The Business Columns section of Indonesia Investments provides in-depth columns that exhibit an analysis regarding subjects that are both important for understanding the Indonesian business climate and have high news value in the current state of Indonesia's economy. As a whole these columns should provide the reader a thorough and detailed picture of multiple Indonesian business sectors and be a source of ideas or inspiration to invest - or not to invest - in specific sectors of the Indonesian economy.
After the closing of several Ramayana Department Stores and Matahari Department Stores, as well as the (planned) closing of all remaining Lotus Department Stores (per 26 October 2017) in Indonesia, Indonesia's conventional department store industry needs to come up with a new strategy or shopping concept to survive amid increasingly fierce competition from domestic and global e-commerce platforms.
Integra Indocabinet, one of Indonesia's biggest vertically integrated wooden product manufacturers, is eagerly planning to engage in business expansion after collecting IDR 325 billion (approx. USD $24 million) in new funds through its initial public offering (IPO) on the Indonesia Stock Exchange in mid-2017.
The Indonesian government is eager to boost domestic crude palm oil (CPO) production, but not at the expense of tropical forest (by adding new oil palm plantations). Instead, a new government program aims to replant 20,000 hectares of smallholder palm oil plantations in 2017 under the condition that farmers meet the requirements that are stipulated by Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO) certification.
The biggest problem for western car-makers is the dominant position of Japan in Indonesia's automotive market. Japan has been dominating the Indonesian car market since the 1970s and there are no signs that this situation will change in the short or long term.
The views expressed in these business columns are the views of the authors or the interviewed persons only and therefore do not necessarily reflect the views of Indonesia Investments. The authors are free to ventilate their opinions about the Indonesian business climate. Facts presented in these columns are the result of the author's own research or indicated sources, read disclaimer.
