• Indonesia Posts Trade Surplus in April but Concerns about Economy Rise

    Indonesia posted a higher-than-expected USD $454.4 million trade surplus in April 2015. Previously, analysts predicted to see an April trade surplus of around USD $120 million. However, the USD $454.4 million trade surplus was smaller than the (revised) USD $1 billion trade surplus recorded in March. Moreover, the April surplus (the country’s fifth consecutive trade surplus) is primarily caused by a large drop in imports, signalling that Indonesia’s economic performance remains sluggish at the start of Q2-2015.

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  • Indonesia’s Reference Coal Price Hits All-Time Low in May 2015

    On Monday (11/05), it was announced that the reference coal price of Indonesia declined 5.2 percent (month-on-month) to an all-time low of USD $61.08 per metric ton in May. This benchmark price, which is set by the government each month based on the average of four coal indexes (Indonesia Coal Index, Platts Index, New Castle Export Index and New Castle Global Coal Index), continued to plummet due to the coal oversupply in combination with weak global coal demand (particularly falling demand from China).

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  • Pajak Indonesia: Mendongkrak Pendapatan Pajak Melalui Kebijakan Baru

    Seorang pejabat pemerintah berposisi tinggi mengatakan bahwa pemerintah Indonesia berencana memotong pajak perusahaan secara bertahap dari 25% pada saat ini menjadi di bawah 18% dalam usaha untuk membuat Indonesia menjadi tempat yang lebih menarik untuk melakukan bisnis. Luhut Panjaitan, Kepala Staf Presiden Joko Widodo, mengkonfirmasi bahwa Widodo telah memerintahkan tindakan pajak yang terbaru ini. Selama beberapa minggu terakhir kita telah melihat pengumuman sejumlah kebijakan pajak baru karena pemerintah bertekad untuk mendongkrak pengumpulan pajak sebesar 30% di 2015.

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  • Unemployment in Indonesia Affected by Slowing Economic Growth

    Amid continued slowing economic growth unemployment in Indonesia increased in February 2015. On Tuesday (05/05), Statistics Indonesia announced that the country’s unemployment rate rose to 5.81 percent, up from 5.70 percent in February last year. However, compared to August 2014 - when unemployment was recorded at 5.94 percent - relative unemployment in Indonesia actually declined. Statistics Indonesia releases data on unemployment twice per year covering the unemployment rate in the months February and August.

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