Indonesia's mining sector is still the biggest beneficiary of both domestic and foreign direct investments. Investments in Indonesia's mining sector rose 23.8 percent in the first six months of 2013 compared to the same period in 2012. This may be somewhat surprising as global economic turmoil in recent years has resulted in falling commodity prices and weak mining exports. Investments are the most important pillar of economic growth in Indonesia after the country's vibrant consumer industry.

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Standard Chartered Bank expects economic growth in Indonesia in 2013 to remain robust at 6.2%. The bank believes this is a realistic assumption amid global economic uncertainty and higher subsidized fuel prices which limits people's purchasing power. The greatest pillar of support for Indonesia's GDP growth is domestic consumption, and which is supported by Indonesia's demographic composition as the country not only has a large population (over 240 million people), but also a young one (half of the population is below thirty years of age).

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Emerging markets, such as Indonesia, have been feeling the impact of a recovering economy in the United States. Last month, the Federal Reserve announced that, if the economy of the USA continues its improving trend, it will end its quantitative easing program gradually in 2013 until a complete stop in 2014. As Indonesia is one of the emerging economies that benefited from the spillover effects of the Fed's monthly bond-buying program, the country now feels the negative impact of the possible stop to the program.

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Indofood Sukses Makmur (Indofood), one of the top performing consumer goods companies in Indonesia, has operations in each stage of the country's food manufacturing process. Indofood is Indonesia's largest food processing company and the world's biggest producer of instant noodles. As Indonesian consumers have more purchasing power, the company is well positioned to take benefit from this context. Moreover, Indofood is one of the Indonesian companies that expands its business oversees.

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Unilever Indonesia, a major consumer goods producer of Indonesia, plans to distribute IDR 2.54 trillion (USD $260.11 million) in final dividend to its shareholders. The dividend, which is equivalent to IDR 334 per share, will be paid out on 13 July 2013. Together with the company's interim dividend, which was paid out on 20 December 2012, Unilever Indonesia uses its full net income of 2012 (IDR 4.83 trillion) to please the shareholders. Unilever Indonesia Holding BV has an 85 percent stake in the company.

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In the draft for the State Budget of 2014 (RAPBN 2014), the government of Indonesia projects economic growth of between 6.4 and 6.9 percent. Continued global recovery is expected to result in higher GDP growth compared to 2012 (6.23 percent) as it will result in better demand for Indonesian products, such as commodities. The main pillar of Indonesia's GDP growth - domestic consumption - is expected to grow due to the population's higher purchasing power and the upcoming legislative and presidential elections.

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PT Nippon Indosari Corpindo Tbk is Indonesia’s largest producer of bread products and its the country's only bread producing company that is listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX). The company has shown robust growth in recent years due to the increased consumption of bread products by Indonesia's expanding middle class. Nippon Indosari controls a 90 percent market share in Indonesia's mass production of bread products. Its Sari Roti line of bread is a well-known brand in Indonesia.

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Today, Statistics Indonesia released Indonesia's economic growth figure for the first quarter of 2013. Compared to Q1-2012, Indonesia's gross domestic product (GDP) grew 6.02 percent. This growth was supported by almost every sector except for Mining and Extracting, which fell 0.43 percent (YoY), indicating that natural resources are still not back on track. The largest contributor to Indonesia's Q1-2013 growth is Transportation and Communication, which grew 9.98 percent.

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According to a research report released by the Nielsen Company, Indonesian consumers are currently the world's most optimistic consumers. The report, based on a survey that was conducted between 17 February and 8 March, indicates global consumer confidence in 58 countries. It is interesting to note that countries that scored highest in the survey are mostly from Asia, particularly the Asia Pacific. Indonesia now has a confidence index of 122 points (up five points from Q4-2012).

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Indonesian newspaper Investor Daily reported that stocks at the Indonesia Stock Exchange are still relatively cheap compared to regional stock indices. Currently, the price to earnings ratio (P/E ratio) of Indonesia's main index is about 18. In contrast, South Korea's Kospi index amounts to 34, Japan's Nikkei 28, Taiwan's Taiex 23, and Philippines' PSE stands at 23 times earnings. As the Indonesian economy as well as its companies' profit figures are projected to grow, the P/E is expected to fall to 16 this year.

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What came as a surprise to us is that the Asian Development Bank (ADB) decided to raise its projection for Indonesia’s economic growth in full 2022 from 5.0 percent year-on-year (y/y) to 5.2 percent (y/y) in July 2022. This decision was substantiated in its Asian Development Outlook 2022 Supplement entitled Recovery Faces Diverse Challenges.

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Although Indonesia's economic growth in the first quarter of 2016 was below analysts' estimates, most analysts agree that the nation's economic growth in the second quarter of the year could reach 5 percent (y/y), supported by domestic consumption and capital inflows. In Q1-2016 Indonesia's economic growth climbed at a pace of 4.92 percent (y/y) - accelerating from the 4.73 percent (y/y) GDP growth pace in the same quarter one year earlier - but significantly below estimates of most analysts. For example, Bank Indonesia expected GDP growth around 5.1 - 5.2 percent (y/y).

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The Indonesian economy, from the expenditure side, is highly dominated by domestic demand. From Q1-2010 to Q1-2015, the average role of domestic demand reached 99.5 percent, with the lowest level at 96.8 percent. The positive side of this situation is that the Indonesian economy is relatively resilient to external factors. History shows that despite the US subprime mortgage crisis and financial crisis in Europe, economic growth in Indonesia remained relatively high and consistent compared to other countries.

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In his presentation at the Indonesia Investment Summit 2015, organized in Jakarta on 15-16 January, Standard Chartered Bank Senior Economist Fauzi Ichsan said that despite the challenges amid global uncertain times, there remains plenty room and opportunity for Indonesia to grow robustly on the long-term. In fact, by 2030 Ichsan believes that Indonesia will be among the world's top ten countries in terms of largest economies. For investors it is important to understand the challenges and key pillars of economic growth.

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After Statistics Indonesia (BPS) had announced on Monday (05/05) that Indonesia's gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 5.21 percent year-on-year (yoy) in the first quarter of 2014 (considerably below analysts' projections of around 5.6 percent), concerns have risen about the country's economic expansion for the remainder of the year. The government of Indonesia targets a GDP growth rate of between 5.8 and 6.0 percent (yoy). However, several international institutions do not agree with this optimistic target.

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Recently, Statistics Indonesia (BPS) released various data in the context of Indonesia's gross domestic product (GDP). Economic expansion of Southeast Asia's largest economy slowed to 5.78 percent (year-on-year) in 2013. Household consumption accounted for the largest share of Indonesia's GDP (55.8 percent) and continued to grow significantly (5.28 percent yoy) in 2013. This consumer force is one of the main reasons why many foreign companies enter and expand their businesses in Indonesia.

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Over a decade ago, economist Jim O'Neill became famous for the introduction of the term BRIC (indicating the promising economic perspectives of Brazil, Russia, India and China). Now the BRICs have lost some of its significance, he has turned to a new acronym: MINT. These MINT countries - consisting of Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria and Turkey - share a number of features that make them potential giant economies in the future: promising demographic structure, strategic geographical location, and commodity-rich soil.

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The central bank of Indonesia (Bank Indonesia) estimates that Indonesia's current account deficit will ease to 3.5 percent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP) by the end of 2013. Indonesia's wide current account deficit has been one of the major financial troubles this year and managed to weaken investors' confidence in Southeast Asia's largest economy. Thus, Indonesia became one of the hardest hit emerging countries after the Federal Reserve started to speculate about an ending to its quantitative easing program.

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According to a survey of the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), 44.9 percent of respondents assessed Indonesia as the most promising investment destination for the next three years. The respondents in this survey involved 500 Japanese companies that engage in international businesses. For Indonesia it is the first time in 21 years that it forms the preferred choice of overseas investments for Japanese companies, thus replacing China. In 2013, Japan already dominates foreign direct investment in Indonesia.

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Forecasts for Indonesia’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth in 2013 and beyond have been revised down by all institutions, including the Indonesian government and central bank as well as international organizations such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Initially, the country’s economic growth was expected to reach around 6.5 percent in 2013. However, most institutions have downgraded forecasts for the country’s economic growth to below the 6.0 percent mark.

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