Former Chelsea football stars Michael Essien and Carlton Cole, who both played their first match in Indonesia's League One over the weekend, are facing some difficulty with Indonesian immigration. Essien and Cole, who are in the last phase of their careers, signed for Persib Bandung, one of the top football teams in Indonesia. However, based on media reports, Persib Bandung has not concluded the immigration process in time. As a result both players played their first match without having a work permit.

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Despite the improving export performance (supported by improving commodity prices), it may be difficult for Indonesia to deliver +5 percent year-on-year (y/y) gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the first quarter of 2017. Main reason is subdued consumer purchasing power due to higher electricity tariffs in Southeast Asia's largest economy. Therefore, economic growth of Indonesia is expected to be rather similar to the 4.92 percent (y/y) growth pace recorded in Q1-2016.

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While car sales are showing a rebound in Indonesia, motorcycle sales continue to decline. Based on the latest data from the Indonesian Motorcycle Industry Association (AISI), motorcycle sales in Southeast Asia's largest economy fell 15.9 percent year-on-year (y/y) to 473,896 units in March 2017 from 563,341 units in the same month one year earlier. AISI Chairman Sigit Kumala says Indonesian consumers continue to postpone the purchase of a motorcycle amid weak consumer purchasing power.

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Indonesia reported good trade data on Monday (17/04). Indonesia's Statistics Agency (BPS) announced the nation's exports were worth USD $14.59 billion in March 2017, up 23.55 percent from the same month one year earlier (and the biggest rise since August 2011), on the back of growing oil and gas shipments. Moreover, the pace of Indonesia's export growth in March was nearly two times faster compared to growth recorded in the preceding month as well as the forecast of most analysts.

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