Although manufacturing activity in Indonesia rose slightly in July 2018, there are a number of reasons to be concerned. The headline seasonally adjusted Nikkei Indonesia Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) indeed grew modestly from a reading of 50.3 in June to 50.5 in July (a reading of 50.0 separates contraction from expansion in the nation's manufacturing activity). However, overall conditions remain lacklustre in Southeast Asia's largest economy.

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Culinary is certainly a promising business in Indonesia, particularly in Jakarta. Jakarta Dining Index Research done by Qraved reveals that every year, Jakartans dine out as many as 380 million times and spend up to IDR 21.4 trillion (approx. USD $1.5 billion). This fact is supported by huge growth of mid-scale restaurants (amounting up to 250 percent) in the last five years. It is therefore not surprising that Jakarta has an abundant option of restaurants.

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Shares of Perusahaan Gas Negara, Indonesia's largest natural gas transportation and distribution company, have been performing in a very volatile manner so far in 2018. While in late February 2018 the company's shares had surged 55.43 percent to IDR 2,720 per share since the year-start, some five months later the same shares plunged to IDR 1,525 a piece (down 12.86 percent since the start of the year). What is going on with Perusahaan Gas Negara that can explain this volatile stock performance?

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Chief executive officers (CEOs) in Indonesia have become slightly less optimistic about the Indonesian economy and politics. This makes sense considering the presence of simmering global trade tensions, sharp rupiah depreciation against the US dollar, and Bank Indonesia's recent series of interest rate hikes.

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