The Indonesian government revised the price mechanism for property that can be bought by expats under the "right-of-use" category. Through Agrarian and Spatial Planning Affairs/National Land Agency (BPN) Regulation No. 29/2016 on Procedures for the Granting, Relinquishment and Assignment of Ownership Rights over Residential Homes or Housing by Foreigners Resident in Indonesia, it changed a couple of the minimum prices set on property (divided by region and the type of property).

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More and more signs point toward a strengthening property sector in Indonesia. In the third quarter of 2016 the property sector has seen more activity, a trend that is expected to continue into the fourth quarter and in 2017. Stanley Ang, Chief Marketing Officer at urban development company Lippo Cikarang, said this development is partly supported by the government's tax amnesty program and the lower interest rate environment in Indonesia as well as Bank Indonesia's decision to ease the loan-to-value (LTV) ratio.

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Earlier this week the government of Indonesia released its 13th economic policy package. This 13th edition focuses on the reduction of bureaucracy (red tape) in a bid to boost the construction of low-cost housing for the poorer segments of Indonesian society. Currently, property developers are required to obtain 33 permits before they can start to build affordable housing for the low-income people of Indonesia. This results in a costly and time-consuming process.

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The government of Indonesia may succesfully curb the nation's housing backlog figure to 6.8 million units by 2019. Providing adequate housing for the poorer segments of Indonesian society is one of the key tasks of the Indonesian government (for example through its 'one million houses' [per year] program). In 2015 Indonesia's housing backlog declined by 16 percent (y/y) to 11.4 million units according to the data from Indonesia's Statistics Agency (BPS). With enough effort of the government and private sector the figure should continue to drop in the foreseeable future.

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Although the government of Indonesia recently decided to allow foreigners to buy landed houses and apartments in Indonesia (while setting a minimum value on property that foreigners are allowed to purchase), there are yet to surface reports of expats buying Indonesian property. There are several matters that can explain foreigners' lack of enthusiasm to invest in property in Indonesia. Indonesian property association Real Estate Indonesia (REI) has several proposals to make it more attractive for expats to buy real estate in Indonesia.

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Several Indonesian ceramic producers have reportedly stopped production as stocks of ceramics are piling up at their warehouses. Normally, in the good old days when there existed high demand for ceramic products (due to Indonesia's booming property sector), stocks of ceramics lasted for only two weeks. Now, however, amid sluggish growth of Indonesia's property sector, the existing stocks of ceramics are estimated to cover at least three months.

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By relaxing the loan-to-value (LTV) ratio, the central bank of Indonesia (Bank Indonesia) expects to see House Ownership Credit (Kredit Pemilikan Rumah, abbreviated KPR) growth to accelerate by an additional 5 percent. Up to April 2016, KPR growth was recorded at 7.61 percent (y/y) only, down significantly from the years 2012-2013 when - amid the glory years of property development in Indonesia - KPR growth touched figures of between 30 - 49 percent (y/y). Back then concerns emerged whether Indonesia was about to experience a price bubble in the property sector.

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On 12 June 2016, 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 Indonesia's 2016 economic growth revisions, the property market, retail sector, Trans-Sumatra toll road, but also social matters such as child labor and human rights violations.

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Indonesia's cement sales rose 6.2 percent (y/y) to 5.1 million tons in May 2016, the highest monthly figure so far in 2016. As the property sector of Indonesia remains subdued amid sluggish demand and development, growth in cement sales is regarded to be the result of infrastructure development. Data from the Indonesian Cement Association (ASI) show that Indonesia's cement sales total 24.1 million tons in the first five months of 2016, up 3.9 percent (y/y) from sales in the same period one year earlier.

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The government of Indonesia will soon unveil a new economic policy package, the 13th in the series of packages that have been released since September 2015 with as overall aim to boost Indonesia's economic growth. Indonesian Chief Economics Minister Darmin Nasution said the 13th edition, which is currently being discussed among government officials, will focus on residential property for low income families. However, he refrained from providing more details at this stage.

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The tax amnesty program of Indonesia is yet to have an impact on Indonesia's property sector. Earlier, analysts and stakeholders expected part of the asset repatriations into Indonesia (under the government's tax amnesty program) to flow to property, either property ownership or property development projects. Although tax declarations and additional government revenue under the amnesty program were a success, the repatriation of assets that were stashed overseas has been weak. However, some stakeholders are optimistic that repatriated funds will flow to Indonesia's residential property in Q2-2017.

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Having an office in the center of Jakarta is usually an ambition of foreign and local businessmen in Indonesia. An office in Jakarta's Central Business District, the heart of the capital, is a strategic location (located close to the headquarters of numerous other companies that are active in Indonesia) and it adds a certain status to your company even though you will have to battle severe traffic congestion each time you visit or leave the office (but it is fair to say that also in the other parts of Jakarta traffic is immense).

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The year 2016 was a good one in terms of foreign investment in Jakarta's residential property sector even though Indonesia's property market remained sluggish. Various foreign property developers - including China's state-owned China Communications Construction Group (CCCG), Japanese firms Mitsubishi Corporation and Tokyu Land Corporation as well as Hong Kong's HongKong Land and Malaysia's Sime Darby Group - announced to engage in big property projects (in and around the capital city of Jakarta) that have a combined value of USD $2.8 billion.

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When walking around the Taman Anggrek Mall and Central Park Mall in West Jakarta, you will see several big property projects being built: a new mall (Neo Soho Mall), apartment complexes (Neo Soho Apartments and Taman Anggrek Residences) and a new office tower (Soho Capital). In terms of property development in Indonesia, West Jakarta now seems developers' favorite location. Hari Raharta, Secretary-General of the Indonesian Real Estate Developers Association (REI), informed, however, West Jakarta has seen solid property development since the opening of the Jakarta-Tangerang toll road back in 1984.

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Alam Sutera Realty, an Indonesia-based real estate development company, is plagued by overall declining growth in Indonesia's property sector. In the first half of 2016 Alam Sutera recorded IDR 966.5 billion (approx. USD $74 million) in pre-sales, only 19.3 percent of the company's full-year target. What are the strategies of this company to combat the slowdown?

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Indonesian listed financial institution Bank Tabungan Negara should benefit from the government's Housing Loan Liquidity Facility (in Indonesian: Fasilitas Likuiditas Pembiayaan Perumahan, or FLPP), a government-subsidized mortgage program for those low-income citizens who have never bought a house before. This scheme should boost House Ownership Credit (Kredit Pemilikan Rumah, or KPR) in Southeast Asia's largest economy. Good news for Bank Tabungan Negara, which is the market leader in Indonesia's mortgage loans sector.

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Indonesian listed property developer Surya Semesta Internusa is experiencing difficult times. The firm's three main business segments - construction, property and hospitality - are all under pressure. In the first six months of 2016 net profit of the developer plunged 64.3% (y/y) to IDR 91.5 billion (approx. USD $7 million), far below analysts' forecasts. The decline was mainly caused by a fall in its net revenue. Net revenue of Surya Semesta Internusa fell 16.6 percent (y/y) to IDR 2.08 trillion (approx. USD $159 million).

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Today, Indonesia's House of Representatives passed the Tax Amnesty Bill into law. Indonesian authorities expect this bill to bring home trillions of rupiah (hundreds of million of US dollars) that partly flow into Indonesia's property sector. Total Bangun Persada, one of Indonesia's leading construction companies, is one of the companies that can benefit from these inflows. CIMB Securities expects the company's revenue to grow 6.8 percent (y/y) to IDR 2.52 trillion (approx. USD $189 million) in 2016.

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Indonesian real estate developer Bumi Serpong Damai, part of the Sinar Mas Group, has ample room for expansion. According to its latest quarterly financial report, the company owns 3,954.88 hectares of land that has not been developed yet, 70 percent of which is located near BSD City, an ambitious urban planning scheme that combines housing, business and commercial properties not far from Indonesia's capital city of Jakarta. The company also has land banks in Jakarta, Bogor, Surabaya, Palembang, Balikpapan and Samarinda.

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Indonesia opened the property market to those foreigners who reside (legally) in Indonesia. However, it also set tough requirements regarding foreign ownership of Indonesian property. Moreover, it remains nearly impossible for expats to obtain a local mortgage to finance the purchase of property. Although local credit may actually not be attractive for foreigners as interest rates are high in Indonesia, it is interesting to take a closer look at why Indonesian banks reject to sell mortgages to foreigners and whether foreigners are actually enticed to buy property in Indonesia?

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