According to a Bank Indonesia report that was released on Monday (19/08), consumer confidence in Indonesia has weakened after the government decided to raise prices of subsidized fuels in June 2013. The country's consumer confidence index fell 8.7 points to 108¹ in July from 117 points in June. Higher fuel prices led to higher transportation costs that subsequently made many retailers increase prices of products, thus impacting on Indonesian households' purchasing power. In July, the annual inflation rate accelerated to 8.61 percent.

Read more ›

According to research conducted by Nielsen Indonesia, Indonesia's middle class is the world's most optimistic middle class segment in the second quarter of 2013. Indonesia leads the Nielsen Global Survey of Consumer Confidence and Spending Intentions index with 124 points, followed by the Philippines (121 points) and India (118 points). The average global consumer index stands at 94 points. It is interesting to note that Asian countries top the index. The emerging Asia Pacific region is far above the 94-points average with 105 points.

Read more ›

Pay television (a subscription-based television service) in Indonesia shows the slowest growth among Asian countries according to research reported by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). Growth of pay television in Indonesia only amounts to two percentage points per year, a number that is significantly lower than in the country's regional peers. Indonesia's pay TV penetration rate is currently about six percent, which translates to three million households.

Read more ›

Chief executive officers (CEOs) in Indonesia have become slightly less optimistic about the Indonesian economy and politics. This makes sense considering the presence of simmering global trade tensions, sharp rupiah depreciation against the US dollar, and Bank Indonesia's recent series of interest rate hikes.

Read more ›

There are signs that household consumption in Indonesia is rebounding ahead of this year's Idul Fitri holiday. This would be a great boost for Indonesia's overall economic growth as private consumption accounts for around 57 percent of the nation's total economic growth. One of the reasons why Indonesia's gross domestic product (GDP) growth has been stuck around the 5 percent (y/y) mark in recent years is subdued household consumption (which has fallen slightly below the 5 percent y/y mark).

Read more ›

Corporate earnings of Indonesia-based food manufacturer Indofood Sukses Makmur, which ranks among the biggest companies that are listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange, are affected by subdued household consumption and fierce competition in the processed foods and beverage sector of Indonesia. Indofood Sukses Makmur has operations in each stage of the food manufacturing process, ranging from the production and processing of raw materials to consumer end-products on retailers' shelves.

Read more ›

Consumer goods companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange are expected to experience two good years in 2018 and 2019 due to the presence of the "political years" (regional elections in 2018 followed by legislative and presidential elections in 2019). Traditionally, consumption rises amid these "parties of democracy" and therefore those consumer goods companies with strong brands are expected to see rising sales in this period.

Read more ›

Household consumption in Indonesia is expected to improve in 2018. This assumption is based on a number of indicators that show a positive trend. For example, consumer confidence in Indonesia rose to 126.4 points in December 2017. The country's macroeconomic picture is also strengthening with accelerating economic growth, low inflation and a stable (or actually appreciating) rupiah rate.

Read more ›

Within Indonesia it is still being debated whether consumers' purchasing power has really weakened in the third quarter. Some argue consumers are currently focused on saving their money rather than spending it (this explains rising third-party funds in Indonesia's banking system). Others argue that Indonesia's household consumption data are distorted because this year's Ramadan and Idul Fitri celebrations fell in the second quarter of the year (whereas in 2016 these celebrations fell in Q3).

Read more ›

Over the past couple of months there have been many reports about Indonesia's weak consumer purchasing power. For example, the Indonesian Retailers Association (Aprindo) said it detected rather weak retail sales during this year's Idul Fitri period (the week-long holiday that marks the end of the Islamic fasting month). Whereas these sales rose 16.3 percent during last year's edition of Idul Fitri, they rose only by an estimated 5-6 percent this year.

Read more ›

Bank Indonesia (BI) is the central bank of the Republic of Indonesia, and was known as "De Javasche bank" or "The Java Bank" in the colonial period.  Bank Indonesia was founded on 1 July 1953 from the nationalization of De Javasche Bank. As an independent state institution, Bank Indonesia is fully autonomous in formulating and implementing each of its assumed tasks and most policy goals tend to center around the ability to stabilize prices in the economy.

Read more ›

Packaged food producer Indofood CBP Sukses Makmur, subsidiary of Indofood Sukses Makmur, is expected to see rising profit in the second half of 2016 on the back of lower prices of raw materials (particularly wheat flour, the key ingredient for instant noodles), the stronger rupiah and improved purchasing power of Indonesia's consumer force. Meanwhile, the company may manage to curb losses that originate from the beverage segment. Indofood CBP Sukses Makmur has 6 business segments: noodles, dairy, snack foods, food seasoning, nutrition and special food products, and beverages.

Read more ›

Growth in the fast moving consumer goods sector will surely boost overall growth and the financial performance of Indofood Sukses Makmur, one of Indonesia's largest food manufacturing firms. Moreover, the stronger rupiah and lower costs of raw materials will also impact positively on the company's earnings. Indofood Sukses Makmur, part of the Salim Group, offers a wide variety of food and beverage products to Indonesian consumers ranging from instant noodles, dairy, snacks, food seasoning, and nutrition to special foods and beverages.

Read more ›