post