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)
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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.
The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis has a wide range of economic and social consequences. For example, the Indonesian economy is likely to contract this year (for the first time since 1998), while millions of Indonesians have lost their jobs over the past three months, and the majority of the country’s enterprises have seen their sales plunge.
On 5 May 2020 Statistics Indonesia (Badan Pusat Statistik, BPS), a non-departmental government agency, released the first quarter gross domestic product (GDP) data of Indonesia for the year 2020. These data were highly anticipated as policymakers, analysts, and stakeholders are particularly interested in finding out to what extent damage has been done to the Indonesian economy by the self-imposed restrictions.
Poverty and inequality are always sensitive topics, especially in an emerging market like Indonesia where poverty and inequality (in terms of income distribution) have always been a big problem. It is something that puzzles Indonesians too. We often hear Indonesians say “our country is so rich in natural resources, so how can it be that we have so much poverty within our borders?”
The economic and social consequences of the COVID-19 crisis are becoming increasingly clear and frightening. All the self-imposed restrictions on business and social behavior, taken by governments across the world, may protect people’s health to a significant extent, but the policy measures also have devastating economic and social consequences as economic activity nosedives, and businesses collapse. This results in unprecedented mass layoffs as well as growing poverty.
