• Bank Mandiri and Holcim Indonesia Increase Dividend Payouts

    In the General Meeting of Shareholders it was decided that Bank Mandiri, Indonesia’s largest financial institution by assets, will pay dividend of IDR 199.33 per share to its shareholders. Total dividend that will be paid amounts to IDR 4.65 trillion (US $479.4 million), which equals about 33 percent of the bank's net profit in 2012. Bank Mandiri, which is 60 percent owned by the Indonesian government, reported a 26.6 percent increase in net profit last year.

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  • Blue Bird Group Is Preparing for an IPO on the Indonesia Stock Exchange

    In Indonesian media it was reported today that the Blue Bird Group, Indonesia's largest taxi services group, picked Credit Suisse AG and UBS AG as underwriters for its initial public offering (IPO), which is assumed to take place in the second or third quarter of this year (initially the IPO was planned for the first half of 2013). Through this IPO, in which 20 to 40 percent of its equity will be sold to the public, the taxi company targets to collect about US $250 million.

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  • Indonesia's March 2013 Inflation Rate Rises Mainly Due to Increased Food Prices

    Today, Statistics Indonesia (Badan Pusat Statistik, abbreviated BPS) released Indonesia's inflation figures for the month March 2013. According to Suryamin, head of BPS, the country's inflation last month reached the level of 0.63 percent, the highest March inflation level in five years. Particularly food prices drove the inflation rate upwards. Year-on-year inflation now stands at 5.90 percent, while year-to-date inflation (January-March) is 2.41 percent.

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  • Indonesia's Central Bank Expects National Economy to Grow by 6.3-6.8 Percent

    Indonesia's central bank (Bank Indonesia) expects the Indonesian economy to grow between 6.3 and 6.8 percent in 2013, supported by strong domestic consumption and foreign investment, with inflation rising by about 4.5 percent. Indonesian exports are expected to increase due to better global demand for Indonesia's commodities such as coal and palm oil, with commodity prices rising accordingly. But some problems in Indonesia's financial system remain to be solved.

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