Dealing with waste remains one of the toughest challenges for developing countries like Indonesia. Promoting waste management as a way to raise funds for social programmes could help address the problem.

February 21, 2005 was a catastrophic moment for Indonesia: 143 people were killed by a landslide from an overflowing landfill site in Leuwigajah, Bandung. The day was an eye-opener for people and the government later declared the date National Waste Awareness Day. Since then, many initiatives have been launched to address waste management.

One of these is a programme called sedekah sampah, meaning waste to charity, in which citizens send recyclable waste to collection centres, which then sell it to junk shops, industrial recyclers or other waster collectors to raise money for social programmes and aid. The programme recovers up to 8 tonnes of waste per month in each city where it operates.

The programme focuses on charity in part in order to engage upper-middle class society in waste management, as this demographic isn’t typically motivated by economic incentives around waste collection. The programme is unique because it can integrate social and environmental benefits with waste management.

The city of Bandung became one of the first places to introduce the programme in 2017, when PD Kebersihan Bandung (Bandung Cleanliness Company) and DPU Daarut Tauhid, an Islamic philanthropy body, launched a collaboration. Since then, the programme has been replicated in many cities, including Tangerang, Bekasi, Padang and Banjarmasin.

The idea of sedekah sampah is based in generosity and the Indonesian tradition of gotong royong (mutual cooperation). It’s also in line with a key fatwa, or Islamic legal ruling, for Indonesians. According to the Majelis Ulama Indonesia (Indonesian Ulema Council), “The Muslim community is mandated to keep environment cleanliness and recycle waste into useful items.”

As former Head of PD Kebersihan Bandung Deni Nurdiana said, “The objective of sedekah sampah is to improve the waste segregation rate at the source by increasing social cohesiveness and educating people about donating recyclable waste in addition to cash.”

The success of sedekah sampah shows how Indonesiaand the regioncan scale-up region waste solutions

While sedekah sampah has already been successful, the model can still be improved with additional support. Offering pick-up services to people who want to donate waste enables more households to participate and potentially doubles the volume of collected waste, as seen in Bekasi city. The value of the waste collected can also be increased by waste treatment and processing, allowing the programme to generate more revenue. In Aceh, a plastic shredding initiative quadrupled the price of plastic waste from S$0.1 to S$0.4 per kilogram.

Local and national leaders also need to raise awareness about the programme and leverage this awareness to increase impact. The regional people’s representative council of Banjarmasin city, the capital of South Kalimantan, invited people from the surrounding area to donate recyclable waste together with local council members at a waste collection point. During the coronavirus pandemic, local authorities elsewhere, such as in Ciamis city and Paser Penajam Utara city, have even promoted sedekah sampah as a way to raise funds for people impacted by the crisis. Many people can’t donate money to those in need during COVID-19, but they can donate waste, which can be sold to raise money.

Given the success of sedekah sampah, other countries in Southeast Asia could develop similar solutions to address the region’s plastic waste crisis. Most plastic waste is technically recyclable, but the collection and sorting costs prohibit effective programmes.

The scope of sedekah sampah could also be expanded to cover food and organic waste, which constitute to 52 percent of waste generated in Southeast Asia. Food waste can be collected and treated to be used as animal feed and other organic waste can be composted to make organic fertiliser. The repurposed waste can be sold to local farmers in the region at low cost or simply donated. When done right, sedekah sampah can promote wider participation in waste management and help to both prevent pollution and raise money for social programmes.

https://www.aseantoday.com/2020/07/sedekah-sampah-how-indonesia-raises-money-for-social-programmes-while-tackling-its-waste-problem/

 

Category: Indonesia

Hong Kong stocks advanced at the start of the new week, as traders shook off an early morning bout of jitters over rising coronavirus cases and the prospect of a slower pace of economic recovery in the US.

The Hang Seng Index found its footing to gain 1.2 per cent as of 2:08pm to 26,031.31, with commerce and industry stocks leading gains and property stocks retreating.

High turnover stocks were Tencent, China’s social media and online gaming giant, which turned up to advance by 1.2 per cent to HK$553, and Alibaba, the country’s e-commerce titan and the owner of the South China Morning Post, which rose 0.5 per cent to HK$256.80.

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Daiwa Capital Markets reiterated its buy on Alibaba and boosted the 12-month target price to HK$294 from HK$260, or a 15.1 per cent jump from Friday’s close. Analyst John Choi said he expects Alibaba will post a “solid” quarter, with its revenue growing 30 per cent year-on-year when it reports next month.

Meanwhile, China automakers soared in Hong Kong, as data shows car sales continue to recover in June in the world’s largest car market after the coronavirus.

Geely Automobile shot up 9 per cent, while BYD jumped 13.5 per cent to HK$87.70.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite Index also struggled initially for direction, but gained 1.9 per cent to 3,426.21 after the lunch break. Concern is growing over whether China stocks have risen too much and too quickly, raising the spectre of the 2015 meltdown in mainland markets fuelled by irrational exuberance and margin trading.

A commentary published by state-owned Securities Times cautioned investors against chasing the rally as market sentiment has turned into a bullish mood.

It urged individual investors to focus on companies’ fundamentals, adding that only those firms with solid earnings were good buys.

“It is not a bull market yet unless the Shanghai Composite Index breaks through the 3,500-point level,” said Zhou Ling, a fund manager with Shanghai Shiva Investment. “It is important for the official media organisations to play down investors’ expectations for a strong rally at this moment.”

Kweichow Moutai, one of the most popular stocks traded on the Hong Kong-mainland Stock Connect, advanced 4 per cent to 1,779.89 yuan.

In the Asia-Pacific region, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 advanced 2 per cent, Korea’s Kospi climbed 1.7 per cent, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 1 per cent.

US stock futures rose.

Investors in Hong Kong began the second week of the newborn bull market, as mainland money has poured in and a total of 24 initial public offerings are slated for this month. Sentiment overall remains positive, with the Hang Seng Index seeing back-to-back weekly gains and on track for a monthly gain.

A cloudy earnings season kicks off in the US this week, while in Hong Kong, Covid-19 cases surged and a primary election over the weekend for democratic opposition candidates for the Legislative Council was swamped with hundreds of thousands of voters at a time when Beijing is tightening its grip over the city.

Meanwhile, China will release its latest data on second-quarter GDP, retail sales, unemployment and industrial production.

Gold rose 0.4 per cent to $1,805.21. Gold-backed exchange trader funds posted their seventh month of positive flows in June as the asset haven trades at levels not seen since 2011.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump, whose re-election bid looks increasingly in danger, signalled he is not in a rush for a phase two trade deal with China, the latest sign of souring relations between the world’s two largest economies, which he described as “severely damaged”.

Two Hong Kong property stocks were top losers in the sector, which continues to be weighed down by uncertainties around property buying and retail sales in malls, even as analysts rate a number of them as buys with possible significant upside. New World Development fell 1.7 per cent to HK$40, while Wharf REIC fell 1.4 per cent to HK$32.75.

Also, two stocks debuted in the city.

Yik Wo, which makes disposable plastic containers, jumped 105 per cent to 82HK cents on the GEM baord.

Honliv Heathcare Management Group, which operates one of the largest for-profit hospitals in China, gained 16.7 per cent to HK$2.45 in its debut on the main board.

On the mainland, two companies debuted.

Sihui Fuji Electronic Technology, which makes printed circuit board products, opened 20 per cent higher, trading at 39.67 yuan.

The company listed on the ChiNext market soon surged to the 44 per cent first-day upper limit, hitting 47.60 yuan with 30-minute trading suspension triggered.

Bearings manufacturer Luoyang Xinqianglian Slewing Bearing jumped 20 per cent to 23.59 yuan when trading started before climbing further to 26.41 yuan, 34.3 per cent higher than its IPO price.

https://sg.news.yahoo.com/hong-kong-hang-seng-index-023056852.html

 

Category: Hong Kong

Since China imposed a draconian national security law on Hong Kong, a lot of dinner party chatter in this protest-minded city has been about personal exit strategies. For up to three million Hongkongers, the exit could come in the form of a British National (Overseas) passport. Will they really leaveand what of those left behind?

Michael and Serena have decided to leave Hong Kong for good and settle in the UK, a country they have never set foot in.

The couple have British National (Overseas)or BNOpassports, which were issued to Hong Kong residents that registered before the city was handed back to China on July 1997.

Essentially a travel document with rights for some consular assistance, its usefulness seemed limited to many for anything but easier access to the UK and European travel. Some people went for it anyway. Why not, went the thinking for many Hongkongers.

Michael and Serena are the embodiment of the comfortable prosperity common in Hong Kong: well-travelled with a 13-year-old daughter, they are both middle managers in a bank and bought a flat many years ago. It is a lot to give up.

They say that Hong Kong has become unrecognisable in its handling of the months-long protests triggered by a bill which proposed to allow extradition to mainland China. What the couple saw was a government which did not listen to the people, and police force that showed little restraint.

Their daughter has been deeply affected by the protests, even though the family did not take part because the couple work at a Chinese bank, where an employee was fired for protesting.

“She has been very angry and upset. She kept asking why the authorities could treat us like that?” Serena said, adding that their daughter had told them she wanted to study abroad.

The controversial national security law, which took effect last week, was the last straw.

“The articles of the national security law are outrageous,” said Michael. Serena said she did not believe Beijing’s claims that the claim that law would only target “a tiny number of people”.

The UK now wants to offer BNO passport holders citizenship rights after six years of stay, arguing that China has breached the Sino-British Joint Declaration by enacting the national security law, which violates the city’s high degree of autonomy and infringes the civil liberties of Hong Kong residents.

Michael and Serena’s original plan was to only send their daughter to study abroad, but now moving to the UK as a family has become their first choice. Last November, they renewed their long-expired BNO passports, thinking that it could become usefula hedge against an uncertain future.

“I thought the UK would only offer citizenship to BNO passport holders as a last resort. I didn’t think it would happen so soon, but all of a sudden great changes are happening,” Michael said.

In the week since China announced the new security law, the story of Michael and Serena has become more common.

The people without BNO passports

Currently, there are about 350,000 BNO passport holders in Hong Kong, and the UK government estimates that there are about 2.9 million BNOs in total.

Hong Kong residents born after the 1997 handover are not eligible for the BNO passportand those who did not apply for one before the handover are not allowed to do so now.

Helen was born in 1997 before the handover, but her parents did not apply for a BNO passport for her because she was a baby.

“I am not sure if I want to go. But this is my right. Compared to the UK, I like Hong Kong more. But I should have had a BNO passport,” she said, admitting that she blamed her parents a little for not applying for one for her back then.

It is difficult to gauge the number of Hong Kong residents who will take up the UK’s offer at this momentbut interest is running high, especially after the UK’s announcement on July 1. On that day, Raab told the House of Commons: “We will not look the other way on Hong Kong, and we will not duck our historic responsibilities to its people.”

Ben Yu, who works for an immigration consultancy in the UK, said: “My Hong Kong-based colleague receives 30 to 40 messages on Facebook every day. His WhatsApp has received hundreds of messages asking about moving to the UK by all routes, including BNOs and other visas. The messages come in 24/7 non-stop since then.”

The number of BNO renewals appears to be driven by political upheavals in Hong Kong. In 2018, about 170,000 BNO passports were in circulation. The next year, the number jumped to more than 310,000.

During the colonial days, Hong Kong was always described as a borrowed place on borrowed timeand it is no stranger to waves of emigration. Between 1984 and 1997, between about 20,000 and 66,000 people left the city every year.

The imminent wave of emigration will also likely look different to those in the past. “A lot of them returned to Hong Kong either before 1997 or after 1997, when they had seized their safety outlets when they had got their foreign passports, when they saw that the political nightmare had not occurred as predicted,” said Professor Ming Sing, who teaches politics at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. “For the current wave, should it happen, I guess we will see a higher proportion of them is going to be a one-way ticket,” he said.

“A lot of them see that the legislation of the national security law which has been imposed from the top is not only draconian in nature, but it also reflects Beijing reneging on its promise. Not only its failure to protect Hong Kong’s freedoms under the Joint Declaration and under the Basic Law,” he said, adding that he thinks more young people, many of them are protesters, will exit Hong Kong.

What comes next?

In the city of 7.5 million, about 800,000 people have British, Australian, Canadian, or American passportsincluding expats.

Beijing has expressed anger over the UK’s plan to offer citizenship to BNO passport holders in Hong Kong. China’s Ambassador to the UK Liu Xiaoming said on Monday the move constitutes “gross interference in China’s internal affairs”

“No one should underestimate the firm determination of China to safeguard its sovereignty, security and development interests,” he said.

It is difficult to gauge the number of Hong Kong residents who will take up the UK’s offer at this momentbut interest is running high, especially after the UK’s announcement on July 1. On that day, Raab told the House of Commons: “We will not look the other way on Hong Kong, and we will not duck our historic responsibilities to its people.”

Ben Yu, who works for an immigration consultancy in the UK, said: “My Hong Kong-based colleague receives 30 to 40 messages on Facebook every day. His WhatsApp has received hundreds of messages asking about moving to the UK by all routes, including BNOs and other visas. The messages come in 24/7 non-stop since then.”

The number of BNO renewals appears to be driven by political upheavals in Hong Kong. In 2018, about 170,000 BNO passports were in circulation. The next year, the number jumped to more than 310,000.

During the colonial days, Hong Kong was always described as a borrowed place on borrowed timeand it is no stranger to waves of emigration. Between 1984 and 1997, between about 20,000 and 66,000 people left the city every year.

The imminent wave of emigration will also likely look different to those in the past. “A lot of them returned to Hong Kong either before 1997 or after 1997, when they had seized their safety outlets when they had got their foreign passports, when they saw that the political nightmare had not occurred as predicted,” said Professor Ming Sing, who teaches politics at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. “For the current wave, should it happen, I guess we will see a higher proportion of them is going to be a one-way ticket,” he said.

“A lot of them see that the legislation of the national security law which has been imposed from the top is not only draconian in nature, but it also reflects Beijing reneging on its promise. Not only its failure to protect Hong Kong’s freedoms under the Joint Declaration and under the Basic Law,” he said, adding that he thinks more young people, many of them are protesters, will exit Hong Kong.

What comes next?

In the city of 7.5 million, about 800,000 people have British, Australian, Canadian, or American passportsincluding expats.

Beijing has expressed anger over the UK’s plan to offer citizenship to BNO passport holders in Hong Kong. China’s Ambassador to the UK Liu Xiaoming said on Monday the move constitutes “gross interference in China’s internal affairs”

“No one should underestimate the firm determination of China to safeguard its sovereignty, security and development interests,” he said.

Some names have been changed.

https://news.yahoo.com/hong-kong-security-law-why-230257216.html

 

Category: Hong Kong

Real estate investment firms around the world are increasingly targeting Hong Kong investors through social media ads and events.

Last year, the Chinese territory entered its first recession in years initially triggered by months of pro-democracy unrest and the impact of the US-China trade war, then exacerbated by the coronavirus outbreak which forced the city to shut its borders.

Most recently, a new national security law which is said to be aimed at restoring order, is creating anxiety among some. Some Hong Kong residents have also expressed concerns that freedoms like an open internet could be slowly stripped away.

For instance, demand in Hong Kong for virtual private networks surged shortly after Beijing introduced the law. Meanwhile, social media app, Tik Tok quickly left the Hong Kong market citing “recent events” and Facebook said it has stopped processing government requests in the city.

Hong Kong’s Chief Executive Carrie Lam has said the new law will only target an “extremely small minority” of offenders, and maintains that the basic rights and freedoms enjoyed by the majority of its citizens will be protected.

According to Hong Kong’s statistics and census department, some 29,200 residents left Hong Kong last year amid months of social unrest. It was the highest number of departures since 2012, according to Caixin Global and Bloomberg.

Emigration ads on social media

In the past month, ads promoting emigration and international real estate investments have flooded Hong Kong users’ social media platforms, like Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.

The ads, seen by CNBC, boast slogans like: “Now is the time to consider UK real estate,” “Attend our free webinar on path to United States green card for Hong Kong residents” and “Create a new life in Australia or New Zealand.”

The biggest interest is in the UK where some ads even reference recent announcements in which the UK said it would grant up to 3 million people in Hong Kong a path to citizenship, through a British National (Overseas) passport (BNO). The document was offered to select Hong Kong citizens before the territory was handed over to China in 1997 and currently offers passport holders access to British consular assistance and the right to stay in the UK for six months.

China has called the UK announcement “a gross interference in China’s internal affairs.”

Mohamad Nasir, a UK-based investment consultant at NPP Investments, said there’s been a spike in the number of inquiries from Hong Kong about its properties in Manchester. “We’ve probably seen a 200 percent increase in the past week alone,” he said.

While he usually works with Hong Kong clients who are primarily seeking investment properties, Nasir said he’s now getting less inquiries about rental income and receiving more questions about lifestyle and immigration.

“They’re saying, ‘I’m looking to invest, but also I’m potentially looking to move over as well within the next six months to 12 months,’” he added.

His firm is just one of many seeing a surge in demand from a widening demographic of Hong Kongers.

“A lot of the wealthy, wealthy Hong Kongers already have a footprint in the UK and they’ve already started some of that displacement of capital or diversification of capital outside of Hong Kong,” said James Dempsey, Asia sales director at BuyAssociation, an investment consultancy specialising in the UK market.

The firm sells properties in key cities in the UK and said it’s experiencing one of the biggest spikes the business has seen.

“The BNO passport status has really influenced the general public,” Dempsey said. “The biggest fuel at the moment is your everyday person in Hong Kong and that’s why we’re seeing such an increase in inquiries and transactions.”

The increasing interest from global developers is not just coming from the UK The DLF Camellias Gurgaon, a luxury real estate project in New Delhi, has shifted much of its attention from the US and UK to focus on Hong Kong buyers.

“There is a heightened interest now, triggered in a market like Hong Kong by the political slight instability, or anxiety in which kind of overlays the Covid anxiety,” Karan Kumar, chief marketing officer at DLF Limited said. “It’s only more appropriate for us to reach out to that market more directly.”

From the US to the UK

Hong Kong investors purchasing investment properties overseas isn’t new.

Kingston Lai, who founded Asia Bankers Club in the city in 2012, wanted his company to be a place that offers alternative investments services, mainly through investing in real estate abroad. At a recent event in Hong Kong, he spoke to crowds first in English, then in Cantonese to educate attendees on both lifestyle and investment options for a new Manchester development.

“When they see the UK property market still at a very good level, the sterling is cheap, they want to plan ahead,” he told CNBC. “It’s planning ahead for their kids’ education, maybe for themselves at some point.”

Before the protests broke out in Hong Kong last year, CNBC attended an event hosted by the firm which sold units to a yet-to-be-opened Manhattan skyscraper.

But that was last year. The situation appears to have changed since.

“The interest in the US was growing, but now with what’s happening in the US, people do worry about the pandemic and election, creating a lot of uncertainty for the investors,” Lai said. “Certainly, (the) US dollar is still a very key currency… but for them to think about potential growth in terms of the real estate market, they see a bigger potential in the UK market.”

Aside from the UK, other developers targeting Hong Kong buyers heavily include Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

“At the moment, the majority of Hong Kong nationals are most excited, or most enthusiastic, about the Canadian programme and what’s going on with the UK,” said Brennan Sim, senior vice president of EB5 United, a firm that specialises in providing immigration services to the US

Meanwhile, Lai estimated a surge of between eight to 10 times in inquiries for British properties in recent months.

“We know (the) Bank of England is printing money, quantitative easing is happening,” he said. “During the crisis in 2008, this is on a bigger scale, they worry about that, worry about money becoming worthless, they’re investing quickly into real estate. UK becomes a very good market for it.”

BuyAssociation’s Dempsey said Hong Kong buyers also attracted to the UK due to its education system and transparency with land registry, among other factors.

“Right now is going to be the biggest displacement of capital out of Hong Kong since ’97,” he predicted. “People are going to gravitate to the markets they feel are most secure.”

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/07/13/property-developers-target-hong-kong-residents-amid-uncertainty-over-new-law.html

 

Category: Hong Kong