• Economic Update Indonesia: Stocks, Rupiah, Infrastructure & Economy

    Ahead of the release of Indonesia’s official first quarter GDP growth figure (scheduled to be released in the first week of May), Indonesian stocks fell and the rupiah depreciated (slightly) against the US dollar on the back of weak market sentiments that have plagued Indonesian markets over the past week. Most importantly, weaker-than-expected Q1-2015 corporate earnings reports of listed Indonesian blue chips have made market participants concerned that Indonesia’s economic slowdown has continued into the first quarter of 2015.

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  • Domestic & Foreign Investment in Indonesia on the Rise in Q1-2015

    Investment realization in Indonesia in the first quarter of 2015 totaled IDR 124.6 trillion (USD $9.7 billion), up 16.9 percent from the same quarter last year. Domestic direct investment climbed 22.8 percent (y/y) to IDR 42.5 trillion, while foreign direct investment (FDI) rose 14 percent (y/y) to IDR 82.1 trillion in Q1-2015. These data, released by the Indonesia Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) on Tuesday (28/04), brought some positivity in Indonesia after listed companies’ weak Q1-2015 financial results led to concern and capital outflow.

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  • Slowing Economic Growth Indonesia to Continue in Q1-2015?

    Within a couple of days Statistics Indonesia (BPS) is scheduled to release Indonesia’s GDP growth figure for the first quarter of 2015. Despite economic growth forecasts for full-year 2015 - both of the Indonesian government and international institutions such as the World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Asian Development Bank (ADB) - signalling a rebound from the five-year low of 5.02 percent (y/y) in 2014, various analysts expect to see further slowing economic growth in Q1-2015.

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  • Malnutrition in Indonesia: 8.4 Million Children Stunted!

    A new World Bank report, entitled “The Double Burden of Malnutrition in Indonesia”, says that 37.2 percent of Indonesian children under the age of five - or 8.4 million children - are stunted (meaning excessively small for their age) and suffer from chronic malnutrition. As such, Indonesia has the fifth-highest level of stunting in the world. The report also states that 19.6 percent of Indonesian children under five years old (approximately 4.4 million) are underweight as a result of malnutrition. Public awareness about this issue is low in Indonesia.

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