• 13th Economic Policy Package Indonesia: Low-Cost Housing

    Earlier this week the government of Indonesia released its 13th economic policy package. This 13th edition focuses on the reduction of bureaucracy (red tape) in a bid to boost the construction of low-cost housing for the poorer segments of Indonesian society. Currently, property developers are required to obtain 33 permits before they can start to build affordable housing for the low-income people of Indonesia. This results in a costly and time-consuming process.

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  • Profit of Indonesia's State-Owned Energy Firm Pertamina Soars 221%

    Indonesia's fully state-owned energy company Pertamina saw its net profit grow by a whopping 221 percent (y/y) to USD $1.83 billion in the first half of 2016. This remarkable performance is attributed to the company's enhanced operational performance and efficiency in the upstream and downstream segments. Dwi Soetjipto, General Director of Pertamina, that despite the oil and gas industry being plagued by major challenges, Pertamina managed to take its responsibility in terms of the energy supply, being the nation's foremost local energy supplier.

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  • Housing Backlog Indonesia to Fall to 6.8 Million Units by 2019?

    The government of Indonesia may succesfully curb the nation's housing backlog figure to 6.8 million units by 2019. Providing adequate housing for the poorer segments of Indonesian society is one of the key tasks of the Indonesian government (for example through its 'one million houses' [per year] program). In 2015 Indonesia's housing backlog declined by 16 percent (y/y) to 11.4 million units according to the data from Indonesia's Statistics Agency (BPS). With enough effort of the government and private sector the figure should continue to drop in the foreseeable future.

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  • Deficit in Indonesia's Steel Industry Puts Pressure on Trade Balance

    Indonesia imports between 6.5 - 7.5 million tons of steel each year to meet domestic demand. Given that Indonesia's steel exports are insignificant it therefore implies that steel is one of the components that puts heavy pressure on the country's trade balance. The steel deficit of Indonesia is estimated to reach USD $7 billion this year. Indonesia requires some 12.5 million tons of steel per year for its construction projects. However, the domestic steel industry can only supply about 6 million tons of steel.

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