In the Safe Cities Index 2015, launched by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), Indonesia’s capital city of Jakarta is ranked at the bottom of the index. The Safe Cities Index, which covers 50 large cities worldwide (selected on factors which include regional representation and availability of data), based its ranking on an average score across four categories: digital security, health security, infrastructure safety and personal safety. In 2014, data from the Jakarta Police showed that 213 out of every 100,000 Jakartans were victims of various crimes.

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After weeks of uncertainty, Indonesian President Joko Widodo announced on Monday (17/11) that prices of subsidized fuels (gasoline and diesel) are to be raised by IDR 2,000 (USD $0.16) per liter starting from midnight. Gasoline (premium) is to be raised from IDR 6,500 to IDR 8,500 per liter, while diesel will be raised from IDR 5,500 to IDR 7,500 per liter. Earlier it was speculated that an IDR 3,000 per liter price hike would be announced. However, as global oil prices have declined sharply, this was considered an unnecessary burden for the people.

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The World Bank released a news update which states that poverty reduction in Indonesia continues to slow down, with only a reduction of 0.7 percentage points over the last two years, or the smallest decline in the last decade. Meanwhile the institution says that inequality also increased in recent years, potentially disrupting social cohesion and hence jeopardizing the gains from solid economic growth, which has helped to reduce the poverty rate to 11.3 percent in 2014, compared to 24 percent in 1999.

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Indonesia Investments has updated the company profile of PT Kalbe Farma Tbk. Kalbe Farma is the largest listed pharmaceutical company in Indonesia and Southeast Asia (listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange/IDX). The company’s main business focus rests on four divisions: prescription pharmaceuticals, consumer health products, nutritionals as well as distribution & logistics. Its a leading provider of “comprehensive healthcare solutions”, from pharmaceuticals, nutrition, health foods and beverages to medical devices, including primary healthcare service.

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Phapros, subsidiary of state-owned Rajawali Nusantara Indonesia, intends to conduct an initial public offering (IPO) on the Indonesia Stock Exchange in 2015 by offering 10 to 20 percent of its enlarged capital to the public. Through this corporate action, Phapros, a pharmaceutical products manufacturer, aims to raise IDR 500 billion (USD $42.3 million) which will be used to finance the company's capital expenditure in the next two years. The company expects to grow on the implementation of Indonesia’s social security program per 1 January 2014.

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Today (Saturday 05/04), Bill Gates, co-founder and chairman of the Microsoft Corporation as well as the world's richest person (with a net worth of USD $76 billion according to Forbes), arrives in Jakarta for the launch of the Indonesia Health Fund. This fund, which is established through a cooperation between the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Tahir Foundation, aims to combat diseases such as HIV-AIDS, tuberculosis, polio and malaria (both in Indonesia and outside Indonesia).

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The World Bank's latest report discusses healthcare. Indonesia is one of many countries that aims to achieve universal health coverage for its population. However, several challenges need to be faced and overcome in order to reach this goal, which the country hopes to achieve by 2019. Although health insurance coverage has increased significantly in Indonesia over the last decade, almost 60 percent of Indonesia's population still remains without any coverage, and out-of-pocket spending remains high even among those with coverage.

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On 5 April 2014, the US-based Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the world's largest private foundation, will travel to Indonesia to join Southeast Asia's largest economy in its combat against malaria, tuberculosis (TB) and HIV/AIDS as well as to support the country's birth control program through donating a total of USD $100 million. The foundation will also conduct fundraising in Indonesia by inviting various Indonesian businessmen to donate funds for the eradication of aforementioned diseases.

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Mitra Keluarga Karyasehat, operator rumah sakit dan unit usaha dari Grup Kalbe, menargetkan untuk meraup Rp 4,2 trilliun dalam penawaran umum perdana (IPO) di Bursa Efek Indonesia (BEI) pada Maret 2015. Perusahaan ini akan menawarkan 261,9 juta saham, setara dengan 18% dari modal ditempatkan dan disetor penuh perseroan. Lima persen dari total saham ini adalah saham baru, sementara 13% adalah saham didivestasi private equity firm Lion Investment Partners.

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On Monday (23/06), the World Bank released its latest analysis regarding the Indonesian economy. In its report, titled ‘Indonesia: Avoiding the Trap’, the World Bank states that Indonesia needs to implement a six reforms in priority areas in order to avoid the so-called middle income trap (referring to the situation where a country gets stuck at a certain income level). Without these critical reforms, the country’s economic growth will slow and may not be able to escape the middle income trap.

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Imports of oil will accelerate to 1.6 million barrels per day (bpd) by 2020 if fuels continue to be subsidized by the Indonesian government. This development will seriously burden Indonesia's trade balance (and current account). In 2013, Indonesia posted a trade deficit of USD $12.6 billion in the oil & gas sector. Due to improved performance in the non-oil & gas sector, the overall trade deficit was kept at USD $4.06 billion. Besides placing downward pressure on the rupiah exchange rate, expensive subsidies also burden the state budget.

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The inflation rate of Indonesia rose slightly in November 2013 (month-to-month) and confirms estimations that inflation in Southeast Asia's largest economy is under control after having accelerated sharply due to the introduction of higher subsidized fuel prices June 2013. In recent months, inflation moved sideways and is expected to ease considerably in the first quarter of 2014. Indonesia's consumer price index rose 0.12 percent in November due to rising electricity, processed foods and health care costs.

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