• Corruption in Indonesia: Rudi Rubiandini Guilty of Receiving Bribes

    On Tuesday (29/04), Jakarta's Anti-Corruption Court sentenced Rudi Rubiandini, former Head of Indonesia's oil & gas regulator SKK Migas, to seven years in prison for money laundering and accepting bribes from Singapore-based Kernel Oil Pte Ltd and Indonesia-based Kaltim Parna Industri. These bribes were given in exchange for securing a win in an oil tender. In addition, Rubiandini was imposed a fine of IDR 200 million (or another three months in prison). Rubiandini was reported to not file an appeal to the court's verdict.

    Read column ›

  • Indonesian Rupiah and Stocks Down on Global and Domestic Concerns

    On the first trading day of the week (Monday 28 April 2014), the Indonesian rupiah exchange rate depreciated 0.19 percent to IDR 11,587 per US dollar based on the Bloomberg Dollar Index. Several factors - both internal and external - influenced the rupiah as well as Indonesian stocks in a negative way. The benchmark stock index of Indonesia (known as the Jakarta Composite Index or IHSG) declined a whopping 1.61 percent to 4,818.76 points, in line with the regional trend in Asia today.

    Read column ›

  • No Severe Impact Latest Indonesian Tax Scandal on Bank Central Asia

    The tax crime case which involves Bank Central Asia (BCA), Indonesia's largest lender by market value and the second-largest bank by assets, is not expected to have a significant impact on the performance of the shares of BCA. Earlier this week, Hadi Poernomo (Director General of taxation from 2002 to 2004) was questioned by Indonesia's Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) on allegations of accepting bribes in exchange for tax exemptions - worth of IDR 375 billion (USD $32.8 million) - granted to BCA.

    Read column ›

  • Forecasts Suggest that New El Niño Cycle May Be Rather Strong in 2014

    Australia's Bureau of Meteorology is increasingly convinced that the world needs to prepare for a new El Niño cycle. According to the institution, the impact of this new cycle will be felt starting from July 2014 and may continue through the winter. Also the European Center for Medium range Weather Forecasting (ECMWF) and the US Climate Prediction Center stated that chances of a new El Niño cycle in 2014 are becoming higher, although it is too early to provide an indication of this year's strength of the weather phenomenon.

    Read column ›