• Indonesia Investments' Newsletter of 12 April 2015 Released

    On 12 April 2015, Indonesia Investments released the latest edition of its newsletter. This free newsletter, which is sent to our subscribers once per week, contains the most important news stories from Indonesia that have been reported on our website in the last seven days. Most of the topics involve economic matters such as an update on the palm oil industry, CPO export levies, the cancelled Cilamaya Seaport project, Indonesia's foreign exchange (forex) reserves, Standard & Poor’s view on the Indonesian economy, and more.

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  • Alcohol in Indonesia: Sale of Alcohol in Minimarkets Banned

    Indonesian Trade Minister Rachmat Gobel confirmed that the ban on sales of alcohol in minimarkets and kiosks will continue after 16 April 2015. This ban, stipulated by Minister of Trade Regulation No. 06/M-DAG/PER/1/2015 on the Control and Supervision of Procurement, Distribution, and Sale of Alcoholic Beverages (which was signed by the minister on 16 January 2015), prohibits the sale of beverages with an alcohol content ranging between 1 to 5 percent (referred to as type A alcoholic drinks) in minimarkets and kiosks.

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  • Bank Indonesia Used Foreign Exchange Reserves to Support Rupiah

    The central bank of Indonesia (Bank Indonesia) announced that the country’s foreign exchange reserves fell by USD $3.9 billion to USD $111.6 billion at the end of March 2015 as the central bank used part of the forex reserves to support the Indonesian rupiah which had started to depreciate markedly due to bullish US dollar momentum amid further looming monetary tightening in the USA. The rupiah had fallen to a 17-year low of IDR 13,237 per US dollar in mid-March as market players are anticipating an interest rate hike in the USA.

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  • Stocks & Currency: Asian Emerging Markets Relieved after Fed Minutes

    Minutes of the Federal Reserve’s latest FOMC meeting (17-18 March), released Wednesday (08/04), show that the US central bank is divided about the timing of higher US interest rates. Several policymakers would approve such an interest rate hike in June 2015, while others would prefer to see rates increase later this year or even next year as they consider that the US economy is still not strong enough yet. However, when reading the minutes there are some signs suggesting that the institution is on course to raise its key rate this year.

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