• Politics Indonesia: Joko Widodo to Decide for another Cabinet Reshuffle?

    There has been rising speculation in Indonesia in recent months that Indonesian President Joko Widodo will decide for another cabinet reshuffle as several ministers are held responsible for the disappointing performance of their ministries (that have reacted too slow to implement new government guidelines, for example those guidelines set in the series of economic policy packages that have been released since September 2015). On 12 August 2015, Widodo had already reshuffled his cabinet, replacing six ministers.

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  • Indonesia's Cement Producers Increasingly Exporting Their Output

    Cement exports from Indonesia have surged sharply in the first five months of 2016. Rising cement export is a good strategy to tackle the domestic oversupply of cement in Indonesia. Due to the influx of new cement producers as well as the expansion programs of existing cement producers in Southeast Asia's largest economy, the nation's cement production capacity has nearly reached 100 million tons per year, while domestic demand may only reach 65 million tons in 2016.

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  • Indonesia Stock Market & Rupiah Update: Asian Markets in the Red

    It was a bad start of the new trading week. Stocks in Asia were deep in the red due to risk aversion, falling the most in four weeks amid concern about the "Brexit" referendum, uncertainty before this week's central bank meetings in the USA and Japan, falling crude oil prices, and the worst mass shooting in modern US history. Indonesia was among the affected markets; the benchmark Jakarta Composite Index fell 0.84 percent to 4,807.23 on Monday (13/06), while the rupiah only depreciated slightly to IDR 13,298 per US dollar (Bloomberg Dollar Index).

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  • Indonesia's Food & Beverage Industry Threatened by Sugar Shortage

    Several companies in Indonesia's food and beverage industry may need to cease production altogether as there is a shortage of sugar ahead of the Idul Fitri celebrations (which mark the end of the Ramadan month). Adhi Lukman, Chairman of the Indonesian Food and Beverage Association (Gapmmi), said there are at least ten companies that are in direct need of new sugar supplies for their production process. Without new sugar supplies, the factories will simply need to be shut down temporarily.

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