• Indonesian Banks’ Non-Performing Loans Rising Sharply in Four Sectors

    Although Deputy Governor of the central bank of Indonesia (Bank Indonesia), Halim Alamsyah, said that the non-performing loan (NPL) level in Indonesia’s banking sector is currently safe at 2.24 percent (well below the five percent threshold which is considered safe), the institution has been monitoring the high level of NPLs in four sectors: construction, trade, mining and social services. The bank will study why the ratio has been growing - whether it is a temporary phenomenon or not - and search the correct policy approach to address this issue.

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  • Largest IPO Ever? Alibaba Lists on the New York Stock Exchange

    The world is about to see the largest initial public offering (IPO) ever as China’s e-commerce company Alibaba may raise over USD $24 billion through its listing on the New York Stock Exchange on 18 September 2014, thus exceeding the value of IPOs of the Agriculture Bank of China (USD $22.1 billion), and the Industrial & Commercial Bank of China (USD $21.9 billion). Alibaba’s market capitalization, valued at about USD $162.7 billion, is the third-largest after Google (USD $400 billion) and Facebook (USD $201 billion).

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  • Indonesia Investments' Newsletter of 14 September 2014 Released

    On 14 September 2014, 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 topics such Indonesia’s fuel subsidies, economic growth in 2015, monetary policy of Bank Indonesia, the Anas Urbaningrum corruption case, emerging Indonesian companies on a global scale, and more.

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  • Political Corruption in Indonesia: the Case of Anas Urbaningrum

    Former Chairman of the Democratic Party (Partai Demokrat, PD) Anas Urbaningrum could face 15 years in prison and a fine of IDR 500 million (USD $42,372), or an additional five-month imprisonment, as the Indonesian prosecution finds him guilty of accepting bribes related to several government projects that are (partly) financed by the state budget. In addition to the above, the prosecutor also demands that Urbaningrum compensates the state by reimbursing the IDR 94.2 billion and USD $5.3 million he obtained unlawfully.

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