The central bank of Indonesia (Bank Indonesia) expects the nation's current account deficit to widen to 2.4 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2017 due to expectation of rising imports in Indonesia this year. These rising imports come on the back of growing investment realization in Southeast Asia's largest economy. This projection is significantly higher compared to the estimated USD $17 billion, or 1.8 percent of GDP, current account deficit in 2016.

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Several players in Indonesia's food and beverage industry are optimistic that their business will do better in 2017 compared to the preceding year. Meanwhile, while the Industry Ministry of Indonesia set its target for growth of the national food and beverage industry in 2017 at the range of 7.5 - 7.8 percent year-on-year (y/y), an industry group is confident that the industry will expand up to 8.5 percent (y/y) this year, similar to last year's performance. Why should Indonesia's food and beverage industry expand stronger than the government's target in 2017?

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On Monday morning (23/01) hundreds of Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) members conducted a protest march from the Al Azhar Mosque in South Jakarta to Police headquarters on Jalan Sudirman in Central Jakarta to protest against the questioning of FPI leader Rizieq Shihab. Jakarta Police summoned the FPI leader for questioning regarding a speech that was published on the FPI's YouTube channel.

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The European Union (EU) is a key export market for Indonesian crude palm oil (CPO) producers. The EU consumed 6.3 million tons of CPO in full-year 2015, 65.2 percent of which (about 4.2 million tons) originated from Indonesia, the world's biggest palm oil producer and exporter. After India, the EU is Indonesia's biggest client in terms of CPO shipments. However, despite the big market for Indonesian CPO in the EU, there are major challenges for Indonesian CPO exporters due to negative (anti-palm oil) campaigns launched in the EU.

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