The Federal Reserve's decision not to change its quantitative easing program seems to have led to a bullish market in Asia. Indonesia's benchmark stock index (IHSG) rose 4.37 percent to 4,658.2 points after the first session on Thursday's trading day (19/09). All sectoral indices were up, with the property sector in leading position. Big cap stocks, in particular, performed well. Investors are relieved that the Fed did not alter its stimulus program. Thus, funds are expected to continue flowing to emerging markets, including Indonesia.

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Despite widespread speculation that the Federal Reserve would tone down its quantitative easing program (QE3) by approximately USD $10 to $20 billion after the FOMC meeting on Wednesday (18/09), the central bank of the USA decided to continue its monthly USD $85 billion bond-buying program as it downgraded its outlook for US economic growth to between 2.0 and 2.3 percent. Chairman Bernanke said that the economic context of the USA is still far from conducive to alter its strategy.

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For the first time since April 2013, Indonesia's foreign exchange reserves have shown a small growth. Indonesia's central bank (Bank Indonesia) stated that in late August, the foreign exchange reserves rose to USD $92.99 billion from USD $92.67 billion a month earlier. The growth was a surprise as continued capital outflows from Indonesia's financial markets was expected to translate into lower reserves. Last week, Indonesia's benchmark stock index fell 2.97 percent, while the rupiah fell 2.55 percent against the US dollar.

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The Financial Services Authority of Indonesia (OJK or Otoritas Jasa Keuangan) announced that six more Indonesian companies are planning to conduct their initial public offering (IPO) on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) in 2013. The OJK is currently processing the applications, which should see the listings materialize in Q4-2013. One company that was expected to conduct its IPO, but postponed, was Puradelta Lestari. The company was not willing to conduct the IPO in the midst of current bearish market conditions in Indonesia.

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Indonesia's largest telecommunication & network provider Telekomunikasi Indonesia (Telkom) has conducted a stock split with a ratio of 1:5 yesterday (29/08). The company, which is majority owned by the Indonesian government and has a dominating market share of around 47% in terms of mobile phone subscribers in Indonesia, decided to conduct the stock split to increase the company’s share liquidity. A cheaper price will be more appealing to investors. The stock split was agreed upon at the general shareholders' meeting on 19 April 2013.

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Indonesia's central bank (Bank Indonesia) decided to raise its benchmark interest rate (BI rate) by 50 basis points to 7.0 percent on Thursday (29/08) in order to support the weakening rupiah amid slowing global economic growth. The rupiah has been on a long losing streak and has fallen to its lowest level against the US dollar in four years. The BI rate had already been raised in June and July from a historically low 5.75 percent to 6.50 percent. Today, an extra meeting was scheduled to discuss policy measures.

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Indonesian stocks took a large dive on today's trading day (19/08) at the Indonesia Stock Exchange. The IHSG (the index of all listed stocks) fell 5.58 percent to 4,313.52 points as negative market sentiments caused foreign investors to pull money out of the Indonesian market. Investors are highly concerned about a number of macroeconomic data that have been released recently. These data indicated the slowest economic growth since Q3-2010, inflation at a four-year high and a widening trade deficit.

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Although Indonesia's currency, the IDR rupiah, has continued its weakening trend, Indonesian authorities are reassuring the people that this development is not as much caused by domestic factors but rather due to the rising US dollar against other currencies. According to data from Bank Indonesia, the Indonesian rupiah has weakened 5.99 percent to the US dollar in 2013. It is also clear that the central bank of Indonesia has decided to let the rupiah depreciate gradually instead of using its foreign exchange reserves to support the currency.

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Express Transindo Utama (TAXI), an Indonesian taxi operator controlled by Peter Sondakh's Rajawali Corpora, received the award for 'Warta Ekonomi's Best New Listed Company'. Warta Ekonomi is one of Indonesia's renowned business and economic magazines. The taxi operator received the award because its business is experiencing good growth as can be seen from its stock performance. In 2013, its shares rose 72.94 percent. The company is the first, and only, taxi operator that went public on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX).

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Fortune Indonesia, a business magazine, has compiled a top 100 of the most profitable Indonesian companies that were listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) in 2012. The list was published on Tuesday (09/07) in Jakarta. The company that is leading Fortune's ranking is Astra International, one of the largest diversified conglomerates in Indonesia. Astra is not only the most profitable (net profit) company that is listed on the IDX but also the leading company in terms of highest revenue.

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Several Indonesian companies decided to delay their initial public offering (IPO) on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) in 2014 due to great political uncertainties brought about by Indonesia’s ‘political year’ (legislative and presidential elections). Moreover, sluggish global economic growth, slowing domestic growth as well as the scrapping of the Federal Reserve’s quantitative easing program impacted on investors’ confidence. Therefore, only 20 companies conducted an IPO last year. This year we should see more IPOs in Indonesia.

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Both Indonesian stocks and the rupiah continued to slide on Thursday (04/06) and seem to be caught in a vicious downward spiral brought about by both domestic and international factors. Indonesia’s benchmark stock index (Jakarta Composite Index) fell 0.68 percent to close at a five-week low of 5,095.82 points, while the rupiah depreciated 0.39 percent to IDR 13,281 per US dollar (Bloomberg Dollar Index), a level last seen in the late 1990s when the country was plagued by the Asian Financial Crisis.

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On the first trading day of the new week, both Indonesian stocks and the rupiah moved more-or-less sideways. Generally, indices in Southeast Asia were mixed as positive external sentiments were offset by local negative sentiments. In the case of Indonesia, negative local sentiments stemmed from the higher-than-estimated inflation figure in May and continued contraction of the manufacturing industry. Positive market sentiments stemmed from the USA where GDP growth was revised to minus 0.7 percent in Q1-2015.

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Most stock markets and currencies in Southeast Asia weakened on Friday (29/05), including Indonesia’s benchmark Jakarta Composite Index and the rupiah. The Jakarta Composite Index fell 0.40 percent to 5,216.38 points, while the rupiah depreciated 0.01 percent to IDR 13,224 per US dollar according to the Bloomberg Dollar Index. Over the past week, Indonesian stocks and the rupiah weakened primarily due to the Greek debt crisis, looming higher US interest rates and the lack of positive domestic factors.

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Prospects for initial public offerings (IPOs) in Indonesia are positive in 2015, or, at least more positive than in 2014 when Indonesia’s ‘political year’ (legislative and presidential elections) caused severe political uncertainties in the market. However, the country’s slowing economic growth and looming capital outflows brought about by expected further monetary tightening in the USA before the year-end, has made market participants cautious. The Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) expects a total of 32 new listings on the IDX in 2015, up from 20 last year.

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In line with other Asian indices, Indonesian stocks rose on Tuesday (26/05). The benchmark Jakarta Composite Index rose 0.62 percent to 5,320.90 points. Positive sentiments did not originate from the USA as US stock markets were closed for a holiday yesterday but primarily stemmed from China where the economic planning agency announced to implement several new policies in a bid to boost the sluggish economy. The rupiah, however, depreciated 0.25 percent to IDR 13,220 per US dollar based on the Bloomberg Dollar Index.

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For a good portion of this year, the stock market in Indonesia has been met with selling pressure. There is a reasonable basis for this, as we have seen some disappointments in corporate earnings that have led some of the biggest names in the country to trade lower. But there are external events at work, as well. And some of these factors might not be readily apparent to many regional investors. One of these is the sovereign debt situation in the Eurozone.

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Stock markets in Indonesia have been particularly volatile in recent weeks, and this has left many investors wondering about whether or not the rally that started last October is still viable and ready to continue. Last month, the MSCI Indonesia Index (which trades under the stock symbol EIDO) took a large drop - from well above the 6,500 mark to below 6,000. From a percentage perspective, a move like this can generate significant losses for those that bought into Indonesian stocks while they were still at elevated levels.

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A selection of corporate earnings reports (covering net profit and revenues for full-year 2014) of Indonesian companies that are listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) is presented by Indonesia Investments below. The companies are categorized by sector: (1) agriculture and mining, (2) basic industry and chemicals, (3) miscellaneous industry, (4) consumer goods, (5) property and real estate, (6) infrastructure, utilities and transportation, (7) finance, and (8) trade, services and investment.

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Mitra Keluarga Karyasehat, a leading Indonesian hospital operator and subsidiary of the Kalbe Group, plans to raise about IDR 4.2 trillion (USD $328 million) in an initial public offering (IPO) on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) in March 2015. The company plans to offer up to 261.9 million shares, or 18 percent of its enlarged equity, to the public. Five percent of this total constitute new shares, while 13 percent are shares divested by private equity firm Lion Investment Partners.

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