Below is a list with tagged columns and company profiles.

Today's Headlines Infrastructure

  • Indonesia's May Cement Sales Up 6.2%, Next Month's Sales Could Fall

    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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  • Infrastructure Indonesia: Jakarta's New Priok Port (Kalibaru) Opened Soon

    State-owned Pelindo II, the company that is involved in port services across ten Indonesian provinces, plans to conduct another test related to the New Priok Port on 2 July 2016. Full commercial operations are scheduled to start on 15 July 2016. The New Priok Port is one of the large government infrastructure projects involving the construction of a new port (an extension of the Tanjung Priok) in North Jakarta in order to tackle Indonesia's severe logistics trouble, while bringing Indonesia's port facilities on par with other world-class ports such as Singapore.

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  • Investment Opportunities in Indonesia's Retail Sector: Lucrative Potential?

    Indonesia managed to enter the top five in the Global Retail Development Index, reflecting the strength and potential of the nation's retail sector. In the 2016 edition of the index, compiled by global consulting company AT Kearney, Indonesia jumped to fifth position (from 12th in the 2015 edition). The Global Retail Development Index measures the attractiveness of the retail sector in 30 developing economies as well as identifying investment opportunities in these markets. China remains number one in the ranking, followed by India, Malaysia and Kazakhstan.

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  • Indonesia's Ranking in A Selection of International Indexes

    How does Indonesia rank internationally in terms of happiness, human development, global innovation, and global competitiveness? Below we present a number of global rankings. Generally, Indonesia is ranked among the lower-medium segment, implying the nation has a long way to go before becoming an advanced economy.

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  • Steel Industry Indonesia: Infrastructure Projects & China Production Cuts

    After a three-year slowdown, the steel industry of Indonesia is showing some positive developments supported by government-led infrastructure projects in Indonesia and the rising global steel price. The price for (benchmark) hot rolled coil has surged 47 percent since the start of 2016 to USD $485 per ton (May 2016 delivery). In late 2015 the price of hot rolled coil was as low as USD $265 per ton. Moreover, the mandatory usage of locally-manufactured steel for the infrastructure projects will have a positive impact on Indonesia's steel industry.

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  • Japan & Indonesia to Partner for Construction of Patimban Seaport

    Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe informed Indonesian President Joko Widodo that Japan is eager to be involved in the USD $3 billion Patimban deep seaport in Subang (West Java). This seaport is envisaged to become an international seaport with a 7.5 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) capacity. President Widodo is in Japan for a two-day visit (26-27 May). On the sidelines of the Group of Seven summit, Widodo and Abe discussed several projects: the Patimban seaport, the revitalization of the northern Java railway, and the Batang power plant.

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  • Weak Infrastructure Blocks Investment in Indonesia's Cold Storage Industry

    The cold storage industry of Indonesia needs IDR 12 trillion (approx. USD $902 million) of additional investment in order to raise installed capacity to a sufficient level. Currently, Indonesia still has to cope with a deficit in terms of the availability of cold storage facilities. This causes a problem for the preserving as well as the transportation of (processed) seafood, chicken meat, fruits and vegetables. At the start of 2016 the Indonesian government announced it would open the cold storage industry to foreign investment for the full 100 percent. However, investment realization has been limited.

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  • No Investment Grade Yet but S&P Positive about Indonesia

    Global credit rating agency Standard & Poor's (S&P) appreciates the policy reforms that have been conducted by the Indonesian government because these changes lead to more openness as well as to enhanced competitiveness. Apart from cutting costly energy subsidies (and redirecting a large chunk of available funds to infrastructure development) the government also unveiled 12 economic policy packages since September 2015 (while more packages are in the pipeline) that include matters such as tax incentives and deregulation (aimed at boosting investment).

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  • Some Thoughts on the Performance of Indonesia's Stock Market in 2016

    The stock performance of Indonesian companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) in 2016 is expected to be better than last year's performance. One of the factors that supports this assumption is Indonesia's accelerating economic growth. Most - if not all - analysts expect GDP growth to rebound from its six-year low of 4.79 percent (y/y) in 2015. Indonesia's Q4-2015 GDP growth at 5.04 percent (y/y) was already promising (supported by government spending). In 2016 a growth pace in the range of 5.0 - 5.2 percent (y/y) should be possible. Although the link is not perfect, there is a correlation between a nation's stock market and its GDP growth.

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  • Toll Road Development Indonesia: State-Owned Companies Take Over

    Two of Indonesia's state-controlled companies will acquire at least 11 toll road concessions (with a total length of 525.7 kilometers and combined value of IDR 53.5 trillion or approx. USD $4.1 billion) from the private sector in the next two years. Toll road operator Jasa Marga is expected to acquire four toll road projects with a total length of 262.3 kilometers, estimated to be worth IDR 18.4 trillion (approx. USD $1.4 billion). Meanwhile construction firm Waskita Karya plans to acquire seven toll road projects (with a combined length of 263.4 kilometers), take-overs estimated to require IDR 35.1 trillion (approx. USD $2.7 billion) of investment.

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Latest Columns Infrastructure

  • 20 Japanese Food and Beverage Companies Plan to Invest in Indonesia

    A total of twenty Japanese companies engaged in the food and beverage industry are exploring investment opportunities in Indonesia. According to research conducted by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the food and beverage industry of Indonesia is regarded as a lucrative investment opportunity by these companies. If realized, these foreign direct investments could be worth between USD $400 million to USD $1 billion. However, JICA’s research did not mention any names of the Japanese companies.

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  • Indonesia Vulnerable to Land Disputes as Few Plantation Estate is Registered

    The plantation sector of Indonesia is vulnerable to land disputes. Noor Marzuki, a Director at the National Land Agency (Badan Pertanahan Nasional, or BPN), a non-departmental government institution, said that currently only 30 percent of Indonesia's total plantation estate area has been registered at the BPN. This implies that 70 percent of Indonesian plantation estates are unregistered and thus susceptible to land conflicts. The total size of Indonesia's plantation estate area is 120 million hectares.

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  • What are the Best Performing Indonesian Stocks so Far in 2014?

    Regarding stock trading on the Indonesia Stock Exchange, investors who focused on property, banking and infrastructure stocks have made the highest profit so far in 2014. Although all sectoral indices that are contained within the benchmark stock index of Indonesia, known as the Jakarta Composite Index (abbreviated IHSG) have shown a good performance, the three aforementioned sectoral indices stand out as the country's top performers. Indonesia's IHSG has risen 16.14 percent between 1 January and 26 May 2014.

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  • Indonesian Cement Sales Decline in April 2014 due to Legislative Election

    Indonesian cement sales fell 0.4 percent (year-on-year) to 4.52 million tons in April 2014. The decline in cement sales was the result of the country’s legislative election that was held on 9 April 2014 as consumers bought few building materials during the campaign period. Head of the Indonesian Cement Association (ASI) Widodo Santoso stated that a number of large infrastructure projects are currently being tendered and are thus unable to boost domestic cement sales yet.

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  • World Bank: East Asia Pacific at Work: Employment, Enterprise & Well-Being

    As rapid economic development has pushed the percentage of people working in most East Asian countries to among the highest in the world, policy makers should enact labor regulations and social protection policies to benefit all workers, including those in the large informal economy, according to a new World Bank report, East Asia Pacific at Work: Employment, Enterprise and Well-Being (released on 8 May 2014). Current regulations, however, favor salaried, prime-age males at the expense of women and youth.

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  • Jakarta's Giant Sea Wall & National Capital Integrated Coastal Development

    The Indonesian government is still studying the feasibility study for the National Capital Integrated Coastal Development (NCICD) masterplan. The NCICD masterplan, a joint project between the governments of Indonesia and the Netherlands, aims to protect the capital city of Jakarta against floods caused by high tides and faciliates sustainable development of Jakarta. The masterplan is developed by a consortium headed by Witteveen+Bos (main contractor) and Grontmij, with subconsultants KuiperCompagnons, Deltares, Ecorys and Triple-A.

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  • Fitch Ratings Survey Shows Optimistic View on Indonesian Economy

    Fitch Ratings, one of the three major global credit rating agencies, said that its latest annual survey on economic prospects and the business climate in Indonesia indicates an optimistic view. Respondents in the survey, mostly CEOs and Division Heads at financial institutions, companies, government and media, were asked 11 questions about the Indonesian economy, reformation and prospects for the next five years. Andrew Steel, Managing Director Head of Asia Pacific Corporate Ratings Group, presented results of the survey.

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  • Without Reform, Indonesia's Oil Imports Reach 1.6 Million Bpd by 2020

    Imports of oil will accelerate to 1.6 million barrels per day (bpd) by 2020 if fuels continue to be subsidized by the Indonesian government. This development will seriously burden Indonesia's trade balance (and current account). In 2013, Indonesia posted a trade deficit of USD $12.6 billion in the oil & gas sector. Due to improved performance in the non-oil & gas sector, the overall trade deficit was kept at USD $4.06 billion. Besides placing downward pressure on the rupiah exchange rate, expensive subsidies also burden the state budget.

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  • Tourism in Indonesia: Terrorism, Infrastructure and Asean Common Visa

    Tourism in Indonesia has posted impressive growth rates in recent years. This development is due to the fact that Indonesia has plenty of beautiful sites and cultural traditions to offer to foreign (and domestic) tourists, improved airline accessibility to Indonesia, and enhanced focus on promotional campaigns in foreign countries. Lastly, and not unimportantly, there have been no violent terrorist attacks in recent years. In the 2000s, a vicious terrorist attack always resulted in a temporary drop in foreign tourist arrivals.

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  • Infrastructure Development Update Indonesia: Trans-Sumatra Highway

    In 2015, Indonesia's Ministry of Public Works will start with the land acquisition process for the construction of the Trans-Sumatra Highway. This highway is a 2,732.2 kilometers-long toll road connecting Banda Aceh in the north of Sumatra to Bandar Lampung in the south through 23 routes that connect ten provinces. The total land area that needs to be acquired is roughly 218,976 million m² and is expected to cost around IDR 15 trillion (USD $1.3 billion). By 2025, construction of the project should be finished.

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