Andi Amran Sulaiman, Indonesia's Agriculture Minister, says Indonesia is ready to become a rice exporter after Indonesia managed to become self-sufficient in rice in 2016. Last year Indonesia produced a total of 79.17 million of unmilled tons of rice, significantly above the government target that was set at 72 million tons. Although Indonesia is the world's third-largest rice producer the country usually needs to import rice from Vietnam or Thailand to maintain stable prices and meet huge rice demand at home. Rice is the staple food of basically all Indonesian people.

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The central bank of Indonesia (Bank Indonesia) expects Indonesia's current account deficit (CAD) to widen to 2.4 percent of the nation's gross domestic product (GDP), or about USD $23 billion, in 2017. Therefore, Bank Indonesia Governor Agus Martowardojo said the CAD remains one of the bigger challenges for Indonesia in the foreseeable future. In 2016 the nation's CAD had in fact eased to 1.8 percent of GDP (or USD $17 billion) on the back of a big improvement in the last quarter of 2016.

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Indonesia's Communications and Information Minister Rudiantara says all Indonesians across the whole archipelago will be able to enjoy Internet access by 2019. Through the Palapa Ring project, one of Indonesia's priority infrastructure projects, all cities and districts in Indonesia will have fast broadband Internet through an undersea fiber-optic cable network that stretches across 13,000 kilometers as well as an onshore network of nearly 22,000 kilometers.

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The Lippo Group, one of Indonesia's largest and most diversified conglomerates, is set to acquire a big stake in Singapore-listed Healthway Medical Corporation (HMC) through Gentle Care (a Lippo Group-linked unit). HMC is a private healthcare provider operating through two segments, including primary healthcare, and specialist & wellness healthcare. It owns and manages more than 100 medical centers and clinics, mainly in Singapore and China.

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