The ceramic industry in Indonesia is expected to grow about ten percent in 2015 amid the country’s +5 percentage point GDP growth. Economic expansion translates to increased purchasing power of Indonesian consumers and the ceramic industry is one of the industries that will benefit from this. Moreover, as Indonesian President Joko Widodo targets +7 percent GDP by the end of his term, new infrastructure and property projects are to rise as well. As such, domestic ceramic demand will increase accordingly.

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The administration of Indonesian President Joko Widodo (popularly known as Jokowi) will not give priority status to the Sunda Strait Bridge project. As such, the new government’s stance is in direct contrast to the previous administration’s stance toward the ambitious infrastructure project. The Sunda Strait Bridge, a planned road and railway connection between the two (westernmost) Indonesian islands of Sumatra and Java, was placed high on the agenda of the government led by Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

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Ahead of implementation of the ASEAN Single Aviation Market (ASAM) in 2015, it is important for Indonesia to improve infrastructure at (and around) airports, particularly the nation’s smaller airports, in order to be able to compete with other airports in the ASEAN region. ASAM will turn ASEAN into a unified and single aviation market by 2015, meaning that air travel between ASEAN member states is fully liberalized. As such, ASAM will supersede existing unilateral, bilateral and multilateral air services agreements between ASEAN members.

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Cement sales in Indonesia are expected to rise as the new Indonesian government aims to ramp up infrastructure development while - in the long term - Indonesian banks will lower interest rates. Lower interest rates give rise to enhanced property development in Southeast Asia’s largest economy. The country’s three leading cement producers are expected to benefit significantly from these developments. These companies are Semen Indonesia, Indocement Tunggal Prakarsa, and Holcim Indonesia.

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Cement sales in Indonesia surged 21 percent month-to-month (m/m) to 5.6 million ton in September 2014 from 4.6 million ton in the preceding month. Widodo Santoso, Chairman of the Indonesian Cement Association (ASI), said that the increase in Indonesian cement sales was supported by the start of a number of central and regional government infrastructure projects. Santoso also detected an increase in development of property projects. Infrastructure and property are the sectors that absorb most cement.

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Indonesian Coordinating Economic Minister Chairul Tanjung said that construction of the Giant Sea Wall project, part of the National Capital Integrated Coastal Development (NCICD) masterplan, will start on 9 October 2014. This ambitious mega-project, situated in the bay of Jakarta, aims to enhance flood prevention, foster urban development and - more generally - to turn Jakarta into a more prestigious metropolis. The project requires a total of USD $40 billion in investments. Private participation is vital for financing of the project.

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The economy of Indonesia, which has been slowing since 2011, will have difficulty to rebound in 2015 as the central bank’s key interest rate (BI rate) is expected to be raised again to avert capital outflows brought on by higher interest rates in the US and to combat accelerated inflation after domestic subsidized fuel prices have been raised by the new government led by president-elect Joko Widodo (Jokowi). After a GDP growth pace of 6.5 percent (y/y) in 2011, economic growth in Southeast Asia’s largest economy fell to 5.8 percent (y/y) in 2013.

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Often the lack of quality and quantity of infrastructure in Indonesia has been cited as a reason for limited economic growth. Lack of adequate infrastructure causes the country's logistics costs to rise steeply, thus reducing competitiveness and attractiveness of the investment climate. Also in the country’s natural resources sector Indonesia’s infrastructure problems hamper development. For instance, the lack of quality irrigation to supply ample quantities of water to rice basins causes rice production to be far from optimal.

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The Indonesian government should improve inter and intra island connectivity to boost the number of foreign and domestic tourists in Indonesia. Due to the country’s lack of quality and quantity of infrastructure, a number of Indonesian regions that contain huge tourist potential cannot be reached easily. This was one of the conclusions drawn at a dialogue about the progress made after the Masterplan for Acceleration and Expansion of Indonesia’s Economic Development (MP3EI) has been underway for three years.

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Indonesia has jumped four places in the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Index 2014-2015. In the latest edition Southeast Asia’s largest economy is ranked 34th (from 38th in last year’s edition of the index). Since the 2012-2013 edition, when Indonesia was ranked 50th, the country has risen steadily. The Global Competitiveness Index measures the institutions, policies, as well as factors that set the sustainable current and medium-term levels of economic prosperity among 144 countries around the world.

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One of the conclusions of the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting (MGM) that was conducted on 22 and 23 February 2014 in Sydney, Australia, was the group's shared view that the global economy is displaying signs of improvement. Indications of global economic improvement are reflected by strengthening growth in the USA, United Kingdom and Japan. In the meeting Indonesia was represented by Finance Minister Chatib Basri and Bank Indonesia Governor Agus Martowardojo.

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Total realized investments in the context of the government's Masterplan for Acceleration and Expansion of Indonesia's Economic Development (MP3EI) will reach IDR 628.9 trillion (USD $51.6 billion) in 2014. The MP3EI was unveiled by the Indonesian government in May 2011 to accelerate its ambitious goal of becoming one of the world's largest economies by 2025. This masterplan particularly focuses on (much-needed) infrastructure development by cooperating with the private sector (for example through public-private partnerships).

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Indonesia's cement sales in January 2014 declined 1 percent to 4.65 million metric tons from the same month in 2013 (4.68 million metric tons). The decline was caused by severe floods brought about by high rainfall amid a peak in Indonesia's rainy season. The floods resulted in disrupted distribution networks, therefore blocking cement shipments to retailers. Moreover, these weather conditions caused the postponement of several construction activities, thus reducing demand for cement.

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The government of Indonesia - through its Ministry of National Development Planning (known as Bappenas) - designed three funding scenarios for Indonesia's infrastructure development in the National Medium-Term Development Plan (RPJMN 2015-2019). The lack of appropriate infrastructure is one of the bottlenecks to Indonesia's development. The scenarios involve the amount of funds and other requirements for infrastructure investment. The three scenarios are divided into a 'full scenario', a 'partial scenario' and a 'baseline scenario'.

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Mitsui & Co, one of the largest trading companies in Japan, believes that Indonesia is one of the most prospective investment destinations for the middle and longer term. After Brasil and Chile, Indonesia is currently the third-largest investment market for Mitsui & Co, which is part of the Mitsui Group. The latter has stakes in various sectors including energy, food, logistics and finance. The CEO of Mitsui & Co, Masami Iijima, stated that Indonesia is lucrative due to its large and young population as well as its rapidly expanding middle class.

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On Tuesday (21/01), the Indonesia Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) announced that investments in Indonesia grew 27 percent to IDR 398.6 trillion (USD $33 billion) in 2013, thus exceeding the target that was set at the start of the year (IDR 390 trillion). This result, which is a new record high for Southeast Asia's largest economy, was supported by a 39 percent increase in domestic direct investment (IDR 128.2 trillion) and a 22 percent increase in foreign direct investment (IDR 272.6 trillion).

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On Friday 10 January 2014, the government of Indonesia opened Halim Airport for scheduled commercial flights. Previously, the only airport that served these types of flights around Indonesia's capital city of Jakarta and surrounding towns was the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport (Soetta), located in Cengkareng (Banten). However, the amount of daily passengers at Soetta has exceeded its capacity. Based on data from Airports Council International, released in 2013, Soetta is the world's tenth busiest airport.

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Indonesian retail sales surged 14 percent in November 2013 from one year earlier (the highest growth rate since July 2013). On a month-to-month basis, Indonesia's retail sales increased 1.5 percent from October 2013. These findings were the result of a survey conducted by the central bank of Indonesia (Bank Indonesia), which surveyed 650 retailers in 10 Indonesian cities. The bank's survey also indicated that Indonesian retailers may increase prices of their products in 2014 in order to compensate for the depreciating rupiah exchange rate.

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The regional government of Surabaya, Indonesia's second-largest city after the capital city of Jakarta, is planning to tender two separate infrastructure projects - open to both foreign and domestic investors - at the start of December 2013. The two projects involve the construction of the city's monorail, valued at IDR 6.42 trillion (USD $558.3 million), and the construction of a tramline, valued at IDR 2.41 trillion (USD $209.6 million). When finished, the two projects are expected to reduce traffic congestion in Surabaya, East Java's economic center.

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One of the major problems which is blocking Indonesia's economic growth is the country's infrastructure. The lack of quality and quantity of Indonesia's infrastructure causes logistics costs to rise steeply and thus makes investors (particularly the foreign ones) hesitant to invest as high logistics costs imply a weakening of the country's competitiveness. The problem of Indonesia's infrastructure is both 'hard' infrastructure (roads, airports and electricity supply) and 'soft' infrastructure (social welfare and health care).

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