Below is a list with tagged columns and company profiles.

Today's Headlines Regional Governments

  • Inefficient Use of Indonesia's State Budget; Fake Villages & Local Public Officials’ High Travel Expenses

    It is assumed by many that the Indonesian government does not make efficient use of the annual state budgets. This is also the reason why Indonesian President Joko Widodo stated recently that one of his key ambitions for the next five years is to make more efficient use of the state budget (“each rupiah of the state budget needs to be used productively”).

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  • Indef Criticizes Indonesia's Economic Policy Packages

    The Institute for Development of Economics and Finance (Indef) criticizes the 14 economic policy packages that have been released by the Indonesian government between September 2015 and November 2016. While these packages aim at boosting competitiveness, employment opportunities, purchasing power, investment and overall macroeconomic growth, results have been disappointing so far. Ahmad Heri Firdaus, economist at Indef, says the packages are too "general" and thus fail to focus on the specific environment in a specific sector (and-related sub-sectors).

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  • What is the Biggest Obstacle to Business & Investment in Indonesia?

    Not the lack of (soft and hard) infrastructure development in Indonesia, or the lack of quality human resources, nor corruption or protectionism but the difficulty to obtain the necessary permits from the local governments are the biggest obstacle to investment and business in Indonesia according to a survey that was conducted by the Regional Autonomy Watch (KPPOD) in the 32 regional capital cities across the Archipelago.

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  • Update Indonesia's Economic Policy Packages: What's the Progress?

    Recently, most attention has been paid to Indonesia's tax amnesty program launched last Monday (18/07), while the 12 economic policy packages - released between September 2015 and April 2016 by the Indonesian government - have been pushed to the background. These packages, which include tax incentives, deregulation, and somewhat open foreign investment opportunities in Indonesia, were implemented in a bid to boost Indonesia's economic growth. However, according to the latest information, not all 12 economic stimulus packages have been implemented in full force.

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  • Democracy in Indonesia: Parliament Passes Bill to End Direct Local Voting

    Indonesia’s House of Representatives (DPR) passed a controversial bill in the early morning of Friday (26/09) that is widely criticized by media and analysts. After a walk out of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s Democratic Party (the largest party in parliament having 148 out of 560 seats) in the plenary session, parliament agreed that direct voting in the regions will be scrapped, thus leaving it to the regional legislatures to elect mayors, district heads and governors. Critics say this bill is a setback for democracy.

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  • Update Indonesia's Legislative Election of 2014; Live Quick Count in Progress

    After the polling stations closed at 13:00 local time on Wednesday (09/04), the quick count for Indonesia's 2014 legislative election has started. Contrary to previous election years, the General Election Commission (KPU) will not release the official results of the election quickly. The official outcome of the 2014 parliamentary election is expected to be announced on 9 May 2014. Below, the preliminary results of the quick count are presented. These scores may still be updated as new data come in.

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  • Update Indonesia Elections 2014; Parliamentary Election 9 April 2014

    Today (Wednesday 09/04), the people of Indonesia will choose their representatives for the national and regional legislative institutions. Polling stations have been open since 07:00 local time. Although there are about 190 million Indonesians who are eligible to vote (out of a total population of around 250 million), the turnout may be much lower. At stake are 560 seats in the House of Representatives (DPR), 132 seats in the Regional Consultative Council (DPD), and about 19,000 local government positions.

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Latest Columns Regional Governments

  • Economic Growth Indonesia in 2016? Key Lies in Regions

    After Indonesian Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said she expects Indonesia's gross domestic product growth at 5.1 percent (y/y) in full-year 2016, Chief Economics Minister Darmin Nasution is slightly more optimistic. Nasution puts his GDP growth projection at 5.2 percent (y/y) this year despite the government's spending budget being cut by IDR 137.5 trillion. According to Nasution, rising investment realization should push economic growth to 5.2 percent (y/y), offsetting the negative impact of fewer state spending.

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  • Widodo: Regions Need to Optimize Spending to Boost the Economy

    A better-than-expected GDP growth figure in the second quarter of 2016 should not be a reason for Indonesia to become complacent. On the contrary, efforts to boost economic growth need to be continued. One of the keys to unlock accelerated economic growth is to optimize spending of government funds at the regional level. Alarmingly, some IDR 214.7 trillion (approx. USD $16.5 billion) of central government funds that are allocated to regional governments in the 2016 state budget are left untouched at bank accounts.

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  • Economic Packages Indonesia: Key to Success Lies in Regions

    Infrastructure development and deregulation are the two main recipes used by the Indonesian government - under the leadership of Joko Widodo - to attract investment. By making it easier and cheaper to obtain permits and by providing better infrastructure (implying investors need to invest less in additional infrastructure facilities while logistic costs ease) Indonesia's investment climate improves. As such, the ease of doing business in Indonesia will improve accordingly. However, good coordination and cooperation between the central and regional governments is required.

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  • Overlapping Land Conflicts & Troubled Mining Business Licenses in Indonesia

    West Kalimantan, South Sulawesi and South Kalimantan are the three Indonesian provinces that scored the worst in the Local Government Performance Index (in Indonesian: Indeks Kinerja Pemerintah Daerah, or IKPD). This index, compiled by Indonesia's Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), measures the degree of coordination and supervision within Indonesian provinces regarding policies and actions related to the prevention of corruption in the mining and energy sectors. The provinces that have the highest scores are Central Sulawesi and the Riau Islands.

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  • Analyst Opinion: Indonesia Should Focus on Boosting Purchasing Power

    An Indonesian analyst says the Indonesian government needs to increase efforts to boost people's purchasing power in order to achieve the government's economic growth target of 5.3 percent in 2016. Household consumption in Indonesia accounts for about 55 percent of the nation's total gross domestic product (GDP) growth. As such, if purchasing power continues to weaken, then the economic slowdown returns. The analyst suggests the government should consider to cut personal and corporate income taxes, delay the electricity tariff hike for 900 VA households, and lower fuel prices.

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  • Preliminary Analysis Parliamentary Election Result in Indonesia

    Although several quick counts of today's legislative election in Indonesia still continue, the big picture is clear. The current opposition party PDI-P will win Indonesia's 2014 parliamentary election, followed by Golkar and Gerindra. This is no surprise as most surveys that were released ahead of the election indicated that these three political parties would be the major contenders. As a whole, the election went relatively smoothly, with only a few minor incidents. The official result will be announced on 9 May 2014.

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