Indonesia

With the spectre of an electricity shortfall looming larger with each passing year, the Indonesian government is looking to coal-fired thermal power plants to provide a quick and easy solution. Coal has many advantages over other forms of power generation in Indonesia: it is cheaper, more established technologically and abundant. It is also seen as preferable to diverting...

Already the world’s third-largest geothermal power producer, Indonesia is poised to enter a fresh phase of expanding this resource, with a new law setting the stage for further investment. By smoothing out many regulatory wrinkles for developers, the government hopes to tap the many subterranean thermal hotspots that dot the country as electricity producers scramble to meet...

For most of its history, the Indonesian banking sector has been highly regulated, with the government often intervening in a heavy-handed manner to achieve policy goals and correct larger economic concerns. The results have been mixed, with the authorities erring at times on the side of too much control and at other times on the side of too much freedom, with some of the...