14 June 2022 (closed)
Jakarta Composite Index (7,049.88) +54.44 +0.78%
USD/IDR (14,146) -6.00 -0.04%
EUR/IDR (17,335) +57.05 +0.33%
Below is a list with tagged columns and company profiles.
Today's Headlines Politics
Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Lestari Priansari Marsudi said the Indonesian government imposed zero tariffs for certain Palestinian products entering Indonesia since the start of the year. This policy aims at supporting Palestine economically.
Despite the "political year" several Indonesia-based securities firms expect to see big appetite from local companies to conduct an initial public offering (IPO) on the Indonesia Stock Exchange in 2018. In 2018, Indonesia will see a new round of regional elections (to determine local leaders) across the country. These elections are likely to trigger new political tensions, particularly as the country's legislative and presidential elections are to be held the following year.
Indonesia's House of Representatives (DPR) approved the government's proposed 2018 state budget bill in a plenary session on Wednesday (25/10), hence turning the bill into law. Taufik Kurniawan, Deputy House Speaker, announced this decision earlier today.
On Monday (16/10), Jakarta, the capital city of Indonesia, will see the inauguration of the new governor, Anies Baswedan (together with his deputy Sandiaga Uno), for the 2017-2022 period. President Joko Widodo will lead the ceremony at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta. The ceremony, which starts around 16:00 pm local Jakarta time, will be guarded by 7,000 security personnel.
Business and politics are highly related to each other and therefore it is worthwhile to take a look at chief executive officers' (CEOs) confidence in Indonesia's national politics as well as their expectations for Indonesia's future political conditions. Local media company Kontan recently issued its latest Kontan CEO Confidence Index (KCCI).
Yesterday's Jakarta gubernatorial election seems to have little impact on the performance of Indonesian stocks and the rupiah today (20/04). While Indonesia's benchmark Jakarta Composite Index is cautiously higher (in line with the general trend of Asian stocks this morning), the Indonesian rupiah had depreciated 0.10 percent to IDR 13,332 per US dollar (Bloomberg Dollar Index) by 10:00 am local Jakarta time on Thursday (20/04). The rupiah performance is slightly out of tune with most other Asian currencies but its weakening is still rather insignificant.
After 07:00 am Western Indonesian time zone on Wednesday (19/04), the citizens of Jakarta started to vote for their new governor. It was the second (and final) round of the 2017 Jakarta gubernatorial election. In this round the two leaders of the first round (where no candidate managed to obtain the absolute majority of votes) had a face-off. Below, Indonesia Investments provided a short live blog covering the key developments as well as updates of the various quick count results that came in after 14:00 pm local Jakarta time.
The Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) decided to keep its doors closed on Wednesday (19/04) as the people of Jakarta will vote in the second (and final) round of the Jakarta gubernatorial election. Earlier, Indonesian President Joko Widodo had already declared Wednesday 19 April 2017 a public holiday for the citizens in Indonesia's capital city of Jakarta. Meanwhile, Bank Indonesia stated that it will keep operations at a minimum on voting day.
A new rally, organized by the Indonesian Muslim Forum (FUI), will be staged on Tuesday (21/02) in front of Jakarta's national legislative complex on Jalan Gatot Subroto in Senayan (South Jakarta). An estimated 10,000 protesters will urge authorities (in this so-called "212 rally") to suspend Jakarta Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama (Ahok). Ahok is currently on trial for blasphemy based on a manipulated video that surfaced on social media last year.
Although all quick count results show that the Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama - Djarot Saiful Hidayat pair won the first round of Jakarta's 2017 gubernatorial election, the Anies Baswedan - Sandiaga Uno pair may feel like the moral winner of this election as there is only a small margin (less than four percent) between both pairs. The winner of the second round, ergo winner of the election, will thus be determined by those who voted on the Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono - Sylviana Murni pair in the first round (this pair cannot participate in the second round).
Latest Columns Politics
There was a new kid on the block in national politics ahead of Indonesia's 2014 elections. Joko Widodo (often called Jokowi), gained tremendous popularity among Indonesians when he was Governor of Jakarta (2012-2014). This popularity was based on his humble background as well as his humble behavior, his eagerness to reform existing structures and patterns, and his “pro-people” attitude. Previously, Widodo (who is an ex-furniture businessman) had been mayor of Solo (Central Java) from 2005 to 2012. His time as mayor was a success. However, he would really step into the national spotlight once he had won Jakarta’s gubernatorial election in 2012.
In Transparency International’s ‘Corruption Perceptions Index’ (CPI), Indonesia is rising slowly, yet continuously. In the latest edition, which was released in January 2019, Indonesia ranked 89th with a score of 38 points (the CPI uses a scale of 0 to 100, where 0 is fully corrupt and 100 is completely clean).
On Thursday 17 January 2019 the first debate between the two presidential pairs - (1) Joko Widodo & Ma'ruf Amin and (2) Prabowo Subianto & Sandiaga Uno - took place at Hotel Bidakara in Pancoran (South Jakarta). It is the first one of a total of five planned debates between the presidential and vice-presidential candidates in the months ahead of the legislative and presidential elections that are scheduled for 17 April 2019 (although the date of the 5th debate is yet to be determined).
We have entered 2019, which means we have entered a huge political year with the legislative and presidential elections scheduled for 17 April 2019. Indonesia is a young democracy that is maturing – hence experiences growing pains – and where various sides are engaged in a battle to get a hold of the highest political power in Indonesia.
Ahead of the legislative and presidential elections (scheduled for April 2019) the Indonesian government is unwilling to impose impopular measures. One of the side-effects is that subsidy spending has gone beyond the target that was set in the 2018 State Budget. Lets take a closer look at spending on energy subsidies in Indonesia so far this year.
It are challenging times for businessmen and investors in Indonesia. An escalating trade war between the United States and China is felt by emerging markets including Indonesia. For example, the rupiah has weakened to a 20-year low against the US dollar. Meanwhile, Indonesia's legislative and presidential elections are scheduled for April 2019 and the results can have big consequences for the country's investment climate.
On 23 September 2018 the campaign period officially started for Indonesia’s 2019 presidential election. This period runs up to 13 April 2019 (while the election is scheduled for 17 April 2019). Despite the start of the campaign period it has remained rather calm between the two opposing sides: (1) incumbent President Joko Widodo with Islamic clerk Ma’ruf Amin versus (2) Gerindra Chairman Prabowo Subianto with businessman Sandiaga Uno.
The local Jakarta administration has officially revoked principle permits for the development of 13 artificial islands (reclaimed islands) in the bay of Indonesia's capital city of Jakarta. For now, the decision means a complete stop to all activities related to the ambitious land reclamation project north of Jakarta.
It is finally clear which pairs will compete in Indonesia’s 2019 presidential election. On Saturday August 10th, 2018 (only hours before the deadline ended), political parties officially registered their presidential and vice-presidential candidates at the General Elections Commission (in Indonesian: Komisi Pemilihan Umum, or KPU). As was widely assumed, only two pairs will compete in the 2019 presidential election. Thus, there are also two coalitions of political parties.
It was a very exciting afternoon and evening on Friday (09 August 2018), especially for those who follow contemporary Indonesian politics as well as those who love sinetron (Indonesian soap operas) since there occurred plenty of drama. At the end of the day it became clear that two pairs (consisting of a presidential and vice-presidential candidate) will compete in the 2019 presidential election: (1) Joko Widodo and Ma'ruf Amin versus (2) Prabowo Subianto and Sandiaga Uno.
