He has been fascinated by Indonesian cultures and history since the very first time he stepped foot on Indonesian soil in mid-1998, just one month after Indonesia's second president, Suharto, was forced to step down from office at a time when the Asian Crisis ravaged through the country. He decided to do his Bachelor and Masters degrees in Southeast Asian Studies at Leiden University (the Netherlands) with a major focus on Indonesian society, history and linguistics.
After successfully finishing his MA degree he temporarily taught Indonesian languages and cultures at the Volksuniversiteit in Rotterdam (the Netherlands), while increasingly becoming aware of the economic potential of Indonesia in a world where the economic gravity point was rapidly shifting to the East. With having had a profound training in Indonesia's macroeconomic history at university, he started to delve into the contemporary economic conditions of the country and through frequent visits to Indonesia established a network within businesses and government circles.
Since 2013 he has been permanently based in Jakarta and is frequently contacted by international media to share his views on economic, political and social developments in Indonesia. Journalists can reach him through +62(0)8 788 410 6944 (including WhatsApp). He can also act as speaker at events or give presentations to boards/workers in companies.
| Organization |
Indonesia Investments |
| |
Business Consultancy |
| Position |
Managing Director
|
| Expertise |
Investment & Business Strategies | Investment & Business Environment | Macroeconomics & Politics | Cultural Studies |
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Columns of R.M.A. van der Schaar
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Without any support from the United States, where Wall Street was closed due to the 4th of July festivities, stock indices in Europe found their way up. President of the European Central Bank, Mario Draghi, caused positive market sentiments after stating that the interest rate will remain low for a long while and that the current monetary (easing) policy will remain unchanged. Stock indices in Germany, France, Great Britain and the Netherlands went up between 2.1 and 3.1 percent on Thursday's trading day (04/07).
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Indonesia's main stock index (IHSG) took another large blow on Wednesday (03/07). The index fell 3.20 percent to 4,577.15 points as investors were worried after reading the revised outlook of the World Bank. The institution downgraded its forecast for economic growth in Indonesia in 2013 from 6.2 percent to 5.9 percent. Higher inflation, because of the recent subsidized fuel price hike, is expected to result in lower domestic consumption. The IDR rupiah posted a slight weakening to IDR 9,941.
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Stock indices in the United States were up for the third day in a row on Thursday (27/06). Main reason for this upward trend are various positive macroeconomic figures from the USA. The number of homes under contract to be sold (excluding new construction) grew 6.7 percent in May, while analysts had forecast growth of about 1 percent from the previous month. Personal spending, which accounts for about 70 percent of the domestic economy, grew 0.3 percent in May, while personal income rose 0.5 percent.
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On Friday's trading day (21/06), Indonesia's main stock index (IHSG) was still under the spell of the unrest that emerged because of Ben Bernanke's announcement of a possible stop to the Federal Reserve's quantitative easing program in 2014. Moreover, weak manufacturing data from China also continued to cause negative market sentiments. The IHSG fell 2.48 percent to 4,515.37, its lowest closing since 11 February 2013. Foreign investors sold about USD $228 million more stocks than they bought.
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Concerns about an ending to the Federal Reserve's quantitative easing program and falling industrial activity in China as well as China's credit crisis made many investors decide to sell assets on stock markets around the world on Thursday (20/06). Indonesia's main stock index (IHSG) was just one of the many victims of this global unrest. The index weakened 3.68 percent to 4,629.99 points as foreign investors mostly sold their Indonesian assets, resulting in significant lowered share prices of Indonesia's big cap companies.
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