• Inflation Indonesia Update June: Consumer Price Index Up 0.54% m/m

    Indonesia’s inflation accelerated to 7.26 percent year-on-year (y/y) in June 2015 on higher food prices triggered by the start of the Ramadan month (the Islamic fasting month). The seasonal Ramadan and subsequent Idul Fitri celebrations always cause inflationary pressure in Indonesia as consumers increase spending. Despite Indonesian purchasing power having declined in recent months, reflected by slowing car and motorcycle sales, cheaper consumer goods such as food, clothes, shoes and bags are popular.

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  • Aviation Indonesia: Military Plane Crash in Medan (North Sumatra)

    On Tuesday (30/06), an Indonesian military airplane (C-130 Hercules) crashed into a densely populated residential area in the city of Medan in North Sumatra. The aircraft, en route from the military airport in Medan to Tanjung Pinang (capital of Indonesia's Riau Islands), crashed shortly after take-off and probably carried 122 people. A government spokesman said that at least 141 people have died. This figure is likely to rise. According to local media, the pilot of the military aircraft requested to return to base due to engine trouble.

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  • Infrastructure Development in Indonesia to Accelerate?

    Indonesia’s rapidly growing population in combination with robust economic growth and underinvestment in infrastructure development has resulted in the country’s current lack of quality and quantity of infrastructure. This situation causes a steep increase in logistics costs and blocks efforts to develop and realize national and regional economic potentials (an efficient logistics system is crucial for socioeconomic development of Indonesia). However, government spending on infrastructure development is set to start soon.

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  • Eric Sugandi: Indonesian Rupiah May Touch IDR 13,900 per US Dollar

    Eric Sugandi, Chief Economist at the Standard Chartered Bank, expects Indonesia’s rupiah to have depreciated to IDR 13,900 per US dollar by the end of the year from IDR 13,339 currently (29/06) due to the impact of the bullish US dollar ahead of monetary tightening in the USA and the looming Greek exit from the Eurozone. Actually, this is a conservative prognosis. In case Indonesia’s central bank does not raise its benchmark interest rate (BI rate), currently at 7.50 percent, pressures on the rupiah may increase in fact increase further.

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