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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Pembangunan Perumahan (better known as PP) is a government-controlled construction and investment company in Indonesia. The company's lines of businesses consist of construction services in building and infrastructure, property, engineering, procurement and construction (EPC), as well as investment. PP was the second-largest company in terms of largest net income in Semester I-2013. Being a state-controlled entity, it benefits from the government's increased focus on infrastructure development. 

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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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Alam Sutera Realty (ASRI) is an Indonesian real estate company that develops and manages a large-scale township which includes residential and commercial properties as well as ancillary facilities and infrastructure. The company has large real estate projects in Serpong, Cibitung, Cianjur (all on Java), Tanjung Pinang (Riau) and Sanur (Bali). In the first half of 2013, the company's profits increased by 52 percent to IDR 800 billion (USD $80.0 million) as Indonesia's property sector has been booming.

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Nine Indonesian construction companies that have released their financial results over the first six months of 2013 show a combined net profit of 849 billion (USD $83.2 million). State-controlled Wijaya Karya (Wika) still leads the ranking in terms of net profit. Interestingly enough, another state-controlled company, Adhi Karya, posted the largest YoY percentage growth in net profit (135.6 percent). Lastly, state-controlled Pembangunan Perumahan is second-largest company in terms of largest net income in Semester I-2013.

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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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Wijaya Karya (Wika) is one of Indonesia's construction companies. The company is involved in engineering and construction work in both Indonesia and abroad. Its businesses include civil engineering, building construction, and construction of industrial plants as well as energy facilities. Being a state-controlled company, Wika has a close connection to the government and as such is one of the first choices to participate in government infrastructure projects. Shares of Wika have grown over 37 percent in 2012.

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Although the combined performance of the four listed Indonesian cement companies in the first six months of 2013 is good with net profit rising 13.7 percent from the same period in 2012, the individual companies posted mixed results. Net profit of Semen Indonesia, Indonesia's largest cement producer, rose 22.9 percent, while net profit of Indocement Tunggal Prakarsa, the country's second-largest cement producer, rose 11.8 percent. The other two cement producers, Holcim Indonesia and Semen Baturaja, posted a decline in net profit.

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Indonesia's biggest taxi operator, the Blue Bird Group, is planning to conduct an initial public offering (IPO) in the fourth quarter of this year. The company expects to reap between USD $600 and $800 by selling 20 to 40 percent of the company's stock equity. If the company will indeed manage to meet this target, then the IPO of Blue Bird will be the largest since the publicly listing of Indofood CBP Sukses Makmur, which raised USD $696 million in October 2010. It has been reported that Credit Suisse, Rothschild and UBS will act as underwriters.

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Indonesia Investments has updated the financial highlights of state-controlled enterprise Adhi Karya (ADHI). The company is engaged in construction services, infrastructure development, property, real estate and engineering, and procurement & construction. Its infrastructure projects include roads, bridges, irrigation, power plants and ports, while its building projects include high rise buildings, hotels, hospitals and schools. Shares and net income of the company have surged in 2012 amid Indonesia's booming property sector.

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Domestic steel sales in Indonesia are expected to rise 6 percent y/y to 15.1 million tons in 2014. Meanwhile, the global average steel price has been USD $536 per ton this year, implying that the market value of Indonesian steel sales is to reach USD $8 billion this year. In recent years, the country’s steel sales have been rising on development of infrastructure, defense industry, and manufacturing. The sales are expected to continue rising in the years ahead due to commitment of the government to boost infrastructure development.

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Indonesian Finance Minister Chatib Basri said that the lower pace of economic growth in China, the world’s second-largest economy, is a major concern for Indonesia as it leads to declining demand for commodities (and thus places downward pressure on commodity prices). As Indonesia is a major commodity exporter - such as coal, crude palm oil, nickel ore and tin - the country feels the impact of weak global demand for commodities. About 60 percent of Indonesia’s exports are commodities, mostly raw ones.

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Indonesian cement sales jumped 37.4 percent (year-on-year) to 4.7 million tons in August 2014 due to higher cement demand from Indonesian property and infrastructure developers. Widodo Santoso, Chairman of the Indonesian Cement Association (ASI), said that the development of smelters, power plants, apartments, hotels, and social housing has been key to improved cement sales last month. However, the 37.4 percentage point growth was also caused by fewer working days in August 2013 as the Lebaran holiday fell in that month.

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The prequalification tender for the construction of the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport Railway project has been postponed until late October 2014 (from August) as agreements with several stakeholders still need to be finalized. For example, the government is yet to underwrite part of the required investment. Indonesia’s Ministry of Transportation proposes to underwrite IDR 13.5 trillion (USD $2.3 billion) - approximately 49 percent of total required investment for this railway project.

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Property stocks listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) have outperformed all other stocks between the first trading day of 2014 up to 29 August 2014. The IDX’ property sector category rose 37.6 percent in the indicated period, whereas the benchmark stock index (Jakarta Composite Index, abbreviated IHSG) - which involves all stocks traded on the IDX - climbed 18.7 percent over the same period. On the IDX, stocks are placed in ten sectoral categories. The second-best performing sectoral index was finance (+24.5 percent).

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Before the second and final term of Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has finished on 20 October 2014, the groundbreaking of a total of 13 infrastructure projects should have been conducted. These 13 projects are diverse ranging from toll roads to steam power plants and the extension of the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport located nearby Jakarta. One of these 13 projects - the IDR 9.65 trillion Trans Sulawesi Railway project - has already had its groundbreaking in mid-August 2014.

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When campaigning, presidential candidates will always promise a bright future in order to gain votes. It is particularly easy for a new presidential candidate to promise golden mountains as opposed to the incumbent president who needs to be more cautious making promises as people can point to the (failed) results of his promises during the presidential term. The 2014 Indonesian presidential election was particularly interesting as we saw two new presidential candidates and, thus, the ‘inflation of promises’.

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The Indonesian Transportation Ministry will tender the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport train project in August 2014. The project, which will connect one of the world’s busiest airports to the capital city of Jakarta, is offered in the shape of a public-private partnership (PPP) with the Indonesian government. The total of investment required to develop the railway, which will be built partly underground, is estimated at IDR 26 trillion (USD $2.2 billion). The project aims to improve connectivity to the airport.

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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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Sunday evening (15/06), the second debate between Indonesia’s two presidential candidates - Prabowo Subianto and Joko ‘Jokowi’ Widodo - was held. This debate was broadcast live on various Indonesian television stations and - once again - managed to become a trending topic on social media. The debate, the theme of which was ‘development of the economy and social welfare‘, was characterized by a nationalistic and protectionist tone. This tone had already been set by Subianto in the past weeks but now Jokowi also stressed protectionism.

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