Indonesia’s state-owned electricity company PLN, in cooperation with PT Rezeki Perkasa Sejahtera Lestari, has inaugurated its first biomass power plant (PLTBm) in West Kalimantan with a capacity of 15 megawatts (MW).

“The operation of PLTBm Rezeki I Siantan aims to increase electricity supply in the Equator area electricity system and replace several power plants that use fossil fuels,” said PLN general manager for West Kalimantan, Richard Safkaur, on Tuesday as reported by tempo.co.

The plant, which uses agricultural waste as its fuel, is projected to supply 74 million kilowatt per hour (kWh) annually.

Richard said the development of power plants with renewable fuel resources had become PLN’s priority in Kalimantan. He said power plants that used renewable fuels served 66 percent of electricity demand in the province.

The plant is located in Wajok Hulu village, Siantan district, Mempawah regency, West Kalimantan. The fuel material includes palm oil waste; rice husks, corn and sugar cane waste, as well as timber sawmill waste. – The Jakarta Post

Go-Jek, ComfortDelGro in talks on tie-up

Indonesian ride-hailing app provider Go-Jek has been in talks with Singapore taxi giant ComfortDelGro to explore a tie-up.

According to online publisher Techcrunch, which cited an unnamed source, the two have been discussing ways for a “potential partnership”.

Both companies have refused to comment on the news, saying they do not comment on rumours or speculation.

ComfortDelGro had previously entered into an agreement with US apps provider Uber to acquire a majority stake in Lion City Rentals – a private-hire car fleet here owned by Uber.

The agreement included ComfortDelGro having exclusive rights to use the Uber app for its drivers.

That deal is now in limbo because Uber has since pulled out of the South-east Asian region after selling its regional businesses to rival Grab.

Go-Jek has set up an office in Singapore to hire data scientists. But observers are certain that it will start a ride-hailing business here within the next few months. – The Straits Times

EU, US unlikely to revoke Cambodia’s trade status

A global research company says the US and EU are unlikely to revoke the preferential trade agreements that underpin Cambodia’s garment sector, a prediction supported by nearly every analyst The Phnom Penh Post interviewed in recent months.

Fitch BMI said in a report that the EU and the US “appear reluctant to remove preferential trade access for Cambodia’s crucial garment exports.”

The report comes amid a crackdown on independent media and political opposition in Cambodia, including the widely criticised dissolution of the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), the only viable opposition party, in November.

The US and EU have been urged by rights groups to reconsider Cambodia’s preferential trade access to their markets, but analysts have previously said that targeted sanctions are more likely than a complete reworking of trade agreements.

More than 60 per cent of Cambodia’s garments are exported to the US and EU markets under favourable trade agreements, and the sector employs more than 800,000 people. – The Phnom Penh Post

Little impact seen from ban on Kuwait

The Philippine government’s ban on the deployment of Filipino workers to Kuwait will unlikely dent the robust remittance flows to the Philippines, the World Bank said.

In its April 2018 Migration and Development Brief, the Washington-based multilateral lender noted that the Philippines was the third biggest recipient of remittances last year, reaching $33 billion. Only India, with $69 billion, and China ($64 billion) exceeded the Philippines’ remittance inflows in 2017.

The 5.3-per cent growth in remittances last year was faster than the 4.5 per cent in 2016.

For the World Bank, “the impact on remittance inflows of a recent ban on deploying Filipino workers to Kuwait is likely to be muted, given the country’s relatively small exposure to the Gulf Cooperation Council country.”

To recall, the Philippine government in February issued a total ban on the deployment of Filipino workers to Kuwait upon the instruction of President Rodrigo Duterte. – Philippine Daily Inquirer