On 20 December 2015, Indonesia Investments released the latest edition of its newsletter. This free newsletter, which is sent to our subscribers once per week, contains the most important news stories from Indonesia that have been reported on our website over the last seven days. Most of the topics involve economic matters such as updates on the performance of Indonesian stocks and the rupiah, Indonesia's interest rate environment, the trade balance, the country's energy mix, updates of the performance of listed companies, and more.

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Indonesia will most likely abandon its plans to establish four nuclear plants (with a combined capacity of 6 GW) by 2025. Sudirman Said, Indonesian Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, recently said there are plenty of alternatives - especially renewable energy - in Indonesia to meet the government's target of 136.7 GW of power capacity by 2025 and 430 GW by the year 2050. Nuclear power is controversial due to health risks, environmental damage and nuclear proliferation (when used as a weapon). The nuclear disaster in Japan in 2011 highlighted the risks of tapping nuclear power.

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Per 4 December 2015 Indonesia officially rejoined the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), seven years after the country had voluntarily exited the organization as it had turned in to a net oil importer. On the 168th meeting of the OPEC, held in Vienna (Austria), OPEC President (and Nigeria's Oil Minister) Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu welcomed Indonesia back into the organization. At the meeting Indonesia was represented by Indonesian Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Sudirman Said.

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The government of Indonesia will tender three geothermal energy projects in October 2015. These three projects are the Way Ratai (South Sumatra), Bukit Kili (West Sumatra), and Marana (Central Sulawesi) fields. Indonesia is estimated to contain about 40 percent of the world’s geothermal reserves and therefore entails great potential for this energy source. However, Southeast Asia’s largest economy only utilizes approximately 4.7 percent (1,403 megawatts) of its total geothermal capacity (29,475 megawatts).

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Through capital injections the Indonesian government aims to enhance the role of various state-owned enterprises (SOEs) within the process of economic development. In the recently unveiled 2016 State Budget draft, which still requires approval from Indonesia’s House of Representatives, the government allocated a total of IDR 48.2 trillion (approx. USD $3.6 billion) to 24 SOEs in five priority sectors: food security, infrastructure & maritime development, energy security, strategic industry development, and national economic autonomy.

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After having delisted its shares from the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) in 2007, Mitra Energi Persada relisted 212 billion shares (approximately 11.6 percent of the company’s equity) on the IDX on Monday (04/05). The relisting was a success. Shares of the company, traded under the ticker KOPI, rose almost 50 percent to IDR 590. Mitra Energi Persada was originally established as an e-commerce company but later shifted its business to the energy sector. The company is a trader of natural gas, coal and oil.

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The current account deficit of Indonesia, which is expected to have improved slightly from 3.3 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2013 to about 3 percent of GDP in 2014, is forecast to continue to improve in 2015 hence placing less pressures on the rupiah exchange rate and the economy in general. A wide current account deficit makes the country vulnerable to capital outflows in times of global shocks (for example looming higher US interest rates) as the deficit signals that Indonesia relies on foreign funding.

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Coal exports from Indonesia are expected to decline in the remainder of 2014 as the Indonesian government implemented a new licensing system for domestic coal miners - the ‘Listed Exporter’ status (Indonesian: Eksportir Terdaftar, ET) - per 1 October 2014 in an effort to optimize monitoring of the coal mining industry (illegal coal shipments from Indonesia form a structural problem). This new legal framework has led to confusion among miners causing that not all miners have been able to obtain the necessary status to resume coal shipments.

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Fully state-owned energy company Pertamina announced that it has raised the selling price of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) by 23 percent in an effort to cut losses from subsidized gas sales. The company said that it incurred losses of IDR 2.5 to 3.0 trillion in the first half of 2014 as a result of 12 kilogram LPG canisters sales. These LPG sales are heavily subsidized as the government determines a fixed price, below the market value. However, the government does not reimburse this difference in selling price and market value.

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Indonesia’s House of Representatives (DPR) passed an important geothermal bill in a plenary session on Tuesday (26/08). This new bill is expected to be a great leap in the development of geothermal power in Southeast Asia’s largest economy. Indonesia contains the world's largest geothermal energy reserves. However the country only uses a small fraction of this geothermal potential. Meanwhile, amid robust economic growth, the country is in serious need to provide more electricity and power to its people and businesses.

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The two key stories in this June 2025 report are energy and poverty. The reason why we delve into these topics is actually a matter of coincidence. At the very end of May 2025, Indonesia’s fully state-owned electricity company Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) released – after four years of waiting – a new Electricity Supply Business Plan (abbreviated as RUPTL).

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Crude oil is a fossil fuel that is derived from the remains of plants and organisms that lived on Earth millions of years ago (coal and natural gas also formed under similar conditions). Crude oil is found in huge underground reservoirs – either below land or the ocean floor – where ancient seas once existed.

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Not only in Indonesian media, but also in media around the world we have recently been reading quite some articles on the topic of hydrogen, specifically regarding the potential of hydrogen to replace fossil fuels in the global pursuit of renewable energy development. And so, it is interesting to take a closer look at this topic.

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At the start of the New Year we are taking a look at renewable energy development in Indonesia, specifically the case of solar power. Solar power is energy from the Sun that is converted into thermal or electrical energy, either through photovoltaic (PV) panels or through mirrors that concentrate solar radiation. The electrical energy can be used to generate electricity, or, it can be stored in batteries or thermal storage.

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Few should be unaware that the world (particularly Western powers) are pushing for renewable energy to replace fossil fuels. It is difficult to find a newspaper or TV station that does not report on this issue on a daily basis.

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On 24 February 2023 Pertamina Geothermal Energy made its trading debut on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) after concluding its initial public offering (IPO) – in which it sold 10.35 billion shares (which is equivalent to 25 percent of its enlarged share capital, including a 10 percent free float on the IDX) at an offering price of IDR 875 per share.

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Just like essentially all other currencies around the globe, the Indonesian rupiah has been under pressure from tightening monetary policy in the United States (US). This has serious consequences for the energy market since Indonesia is a net oil importer.

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While one month ago we read (in Indonesian media) that Indonesian President Joko Widodo vowed no increase in prices of subsidized fuels before the end of 2022, the situation suddenly changed. Based on reports in Indonesian media in the second half of August 2022 there were growing signs that the government was busy preparing a significant increase in prices of subsidized fuels (involving Pertalite and Pertamax gasoline fuels as well as automotive diesel oil) to safeguard a healthy budget balance for the government.

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Subscribers may have noticed that over the past couple of months, perhaps even the past half year, we devoted one article per month to the topic of renewable energy. And, it is a combination of factors that motivates this decision.

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With the Ramadan month just having started, it is important to take a look at food prices in Indonesia. The Ramadan-Idul Fitri period is typically a period when prices rise amid a significant increase in demand.

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