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.
Bank Central Asia (BBCA), Indonesia’s largest lender by market value and second largest bank by assets, posted net profit of IDR 11.72 trillion (US $1.2 billion) in 2012, meaning an 8.3 percent increase from last year's result. This growth is limited compared to net profit of its main competitors Bank Mandiri that posted 26.6 percent growth in 2012, and Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI) that posted a 22.8 percent growth in net profit.
Garuda Indonesia (GIAA), one of Indonesia's biggest airlines, posted a 100 percent increase in net profit to US $145.4 million in 2012 from US $72.7 million a year earlier. Operating profit of the company rose 82 percent to US $110.8 million from US $64.2 million in 2011. These numbers were supported by a 19.6 percent increase in passengers from 17.1 million in 2011 to 20.4 million last year, while its seat load factor rose to 75.9 percent from a previous 75.2 percent.
The Ministry of Energy and Resources stated that the Indonesian government will go ahead with the increase in electricity rates this year. Up to the end of this year, electricity rates will increase every quarter by about four percent to reach a total increase of 15 percent. In early January, the first rate increase was introduced by raising the tariff of electricity sold by state-owned Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN), the sole electricity provider in Indonesia.
Although Indonesia's January cement sales showed robust growth of 15 percent to 4.65 million metric tons (year-on-year), the country's cement sales in February slowed to 8.2 percent (4.39 million metric tons) compared to a year earlier; The slowest pace of growth in six months. Strong annual GDP growth has caused a rise in property and infrastructure projects but a delay in some government projects might be behind the slower cement sales growth in February.
