9 December 2019 (closed)
USD/IDR (14,025) +21.01 +0.15%
EUR/IDR (15,557) +53.40 +0.34%
Jakarta Composite Index (6,193.79) +6.92 +0.11%
Below is a list with tagged columns and company profiles.
Today's Headlines GDP
Bank Indonesia, the central bank of Indonesia, expects the nation's gross domestic product (GDP) to accelerate modestly in the remainder of the year after having recorded slightly disappointing 5.01 percent year-on-year (y/y) growth in both the first and second quarter of 2017.
Assurance, tax and consulting services company PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) mentioned Indonesia among the 21 nations that have the fastest-growing economies and will be among the world's biggest economies by 2030. On this list Indonesia is ranked fifth with an expected gross domestic product (GDP) of USD $5.42 trillion in 2030.
In a meeting with Commission XI of Indonesia's House of Representatives (DPR) Indonesian Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati informed that it will be tough to achieve the 5.2 percent year-on-year (y/y) economic growth target as set in the government's Revised 2017 State Budget. In the first two quarters of the year Indonesia's gross domestic product (GDP) only expanded 5.01 percent (y/y) in each quarter.
After macroeconomic growth was rather disappointing at 5.01 percent year-on-year (y/y) in the second quarter of 2017, the Indonesian government will soon release a new economic policy package, specifically aimed at boosting investment in Indonesia. However, Indonesia's business world urge the government to first evaluate the effectiveness of preceding policy packages before implementing a new deregulation package. Moreover, some say it would be better to focus on improving confidence among consumers.
On Monday morning (07/08) Indonesia's Statistics Agency (BPS) released the official gross domestic product (GDP) growth figure for the second quarter of 2017. The result was slightly below estimates. BPS said the Indonesian economy expanded by 5.01 percent year-on-year (y/y) in Q2-2017, while the average analyst forecast was 5.08 percent (y/y).
Ina Primiana, Senior Economist at the Centre of Reform on Economics (CORE), is a bit pessimistic about Indonesia's economic growth in 2017. She sees gross domestic product (GDP) expanding by 5.1 percent year-on-year (y/y) this year as commodity prices and the retail sector fail to encourage higher growth.
Despite accelerated macroeconomic growth of Indonesia so far in 2017, people's purchasing power remains bleak. However, a number of Indonesian businessmen remain confident that Indonesia's economic conditions will improve in the second half of the year.
Darmin Nasution, Indonesia's Coordinating Economic Affairs Minister, is optimistic that gross domestic product (GDP) of Southeast Asia's largest economy can expand between 5.1 and 5.3 percent year-on-year (y/y) in the second quarter of 2017.
Perry Warjiyo, Deputy Governor of Indonesia's central bank (Bank Indonesia), believes Indonesia's gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the second quarter of 2017 will not be as high as earlier predicted because there has been a correction in Indonesia's export performance.
Agus Martowardojo, the governor of Indonesia's central bank (Bank Indonesia), provided some new forecasts with regard to Indonesia's economic growth and rupiah. On Tuesday (06/06) Martowardojo told at a parliamentary hearing that he expects the rupiah to depreciate modestly in 2018, while economic growth should accelerate. Meanwhile, Indonesian Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said Indonesia's state budget deficit is estimated to widen slightly more-than-expected in 2017.
Latest Columns GDP
A total of 1,555,609 foreign tourists have visited the island of Bali, the most popular tourist destination in Indonesia, in the first five months of 2015, an 11.3 percentage point growth from the same period last year. Given that the number of foreign tourists usually peaks in the period June-September it is most likely that the government’s target of welcoming 4 million foreign tourists on Bali in 2015 will be achieved, or exceeded. Most tourists that visit Bali originate from Australia, China and Japan.
In a bid to boost economic activity in Indonesia, the central bank (Bank Indonesia) revised several regulations involving down payments for the purchase of cars and motorcycles as well as the maximum loan-to-value (LTV) ratios for first or more home purchases by Indonesian citizens. Yati Kurniati, Director of Bank Indonesia’s Macroprudential Department, said that the central bank implemented the looser monetary policy in the property and automotive sectors in an effort to boost credit growth, hence boosting the whole economy.
Hariyadi Sukamdani, Chairman of the Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo), expressed his concern about unemployment in Indonesia, particularly unemployment among the younger generation of Indonesians (aged between 15 and 29). Amid slowing economic growth over the past six years, various industries have been cutting employment. With roughly half of the total population below 30 years of age, Indonesia’s demographic bonus can turn into disaster if this potential workforce fails to obtain employment opportunities.
Although recently having slowed, Indonesia has experienced solid economic growth over the past ten years, with the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) almost doubling between 2001 and 2012. However, robust economic growth also resulted in significant environmental degradation and accelerated depletion of Indonesia’s natural resources. Sri Mulyani Indrawati, World Bank Group Managing Director (and former Indonesian Finance Minister), emphasized that Indonesia needs to shift from a ‘brown’ to a ‘green’ growth model.
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.
Within a couple of days Statistics Indonesia (BPS) is scheduled to release Indonesia’s GDP growth figure for the first quarter of 2015. Despite economic growth forecasts for full-year 2015 - both of the Indonesian government and international institutions such as the World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Asian Development Bank (ADB) - signalling a rebound from the five-year low of 5.02 percent (y/y) in 2014, various analysts expect to see further slowing economic growth in Q1-2015.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) released a report today (24/03) in which it discusses recent economic developments in Indonesia. According to the report, Indonesia’s economic growth is projected to accelerate over the two years ahead provided that the Indonesian government continues to implement structural policy reforms. Such reforms - which include the acceleration of infrastructure development, reduction of logistical costs, and enhancing budget implementation - should lead to an improvement of the investment climate.
In a surprise move, the central bank of Indonesia (Bank Indonesia) decided to lower its key interest rate (BI rate) by 25 basis points to 7.50 percent at the Board of Governor’s Meeting on Tuesday (17/02). The deposit facility rate (Fasbi) was also lowered by 25 basis points (to 5.50 percent), while the lending facility rate remained steady at 8.00 percent. In a press release the central bank stated that the current policy direction is estimated to moderate the country’s wide current account deficit further, while inflation remains under control.
In a World Bank blog, World Bank economist Alex Sienaert posted an update on the economy of Indonesia. After Statistics Indonesia (BPS) released the country’s latest GDP growth figures in early February, two important revisions regarding Indonesia’s GDP statistics have been made: (1) BPS has shifted the basis of the computation from the year 2000 to 2010, and (2) it adopted a significantly updated methodology and presentation of the statistics (updating national accounts from the 1993 System of National Accounts [SNA] to SNA 2008).
Although Indonesia’s economic growth slowed further in 2014, there is optimism that growth will accelerate in 2015 despite sluggish global economic conditions (curbing Indonesia’s export performance) and Bank Indonesia’s relatively high interest rate environment. Indonesia’s central bank has raised its BI rate several times over the past one and a half years in an effort to combat high inflation (caused by fuel price hikes), curb capital outflows ahead of US monetary tightening, limit the current account deficit and support the rupiah.
