Briefs

Indonesia’s government recognises that it will have to put in extra effort to boost 10 new tourism destinations to Bali’s level, especially as it aims to attract 20 million foreign tourists by 2019.
As tourism slowly takes its place as a new engine of economic growth, the government is making aggressive plans to improve and promote new tourist destinations.
Morotai in Maluku, Labuan Bajo in West Nusa Tenggara and Tanjung Lesung in Banten are three names that may sound unfamiliar to the domestic and international communities, but they are among the so-called 10 emerging tourist destinations that the government expects to be as famous as Bali.
The other seven destinations are Tanjung Kelayang in Belitung, Wakatobi in Southeast Sulawesi, Lake Toba in North Sumatra, Bromo-Tengger-Semeru in East Java, the Thousand Islands in Jakarta, Borobudur in Central Java and Mandalika in West Nusa Tenggara.
However, raising them to Bali’s level will take a lot of work, a fact acknowledged by the government. |– The Jakarta Post
In its latest “Indonesia Economic Quarterly Report”, the World Bank says implementation of this plan will require efforts on multiple fronts and infrastructure will play a crucial role.
Indonesia currently ranks in the bottom half of countries on several infrastructure-related tourism-competitiveness indicators, such as ground and port infrastructure, tourist-service infrastructure, health and hygiene, information and communications technology readiness and environmental sustainability. – The Jakarta Post

SL Agritech upbeat on
deal with China firm
Philippine hybrid-rice producer SL Agritech Corporation expects a recently signed joint seed-production deal in China to pave the way for the production of enough of its hybrid rice variety to be cultivated in 2 million hectares of rice fields within five years.
During Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s state visit to China, SL Agritech signed a cooperation agreement with agro-industrial firm Jiangsu Hongqi Seed Co to invest US$160 million (Bt5.6 billion) jointly in the production of hybrid rice seeds.
“The percentage ownership will be 50-50,” SL Agritech chairman Henry Lim Bon Liong said in a text message.
China’s Jiangsu Hongqi Seed is a state-owned enterprise. It is a major player in the seed industry of Jiangsu province. Since its establishment in 2001, it has become one of the leading players in China’s agriculture industrialisation, agriculture science and agriculture technology. It sells seeds under the Hongqi trademark in more than 180 countries. – Philippine Daily Inquirer
“The seed production will be in China. The variety is ours,” Lim said, referring to SL Agritech’s high-yielding SL8H hybrid rice variety.
“We are expanding our local seed-production area in Davao but we need contiguous land and might not have enough farmland to produce seeds to satisfy 2 million hectares in the next five years,” Lim said.
SL Agritech currently produces hybrid rice seeds on 600 hectares in Davao Oriental province and is expanding to Davao del Sur with another 600 hectares.
“We need thousands of hectares to produce enough seeds for 2 million hectares,” he said. – Philippine Daily Inquirer

Big C renews retail 
training deal 
Supermarket chain Big C has renewed its agreements with RMIT University Vietnam and the Asian Institute of Technology in Vietnam (AIT-VN) to offer 12-month certificate courses in retail management that began on October 31 Monday.
From more than 2,000 applicants, 18 trainees were selected for AIT-VN’s Future Managers programme and 17 for RMIT’s Future Senior Manager programme.
The courses combine academic and on-the-job training by the supermarket’s senior executives and experienced lecturers from RMIT and AIT-VN.
The trainees get a full scholarship, a monthly allowance, lunch and transport subsidies, accommodation for those coming from outside Ho Chi Minh City, health and accident insurance, and other benefits.
Also on Monday, Big C issued |certificates to 31 people graduating from last year’s programmes. |– Viet Nam News
Duong Thanh Son, director of Big C Academy, said the Vietnamese retail industry had developed strongly in recent years, leading to high demand for human resources, especially in management positions, but there were no schools providing training in this field. – Viet Nam News