Following a few challenging years that saw Indonesia’s trade balance fall into the red for the first time in years, the country’s trade deficit is rapidly shrinking in the wake of a decline in global oil prices. Although it reached nearly $2bn in 2014, the deficit still stood at less than half its 2013 level, while modest surpluses in early 2015 indicate the nation is...
With the July 2014 election of a new president, Joko Widodo, a new mood of confidence and optimism is palpable in Indonesia, the world’s third-largest democracy and most populous majority-Muslim nation. Hopes are high that a new dynamism in Jakarta will see many long-standing challenges addressed. At the same time, the country’s economic expansion is continuing apace, with a...
As the dominant political and economic power in the ASEAN bloc, Indonesia’s participation in the ASEAN Economic Community’s (AEC) planned integration this year will have significant ramifications for domestic growth, trade flows and immigration. Although AEC integrations is expected to significantly bolster the region’s attractiveness to foreign investment, simultaneously...
Accounting for some 91% of employment, 57% of GDP and 20% of exports by value in 2012, according to Bank Indonesia (BI) statistics, micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) form the backbone of Indonesia’s economy. Yet the predominantly informal nature of such companies has constrained their access to funding and scope for growth....
People say that all is fair in love and war, and based on recent examples, it would appear that this true of business in Indonesia as well. There are currently criminal proceedings against at least three big corporations in Indonesia, including Chevron Pacific Indonesia – relating to an allegation of corruption in the firm’s bioremediation...
Banking remains a highly profitable sector in Indonesia despite being limited in its reach. Leading banks’ average profits were the highest amongst major economies in 2012, according to Bloomberg data, a remarkable feat in an era of falling bank profits globally. Credit and savings remain marginal, however, with loans accounting for 32.85% of...
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