In late 2012, the local Jakarta government decided to increase the monthly minimum wage to IDR 2.2 million (US $229), a 44 percent increase from the previous standard. This rigorous change was one of the first policy changes of the newly elected Joko Widodo administration. Joko Widodo (often referred to as Jokowi) enjoys huge popular support and, similar to Barrack Obama at the start of his reign, provides hope to Jakartans, who have high expectations of his administration.

Read more ›

Today, Jakarta was hit again by floods, brought on by heavy rainfall, that reached up to 50 centimeters at some locations and paralyzed part of Jakarta's traffic. Barely two weeks ago, Indonesia's capital city had experienced sustained floods that took the lives of more than 20 people and resulted in losses totaling US $3.3 billion. It might not be Jakarta's last day of floods as the rainy weather conditions are forecast to continue in February.

Read more ›

Indonesia is a country with great tourist potential. It has beautiful and varied landscapes, rich cultures, and vibrant cities. Foreign appreciation for Indonesia's tourism sector can be concluded from the continued rising number of foreign tourists in recent years. Today, Statistics Indonesia published the official figures for 2012. According to the institution, Indonesia was visited by 8.04 million foreign tourists in 2012. Moreover, this result meant that the government target was met.

Read more ›

Dutch dredging contractors and marine engineering companies Van Oord and Boskalis have been awarded a contract to design and construct the artificial island off the coast of (North) Jakarta. On this (160-hectares sized) artificial island a new city - called Pluit City - will be developed. The contract, valued at EUR 350 million (split equally between the two Dutch companies) was handed to the Van Oord-Boskalis joint venture by Muara Wisesa Samudra. The project aims to relieve pressure on densely populated Jakarta.

Read more ›

The Indonesian government is still studying the feasibility study for the National Capital Integrated Coastal Development (NCICD) masterplan. The NCICD masterplan, a joint project between the governments of Indonesia and the Netherlands, aims to protect the capital city of Jakarta against floods caused by high tides and faciliates sustainable development of Jakarta. The masterplan is developed by a consortium headed by Witteveen+Bos (main contractor) and Grontmij, with subconsultants KuiperCompagnons, Deltares, Ecorys and Triple-A.

Read more ›

For a new column series, Indonesia Investments explores Indonesia's hospitality sector, particularly dining - whether in the context of business meetings or more casual gatherings. In the first installment of this series, we visited all-day dining at Collage in the Pullman Hotel located next to the Central Park Mall in West Jakarta. Pullman is the high-end international brand of the Accor group having 89 hotels and resorts in 24 countries around the globe. Three are located in Indonesia, two in Jakarta (Central Park and Thamrin CBD) and one in Bali.

Read more ›

The position of consultant, tasked to conduct a feasibility study for the Jakarta-Surabaya toll road, will be tendered in early 2014. The realization of the Jakarta-Surabaya toll road, a 775 kilometer-long toll road that is built above the sea (along the coast line between Jakarta and Surabaya), is an ambition of the Indonesian government and expected to ease the difficulty of transportation on Java, Indonesia's most populous island. The feasibility study should explore the technical and environmental framework related to the establishment of the toll road.

Read more ›

In order to improve Indonesia's intra-island connectivity on Java (and thus reduce logistics costs that are due to fragile infrastructure), the government is planning to build a toll road above the sea from the capital city of Jakarta in the western part of Java to Surabaya in East Java. Both these cities are Indonesia's centers of industrial productivity and economic growth. The 775 kilometer-long toll road, which is expected to cost about IDR 150 trillion (USD $13.3 billion), will be build by a consortium of 19 Indonesian state-owned enterprises.

Read more ›

In order to avert a potential bubble in Indonesia's property sector, Bank Indonesia (the central bank of Indonesia) is planning to further tighten its monetary policy in the sector. After having raised the minimum down payment requirement on housing loans to 30 percent for first home ownership (thus a loan-to-value ratio of 70 percent) in June 2012, Bank Indonesia now intends to prohibit credits for the purchase of a second, third (or more) house that has not been built yet (still in the preconstruction phase). This new rule is expected to be introduced this month.

Read more ›

Indonesia and Sweden intend to increase business relations between both countries. Last month, Indonesia's president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono made a state visit to Sweden, while in 2012 Sweden prime minister Fredrik Reinfeldt visited Indonesia. A number of topics were discussed during these visits, including trade and investment. After the discussions, both countries agreed that trade and investment between the countries should be expanded. Up to early 2013, 77 Swedish companies are in operation in Indonesia.

Read more ›

The economy of Indonesia is booming with gross domestic product (GDP) surpassing six percent on an annual basis. And the country's strong economic fundamentals are confirmed by increasing international attention. But within the context of this economic growth it is important to take a look at whether economic growth is shared by all segments of Indonesian society. If, for example, only the higher classes of Indonesia would benefit from the economic boom, it could give rise to social issues in the future.

Read more ›

One of the sectors that showed exceptional growth in 2012 was Indonesia's property market. On average, net profit of companies engaged in Indonesia's property sector grew 68 percent during the full year. Of the 45 property companies that are listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX), 26 posted net profit growth that exceeded 50 percent. But the success story did not end there. In the first quarter of 2013, the property sectoral index of the IDX continued its fast pace by rising over 41 percent.

Read more ›

Whenever the topic of tourism in Indonesia is touched upon, most people will instantly think of Bali. This small but famous island harbors all sorts of entertainment that will appeal to various segments of international tourism: beautiful landscapes, Balinese Hinduism, lively nightclubs, beaches and more. But apart from Bali - and despite the fact that Indonesia has much to offer on other islands - the country has disappointed in attracting a large amount of foreign tourists so far.

Read more ›