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Vietnam's economy grew 8.02% in 2022, the fastest annual pace since 1997, backed by strong domestic retail sales and exports, but is facing headwinds from a global slowdown. The reading is higher than an official growth target of 6.0%-6.5% and last year's growth of just 2.58%, when COVID-19 lockdowns left a dent on the economy and impacted factory activity. The high annual growth number comes despite fears of a global recession and its impact on demand for exports from Vietnam, a key manufacturer of goods like textiles, footwear and electronics for big-name international brands. Vietnam is targeting GDP growth of 6.5% and inflation at 4.5% for next year.   Source: Reuters

President Jokowi inaugurated the 30.9-kilometer long Pekanbaru - Bangkinang toll road, which is part of the Padang - Pekanbaru toll road that will connect Riau and West Sumatra Provinces. The new toll road spent a budget of Rp4.8 trillion. He explained that this toll road will be connected to the Pekanbaru ring, so that Dumai, Pekanbaru, and Bangkinang will be connected. The Pekanbaru - Dumai toll road has been operating since 2020. The Pekanbaru - Bangkinang toll road is the second operating toll road in Riau after the Pekanbaru - Dumai toll road which is claimed to already have very good traffic.   Source : https://en.tempo.co/read/1675828/jokowi-inaugurates-pekanbaru-bangkinang-toll-road

Indonesia recorded a 464.3 trillion rupiah (USD 29.77 billion) ­scal de­cit in 2022, or 2.38 per cent of gross domestic product, much smaller than originally forecast. The government had initially planned for a budget defi­cit of 4.85 per cent of GDP. Revenue collection got a boost from higher commodity prices and the easing of COVID restrictions last year, prompting the government to revise down the de­ficit forecast several times. By law, the government has room to spend more, with a legal budget de­ficit ceiling of 3 per cent of GDP waived for three years from 2020 to allow for a pandemic response. Indonesia recorded 2,626.4 trillion rupiah of revenue last year, up 30.6 per cent from 2021 and about 16 per cent bigger than the target, the minister said. The government spent 3,090.8 trillion rupiah, slightly below the planned amount and representing 11 per cent growth from the previous year.

For the past 22 years, the Port of Los Angeles has been the busiest container port in North America, moving around 10 million cargo containers ­filled with goods for Americans and bringing in roughly half a billion dollars in revenue each year to the state of California. But for the past three months, the Port of New York and New Jersey has been No. 1. This rerouting of the US supply chain is a bid to get goods to consumers faster and cheaper. The vast majority of foreign-made goods, from furniture and apparel to auto parts, all come to the United States on cargo vessels that unload at US Ports. Since August, imports into the two major West Coast ports – Los Angeles and Long Beach – have declined. Cargo volume at the Port of Los Angeles is down by 25% in the last three months compared to last year, and down by 17.3% on the fi­ve-year average. That cargo is now flowing into New Orleans, and also East Coast ports like Savannah, New York and New Jersey. For now, the Port of New York and New Jersey says it has been able to handle the extra cargo with no delays and is not looking to give up any new business. The winter months are typically the slow season for imports, but in February cargo traffic will pick up again after the Chinese Lunar New Year as retailers will already be looking to bring back-to-school and holiday shopping items in to the United States. Adding to the shift to East Coast ports were lessons learned from a nightmare traffic scenario that played out in the Paci­c Ocean during 2021’s peak holiday shopping season – resulting in empty shelves for retailers. Today there are just four cargo vessels at the Port of Los Angeles. It represents a major shift in the US supply chain and where global cargo is coming in to the country. The amount of cargo coming into the Port of New York and New Jersey is up 10.6% in November year to date from 2021 – which was a record year. The port estimates 85% of those imports were supposed to go to the West Coast.For the past 22 years, the Port of Los Angeles has been the busiest container port in North America, moving around 10 million cargo containers ­filled with goods for Americans and bringing in roughly half a billion dollars in revenue each year to the state of California. But for the past three months, the Port of New York and New Jersey has been No. 1. This rerouting of the US supply chain is a bid to get goods to consumers faster and cheaper. The vast majority of foreign-made goods, from furniture and apparel to auto parts, all come to the United States on cargo vessels that unload at US Ports. Since August, imports into the two major West Coast ports – Los Angeles and Long Beach – have declined. Cargo volume at the Port of Los Angeles is down by 25% in the last three months compared to last year, and down by 17.3% on the fi­ve-year average. That cargo is now flowing into New Orleans, and also East Coast ports like Savannah, New York and New Jersey. For now, the Port of New York and New Jersey says it has been able to handle the extra cargo with no delays and is not looking to give up any new business. The winter months are typically the slow season for imports, but in February cargo traffic will pick up again after the Chinese Lunar New Year as retailers will already be looking to bring back-to-school and holiday shopping items in to the United States. Adding to the shift to East Coast ports were lessons learned from a nightmare traffic scenario that played out in the Paci­c Ocean during 2021’s peak holiday shopping season – resulting in empty shelves for retailers. Today there are just four cargo vessels at the Port of Los Angeles. It represents a major shift in the US supply chain and where global cargo is coming in to the country. The amount of cargo coming into the Port of New York and New Jersey is up 10.6% in November year to date from 2021 – which was a record year. The port estimates 85% of those imports were supposed to go to the West Coast. Source : https://edition.cnn.com/2022/12/09/business/port-los-angeles-new-york-supply-chain/index.html

China will scrap the compulsory quarantine measures for all inbound travellers starting from January 3rd. The “0+3” measure means that inbound travellers only need to spend three days for medical observation at their homes or choice of hotels after all compulsory quarantine requirements are cancelled. The current quarantine requirements in the mainland for inbound travellers are ­ve days of quarantine at designated sites plus three days of home quarantine (‘5+3’ policy).   Source : https://app.thestandard.com.hk/article/67101195

Indonesia's ­fiscal defi­cit as of December 14th was equal to 1.22 per cent of gross domestic product, much smaller than the latest government outlook, the ­finance minister said on Tuesday, amid strong revenue collection and good budget discipline. The data was hailed by some analysts as good ­fiscal management, after the government recorded large de­cits in 2021 and 2020 to help Southeast Asia's largest economy navigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Indonesia booked a fi­scal de­ficit of 237.7 trillion rupiah (USD 15.24 billion) or 1.22 per cent of GDP as of mid-December, Sri Mulyani Indrawati told an online news conference. That was much narrower than the revised budget de­cit for full-year 2022 of 4.5 per cent of GDP and officials' latest guidance of a de­cit of around 3 per cent this year. Last year's ­fiscal defi­cit was 4.6 per cent, while 2020's was 6.1 per cent. "The de­ficit was much smaller than what we planned for," Sri Mulyani said, without providing a full-year estimate. "This shows that our budget has become healthier."   Source : https://www.channelnewsasia.com/business/indonesias-budget-deficit-narrows-sharply-amid-strong-revenues-3157516

Indonesia's central bank raised its key policy rate, but at a slower pace than in recent months, reaffi­rming that inflation was coming under control while forecasting a slower pace of economic growth next year. Bank Indonesia (BI) raised the benchmark 7-day reverse repurchase rate by 25 basis points (bps) to 5.50%, as expected by the majority of economists polled by Reuters, after three consecutive 50 basis point hikes since September. It also reiterated its aim to keep the Rupiah stable, while announcing a new instrument to boost the onshore supply of dollars and shore up the currency by encouraging banks to pass exporters' foreign currency savings to the central bank.   Source : https://www.investing.com/news/economy/indonesia-central-bank-raises-key-policy-rate-by-25-bps-2969083

Chinese government has said people with Covid-19 who have mild or no symptoms can quarantine at home, in a signicant shift towards living with the virus. The 10-point directives also instructed offi­cials to stop launching temporary lockdowns, and ended testing and health code requirements for “cross-regional migrants”, suggesting much freer travel across China for the lunar new year period. The new rules are the strongest sign that China’s ruling Communist party has abandoned its long-running zero-Covid policy. Previously, sick people and their contacts, ranging from immediate family members to distant neighbours, were forced into massive purpose-built centralised quarantine facilities, while areas ranging from residential buildings to entire cities could be locked down for days, weeks, or months. While some cities and regions have eased restrictions at a local level in recent days, Wednesday’s changes appear to create a national consistent response to the management of patients and contacts. Mass testing has also been wound back, with a focus on people working or living in high-risk settings. Negative PCR results and health codes are now only required for nursing homes, welfare homes, medical institutions, childcare institutions, and primary and secondary schools.   Source : https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/dec/07/china-covid-home-quarantine-restrictions-eased-nationwide