On Monday (28/10), another large-scale demonstration took place in the center of Jakarta, Indonesia's capital city. The workers that participated in the strike demanded a new minimum wage for Jakarta's provincial government due to the country's recent high inflation rate after prices of subsidized fuels were raised in June 2013, thus curbing people's purchasing power. The workers demand for the new minimum wage of IDR 3.7 million (USD $327) per month. However, these developments can hurt the investment climate in Indonesia.

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Seeing marathons being organized in some of the world's largest cities (which gain attention from the global press), the Jakarta administration felt it could not be left behind. On Sunday 27 October 2013, the first ever marathon of Jakarta will be held, with its route passing by some of Jakarta's most famous landmarks, including the National Monument (Monas), the Istiqlal Mosque, the Cathedral Church, Old Batavia, and the Hotel Indonesia Roundabout. The Jakarta marathon also forms the first internationally-recognized marathon in Southeast Asia.

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A preliminary company profile of Metropolitan Land (MTLA) has been added to our Indonesian Companies' section. The company is an Indonesian-based real estate and property developer that focuses on residential and commercial property for Indonesia's middle-low, middle and middle-up segments of Jakarta and the areas around Jakarta that are characterized by high population growth rates. The company's real estate development includes residential houses, shop houses, condominiums, hotels, shopping malls as well as sport centers.

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Fitch Ratings, the global rating agency, expects slower growth in Indonesia's property sector for the next 12 months. However, for the longer term, the institution still maintains a positive outlook as Indonesia is characterized by high urbanization, a rapidly expanding middle class and low mortgage rates. Since the revival in 2011, the average selling price of Indonesia's residential properties increased by about 30 percent year-on-year, particularly in the Greater Jakarta area.

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According to property consulting services company Jones Lang LaSalle, Jakarta is showing the steepest increase in prices of luxury houses among several Asian cities that have been monitored. In the second quarter of 2013, prices of luxury houses in Jakarta increased 34.2 percent year on year, followed by Beijing with a 18.7 percent price growth rate. The only city that saw a depreciation of luxury house prices was Singapore (-2.1 percent). Luxury house prices in Jakarta grew nine percent compared to the first quarter of 2013.

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Indonesia's central bank expects that the country's monthly inflation rate will ease to below one percent in August. However, in order to meet this expectation the bank stresses that there needs to be an improvement in the food product supply through imports and good distribution practice. The latter, particularly, is problematic due to Indonesia's lack of quality and quantity in infrastructure. In July, monthly inflation rose 3.29 percent due to the start of the new school year and impact of higher subsidized fuel prices.

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According to Indonesia's police department, heavy traffic caused by the Idul Fitri celebrations resulted in the deaths of more than 471 people as well as 740 seriously injured people in over 2000 traffic accidents. Most accidents are caused by drivers that fall asleep during the journey. Idul Fitri marks the end of the holy fasting month (Ramadan) and is one of the major national holidays in Indonesia. This year Idul Fitri fell on Thursday 8 August and, as usual, is accompanied by the tradition that Indonesians travel back to their places of birth.

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The city center streets of Indonesia's capital city of Jakarta, which are normally characterized by heavy traffic jams, are becoming quiet. As the holy Islamic fasting month (Ramadan) is getting towards the end, people are traveling back to their places of origin for the Lebaran celebrations. This annual tradition is known as 'mudik'. Usually, the people spend a few days at their hometowns before traveling back to their places of work. This period also means that businesses (including the stock exchange) are mostly closed until 12 August 2013.

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The economy of Indonesia continues to be dominated by the island of Java, Indonesia's most populous island with around 130 million people or 60 percent of Indonesia's total population. In the second quarter of 2013, Java contributed 58.15 percent to the nation's total economic growth. Far behind Java are Sumatra (23.90 percent) and Kalimantan (8.73 percent). Within Java, the Greater Jakarta area accounts for 16.50 percent of the country's total economic growth, followed by East Java (15.21 percent) and West Java (14.05 percent).

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Indonesia's government will make a new government regulation that foresees the minimum wage increase in all 33 provinces will be kept below 20 percent in 2014. This new rule is directed to labor-intensive industries, including Indonesia's small and medium businesses. The limitation of the regional minimum wage increase to 20 percent is much lower than the demand from Indonesia's labor associations, which requested minimum wage increases up to 50 percent.

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Last Thursday night, a Nigerian drug dealer, imprisoned since 2004, was executed by firing squad near Kepulauan Seribu to the north of Jakarta's coast. This execution is the first since the execution of three Islamic radicals (who were involved in the 2002 Bali bombings) in 2008. Meanwhile, on Friday morning, counter-terrorism squad Densus 88 killed three suspected Muslim militants that robbed a jewelry store in Tambora, West Jakarta.

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