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The year 2015 was a sluggish year for Indonesia's cement industry amid the country's slowing economic growth. Total cement sales only rose 1.8 percent year-on-year (y/y) to 61 million tons, the slowest growth pace since 2009. In the first month of 2016, however, a positive sign was detected. Widodo Santoso, Chairman of the Indonesian Cement Association (ASI), said Indonesian cement sales rose 4.4 percent (y/y) to 5.14 million tons in January 2016 (from the same month one year earlier) on the back of government-led infrastructure development.
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Intense competition in the electronics industry forced the management of Panasonic and Toshiba to restructure their businesses in Indonesia. Panasonic closed one factory (located in Cikarang, West Java) and merged two local units. Meanwhile, Toshiba sold its television and twin-tub washing machine manufacturing plant - also located in Cikarang - to China's Skyworth Group, one of the largest television sets producers in China (with the Coocaa brand) and listed on the stock exchange in Hong Kong.
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Indonesian flag carrier Garuda Indonesia, the nation's top class airline, targets to fly 27.5 million people in 2016, up 10 percent year-on-year (y/y) from the airline's total number of air passengers last year. Passenger growth is supported by the arrival of five new wide-body airplanes in 2016. The company, listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange but majority-owned by the Indonesian government (60.6 percent), is particularly eager to boost the number of international passengers.
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The Indonesian government approved the request of Indonesia's automotive sector to be exempted from the anti-dumping duties that have been imposed on imports of steel from specific countries. Through Finance Ministry Regulation No. 65/2013 on Anti-Import Duties, the government set import duties - ranging between 7 and 55.6 percent - for steel imports from China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Vietnam in an effort to protect the domestic steel manufacturing industry amid a global steel oversupply (particularly caused by a supply glut in China).
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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.