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%
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The Today's Headlines section of Indonesia Investments is a daily updated section which contains the latest information with regard to topics that are currently causing headlines in Indonesia's media. Most of our headlines will cover political, economic and social matters. As a consequence of their recent nature, these topics may not have crystallized fully yet and can, therefore, lack a profound analysis. For publications with a more in-depth understanding of subjects, we refer you to our News, Financial or Business columns.
Indonesia does not want to be left behind in terms of developing its digital economic potential. In early March 2021, the Indonesian government inaugurated the "Indonesian-style Silicon Valley" called Nongsa D-Town. This 5,000 m2 area is located on Batam Island, which is positioned very close to Singapore.
Over the past couple of weeks the topic of digital bank has had quite some attention in Indonesian media, especially those media that focus on the economy and business.
The presence of ‘something foreign’ in Indonesia is often still a somewhat sensitive issue. And, we would not be surprised if it is the country’s prolonged colonial period – when foreign forces (particularly the Dutch) came to the Archipelago in search of commodities – that brings back traumatic memories from the past. This history may thus also explain why Indonesia – today – shows a relatively high degree of economic nationalism and resource nationalism.
Last month we were still a bit pessimistic about Indonesia’s trade performance, with bleak imports into Indonesia being the main reason (while the country’s impressive export performance is nice, but essentially the result of Indonesia’s over-dependence on raw commodity prices, which is actually a structural weakness of Southeast Asia’s largest economy).
