Fitch Ratings on Indonesia: The Election, Economy and Credit Market
Credit rating agency Fitch Ratings announced on 14 March 2019 that it has affirmed Indonesia's long-term foreign-currency issuer default rating at 'BBB' with a stable outlook (investment grade level). This decision was particularly based on Indonesia’s favorable gross domestic product (GDP) growth outlook and the nation’s small government debt burden (government debt is low at an estimated 29.8 percent of GDP in 2018).
The decision of Fitch Ratings to leave Indonesia’s sovereign credit rating unchanged is a sign that the Indonesian economy is considered to be in a stable position despite the high degree of persistent external challenges (particularly involving further looming policy normalization in the advanced economies and ongoing uncertainty surrounding the USA-China tariff war).
This is indeed a positive sign; whereas a number of nations saw their sovereign credit ratings being cut amid external turmoil, Indonesia’s credit rating has remained at the same investment grade level. Hence, Indonesia’s economic fundamentals have continued to be stable amid such very challenging global conditions, reflected by the country’s low inflation (2.5 percent year-on-year in March 2019) and robust economic growth (5.2 percent year-on-year in full-year 2018). Therefore, Fitch Ratings’ decision should cause some additional inflows into Indonesia (in the form of portfolio and foreign direct investment) as the decision should result in stronger investor confidence.
This article discusses the following:
• Indonesia's macroeconomic performance through the eyes of Fitch Ratings
• Comparison between Indonesia and other BBB rating peers
• Performance of Indonesia's banking sector
Read the full article in the March 2019 edition of our monthly research report. You can purchase the report by sending an email to info@indonesia-investments.com or a WhatsApp message to the following number: +62(0)8788.410.6944
Poll Indonesia Investments:
Who would you vote for in Indonesia's 2019 presidential election?
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Results
- Joko Widodo (57.6%)
- Prabowo Subianto (31.9%)
- No opinion (5.7%)
- Someone else (4.8%)
Total amount of votes: 16331