Our Financial Columns offer analyses of subjects related to the Indonesian financial markets. Together, these columns - that also have high news value in the current state of the Indonesian economy - intend to provide a clear and detailed picture regarding the structure and performance of these markets.
The global environment has not improved in August 2019. In fact, it has deteriorated as reflected by declining stock indices in most parts of the world as well as a record-setting trend for the price of gold (known for being one of the world’s crucial safe haven assets).
Indonesia, the world’s 16th-biggest economy, recently joined the “trillion-US dollar club” having a nominal gross domestic product (GDP) of USD $1.01 trillion. Meanwhile, the country’s annual economic growth has been going at a pace of around 5.0 percent over the past couple of years.
On Monday 17 June 2019, Bali Bintang Sejahtera (Bali United) became the first football club in Indonesia – reportedly even the first football club in the Southeast Asian region – to conduct an initial public offering (IPO) on the stock market.
As stock markets continue to trade near precarious highs and an underlying current of geopolitical uncertainty continues to limit the outlook for equities in 2019, it is not entirely surprising to see going prices rallying. Indeed, this has been our price forecast for several weeks. But the confirmation of these forecasts came as the result of new evidence indicating weakness in US labor markets and rising expectations that the Federal Reserve will be forced to reduce interest rates more than previously anticipated.
