Saturday, July 22, 2023

NEWS OF ZIMBABWE & INDONESIA, 22 JULY

 Reserve Bank Of Zimbabwe Owes Over $4bn For Goods And Services | Pindula (7/22/23)

The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe owes more than $4 billion to banks and companies, including commodities giant Trafigura Group and South African Airways, for fuel, corn, and other goods and services.

Private credit has saved Zimbabwe’s economy from total collapse, according to John Mangudya, the central bank’s governor. He told Bloomberg:

The creditors were supplying Zimbabwe in good faith, supplying things like fuel in advance, which was consumed by Zimbabweans. It’s only right that the country repays.

Trafigura is Zimbabwe’s second-largest private creditor, owed $66 million, behind Holbud, which is owed $85 million. SAA is owed $61 million for airline services. Mangudya expects the recent appreciation of the Zimbabwean dollar against the greenback to continue, which should alleviate pricing pressures.

John Mangudya expects the recent appreciation of the Zimbabwean dollar against the US dollar to continue, which he believes will alleviate pricing pressures. He also expects to see negative month-on-month inflation in July.

The central bank’s quasi-fiscal activities have been criticised by the International Monetary Fund, which has urged authorities to end them. Zimbabwe cannot access credit from international financial institutions as it is already $17 billion in arrears. Zimbabwe’s Treasury plans to seek lawmaker approval to assume the central bank’s external obligations.

Former Finance Minister Tendai Biti is also on record criticising the central government for off-budget spending such as subsidies, loan guarantees, and tax exemptions, as well as the accumulation of off-budget debts or other financial obligations and sidelining of Parliament in key economic policy decisions.

 Biti argues that laws affecting the economy have mostly been made through Statutory Instruments and the Presidential Powers (Temporary Measures) Act, bypassing the role of Parliament. He argues that Parliament should take back its powers to act on policies that affect the economy to prevent negative consequences for millions of people, particularly pensioners. 

https://www.pindula.co.zw/2023/07/22/reserve-bank-of-zimbabwe-owes-over-4bn-for-goods-and-services/

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Harambe:  Indonesia launches a national exchange and clearing house as it steps up crypto regulation (7/21/23)

Indonesia has jumped on the crypto regulation bandwagon. As interest in crypto keeps growing worldwide, governments are trying to figure out how to handle these digital assets well. In this way, Indonesia has made a big step forward by opening its national crypto market and clearing house. 

By making a platform for trading cryptos that is safe and regulated, Indonesia hopes to boost investor trust, attract foreign investments, and stop illegal activities that are linked to cryptos. 

Indonesia’s crypto regulation launch

According to a statement released Thursday by the nation’s commodities regulator, Indonesia’s stock market and clearing house for digital assets are now functioning after numerous delays.

In the past few years, Indonesia has become one of the crypto markets with the fastest growth. Many people in the country know a lot about technology, and many people who don’t have bank accounts but want other financial services have helped coins spread quickly. 

However,  the crypto business couldn’t grow well because there weren’t any clear rules, and there was a chance of scams.

Indonesia has a unique connection to crypto. Investment in these digital assets is permissible, but their usage as a method of exchange is not.

Throughout the outbreak in Indonesia, crypto coins became increasingly popular as investments. Additionally, as of June, more than 17.54 million people in the nation had invested in digital assets. This number far exceeded the total number of investors registered with the local stock exchange.

However, recent developments in the world economy, including the increase in interest rates, have tempered public interest in cryptos. Crypto transactions in Indonesia between January and June were 66.44 trillion rupiah ($4.42 billion), down 68.7% from last year.

Previously, it was reported that Bappebti would restrict the sale of cryptos to local transactions while maintaining them in line with global market developments. There will be a one-month window for licensed merchants to join the exchange.

According to Bappebti, the top five most traded cryptos were Tether, Bitcoin, EthereumRipple, and Binance Coin.

As of at least December 2021, development on the project had begun. In September 2022, Pang Hue Kai, CEO of one of Indonesia’s 25 licensed crypto exchanges, Tokokrypto (partially controlled by Binance), hailed the endeavor as “a catalyst for the Indonesian crypto ecosystem.”

Because of the time it takes to evaluate prospective exchange members, the original launch date of December 2022 has been pushed back to June 2023. Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan announced at the time, welcoming all operational crypto exchanges with national registration.

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