Indonesia

For nearly a century, Indonesia has been Asia Pacific’s leading producer and exporter of oil and gas. In recent years, however, a combination of ageing fields, growing domestic demand and a lack of new investment has resulted in the country becoming a net importer, prompting Indonesia to withdraw its membership from the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in 2008.

Amidst a global financial crisis and slowing demand for new housing, Indonesia does not expect to experience significant growth in the property market in 2009.

With a large population and low penetration rates compared with developed markets, Indonesia's telecommunications sector has seen tremendous growth and foreign interest in recent years.

Though Indonesia has a large domestic market and a relatively low dependency on exports and foreign direct investment, the country is by no means immune to the deepening global economic slowdown.

In recent years, Indonesia has enjoyed healthy returns in the mining sector as prices of metals have peaked, but the unanimous consensus is that more could be done.

The year 2008 turned out to be a tale of two halves for Indonesia.