I think we will enter into digitalization. All industries will definitely enter digitalization.
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Indonesian President Joko Widodo called on all industries in the country to make the most of digital technology to ensure higher efficiency and competitiveness.

"I think we will enter into digitalization. All industries will definitely enter digitalization. The government, education and health sectors, everything, must embrace digitization, to become more efficient and competitive, and so that we can compete with other countries," the Head of State stated here on Thursday.

The President noted that 2021 offers the momentum to rise and the Indonesian nation to be able to adeptly tackle the crisis.

"We will be better prepared to face the challenges ahead, transform into a new economic power, and become a more resilient and developed country," he remarked.

On the occasion, Jokowi also observed that in terms of technological developments, Indonesia had a huge opportunity in establishing industries for electric cars, from upstream to downstream.

"Through the lithium battery for which we have used nickel, I think we have to see opportunities such as this. It must be pushed, so that we can immediately implement it and make a big contribution to the country," the President remarked.

Digitalization has become a driving force for the economy to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, thereby encouraging the industry to alter its business model, including public conduct during transactions, according to Bank Indonesia (BI).

"With the adoption of technology, growth can be higher," Head of the BI Payment System Policy Department Filianingsih Hendarta earlier stated during an online discussion in Jakarta on Thursday.

Hendarta believes that the COVID-19 pandemic had brought about another change in terms of accelerating the use of digital transactions, so this condition is expected to become an opportunity for industries, especially banking.

Hendarta noted that Indonesia has vast capital to support digitization, including its 269-million populace and 338 million cell phone users.

Furthermore, he pointed out that Indonesia has the fourth-largest number of internet users in the world, reaching 175 million, and a demographic bonus, specifically a larger productive age population.

Moreover, 63 million MSME players have yet to benefit from digital transactions and businesses since data from the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology currently points to only some 9.4 million players, or some 14.8 percent.

BI noted that the volume of online trade transactions, or e-commerce, in the second quarter of 2020 increased to 383.5 million, from 275.8 million in the first quarter of 2020.

In the meantime, the nominal value of e-commerce transactions dropped, from Rp58.5 trillion to Rp55.9 trillion.

For non-bank electronic money, the transaction volume in the second quarter of 2020 had dropped to 659.3 million, from 782.6 million during the first quarter of 2020.
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Translator: Rangga P, Azis Kurmala
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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