Manufacturing activity in Indonesia fell further in July 2017, touching a one-year low. The Nikkei Indonesia Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) was recorded at 48.6 in July, falling deeper into contraction. In the preceding month the index was 49.5 (a reading of 50.0 separates contraction from expansion). Declining new orders caused a sharp and rapid drop in output in Indonesia's manufacturing sector. This then led to job losses, fewer quantities of inputs purchased and depletion in stock levels.

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Over the past week shares of Indonesian securities brokerage company Minna Padi Investama Sekuritas surged drastically from IDR 408 to IDR 985 a piece, a whopping 141 percent rise. What is behind this impressive performance?

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Although between 85 and 90 percent of the Indonesian population is Muslim, Islamic banking, also known as sharia banking (financing activity that is in line with Islamic principles), remains underdeveloped in Indonesia. In 2016 sharia banking assets only accounted for 5.3 percent of total assets in Indonesia's banking sector. Meanwhile in countries like Saudi Arabia and Malaysia these figures are much higher at 51.1 percent and 23.8 percent, respectively.

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As we are in the middle of earnings season, it is interesting to take a look at the January-June 2017 corporate earnings reports of Indonesia's listed companies. Something that stands out so far is the good earnings of banks and commodity-related companies (mining and agriculture). Of Indonesia's 15 biggest banks (in terms of assets) only four experienced a contraction in net profit. This good performance comes in times when credit growth has remained rather bleak in Indonesia. So where does banks' excellent profit growth come from?

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