News Columns about Indonesia

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.

  • Indonesia Posts Trade Surplus in April but Concerns about Economy Rise

    Indonesia posted a higher-than-expected USD $454.4 million trade surplus in April 2015. Previously, analysts predicted to see an April trade surplus of around USD $120 million. However, the USD $454.4 million trade surplus was smaller than the (revised) USD $1 billion trade surplus recorded in March. Moreover, the April surplus (the country’s fifth consecutive trade surplus) is primarily caused by a large drop in imports, signalling that Indonesia’s economic performance remains sluggish at the start of Q2-2015.

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  • Indonesia’s Reference Coal Price Hits All-Time Low in May 2015

    On Monday (11/05), it was announced that the reference coal price of Indonesia declined 5.2 percent (month-on-month) to an all-time low of USD $61.08 per metric ton in May. This benchmark price, which is set by the government each month based on the average of four coal indexes (Indonesia Coal Index, Platts Index, New Castle Export Index and New Castle Global Coal Index), continued to plummet due to the coal oversupply in combination with weak global coal demand (particularly falling demand from China).

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  • Tax in Indonesia: Boosting Tax Collection through New Policies

    A high positioned government official said that the government of Indonesia plans to cut corporate tax gradually from 25 percent currently to below 18 percent in a bid to make Indonesia a more lucrative place to conduct business. Luhut Panjaitan, President Joko Widodo’s Chief of Staff, confirmed that Widodo has already ordered this latest tax move. Over the past few weeks we have seen the announcement of a number of new tax policies as the government aims to boost tax collection by 30 percent in 2015.

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  • Unemployment in Indonesia Affected by Slowing Economic Growth

    Amid continued slowing economic growth unemployment in Indonesia increased in February 2015. On Tuesday (05/05), Statistics Indonesia announced that the country’s unemployment rate rose to 5.81 percent, up from 5.70 percent in February last year. However, compared to August 2014 - when unemployment was recorded at 5.94 percent - relative unemployment in Indonesia actually declined. Statistics Indonesia releases data on unemployment twice per year covering the unemployment rate in the months February and August.

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