Indonesia Investments Report - March 2021 Edition: Light at the End of the Tunnel?
Update COVID-19 in Indonesia: 1,542,516 confirmed infections, 41,977 deaths (6 April 2021)
14 April 2021 (closed)
USD/IDR (14,146) -6.00 -0.04%
EUR/IDR (17,335) +57.05 +0.33%
Jakarta Composite Index (6,050.28) +122.84 +2.07%
Indonesia Investments' News Columns section contains articles with a detailed analysis regarding topics that have high news value in Indonesia and can be regarded as topics that are capable of influencing Indonesia's investment climate. Most columns published in this section cover subjects related to politics, economics and social matters. By following these publications on a regular basis, one will be apprised of what is happening in Indonesia and - just as important - understand why it is happening.
We detected a very positive development over the past two months. The number of new confirmed COVID-19 cases in Indonesia continued to decline heavily, a trend that began at the very start of February 2021. While on 1 February 2021, a total of 10,994 new COVID-19 infections were found, this number has almost halved as we enter April 2021 (see the chart below).
The other day, I had a conversation with my neighbors – a married couple who run a bakery and café in the city center of Yogyakarta. From previous conversations I knew that their business is heavily affected by the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. Even up to the point that they had to find a cheaper school for their oldest daughter.
As regards Indonesia’s investment and business environment, there were a couple of interesting developments in February 2021. These were developments that – in our opinion – help to strengthen the economy of Indonesia in a fundamental way, albeit it will take a few years (as well as the assistance of other reforms) to fully enjoy the fruits of this labor.
In mid-February 2021, Statistics Indonesia (in Indonesian: Badan Pusat Statistik, or BPS) released its latest poverty statistics. As expected, the data show a worrying rise in poverty across Indonesia, a development that is obviously related to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. Governments’ self-imposed social and business restrictions (both at home and abroad), which aim at preventing the further spread of the virus, drag down economic activity in an unprecedented way.
