American car manufacturer Ford Motor Company decided to close all of its operations in Indonesia and Japan in 2016 due to the lack of prospects for profit in both countries. Ford spokeswoman Karen Hampton said this decision will result in the layoffs of 35 Ford staff-members in Indonesia and 292 employees in Japan. Business operations in Indonesia - which include the import of Ford and Lincoln vehicles, sales and dealerships offices - will be shut down later this year. Ford's production base in Japan will be shifted elsewhere.

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The Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM), the investment service agency of the Indonesian government, claims it has prevented about 24,500 of layoffs through its special desk for footwear and textile industries. This special desk is an agency set up by the BKPM in early October 2015 to support local companies in the footwear and textile industries as these industries are considered most affected by the country's economic slowdown. BKPM Chairman Franky Sibarani said a total of 48 companies have requested support through this special desk.

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Unemployment in Indonesia increased to 6.18 percent of the labour force in August 2015, or 7.56 million people in absolute terms, from 5.81 percent in February (or 7.45 million unemployed people) as the economic slowdown led to layoffs and slower absorption of the workforce. In the second quarter of 2015 Indonesia's economy grew at the slowest pace in six years at 4.67 percent (y/y) and only managed to improve slightly (4.73 percent y/y) in the third quarter.

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On Thursday (15/10), Indonesian Chief Economics Minister Darmin Nasution unveiled the fourth economic stimulus package with a main focus on boosting labor and employment in Indonesia. A key policy in the new package is the fixed formula that will be applied by the government to determine increases in labor wages across the 34 provinces of the Archipelago. The government said it will allow a wage increase, every year, based on the provincial inflation rate and economic growth pace.

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The government of Indonesia will announce a fourth stimulus package on Thursday (15/10). This new edition will focus on safeguarding employment in Indonesia. Due to the country's economic slowdown, concern about unemployment has risen. The Confederation of Indonesian Workers Unions (KSPSI) recently said that over 62,000 Indonesian workers lost their jobs during the first nine months of 2015.

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Pemerintah Indonesia mungkin akan memotong harga bahan bakar minyak di kuartal 4 tahun 2015 dalam rangka mendongkrak daya beli masyarakat dan mengurangi biaya yang ditanggung para pelaku manufaktur lokal. Tindakan ini akan menjadi bagian dari paket stimulus Pemerintah yang diprediksi akan diumumkan minggu depan. Pada tanggal 9 September dan tanggal 29 September, Pemerintah Indoensia telah mengumumkan dua paket kebijakan ekonominya. Kontras dengan dua paket kebijakan yang pertama, paket ketiga seharusnya memberikan hasil dalam jangka waktu pendek.

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Andi Gani Nenawea, Chairman of the Confederation of All Indonesian Workers' Union (KSPSI), said that layoffs in Indonesia could reach up to 100,000 in 2015 as various companies are cutting on operational costs amid the nation’s slowing economic growth. The most severely affected industries are the textile industry and commodities (such as the coal and oil & gas sectors).

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Tomorrow (Tuesday 01 September 2015) around 50,000 Indonesian workers are expected to demonstrate on the streets of Central Jakarta and demand for higher wages. This mass protest is a response to the many layoffs that occurred in Indonesia’s labor-intensive industries in recent months (while more layoffs are expected in the period ahead) as well as a response to people’s weakening purchasing power (curtailed by prolonged high inflation).

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Indonesian President Joko Widodo wants to drop the regulation that states a foreign worker needs to learn Indonesian. Today (21/08), Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung said President Widodo (often called Jokowi) requested Hanif Dhakiri, Indonesian Minister of Manpower and Transmigration, to revise this regulation (that was issued in 2013). According to Jokowi the language proficiency requirement would make Indonesia’s investment climate less competitive and could therefore hamper much-needed investment.

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On 9 August 2015, Indonesia Investments released the latest edition of its newsletter. This free newsletter, which is sent to our subscribers once per week, contains the most important news stories from Indonesia that have been reported on our website in the last seven days. Most of the topics involve economic subjects such as an analysis of the recent performance of the rupiah, an analysis of Q2-2015 GDP growth, updates on inflation as well as manufacturing, and unemployment in Indonesia.

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This column is the first in a series of columns about investing in Indonesia, in particular about investing in its capital markets. These columns are written by David Sutyanto, research analyst at First Asia Capital, and - as this column is the starting point - he will provide a short and broad outline of the Indonesian capital markets for now. Later, his columns will contain topics that delve more deeply into the capital markets, such as listed companies, and much more.

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