• Foreign Exchange Reserves Indonesia Rise Slightly in April 2016

    Indonesia's foreign exchange reserves rose slightly last month. According to the lastest data from the central bank of Indonesia (Bank Indonesia), the country's foreign exchange assets inched up to USD $107.7 billion in April 2016 from USD $107.5 billion in the preceding month. Bank Indonesia stated that the increase came on the back of foreign exchange receipts obtained through the recent sale of central bank certificates (SBBI). These proceeds exceeded foreign exchange needed for foreign debt payments, hence causing rising reserve assets.

    Lanjut baca ›

  • Indonesia Concerned about Foreign Ownership of Government Bonds

    The government of Indonesia has expressed its concern about rising foreign debt. Indonesian President Joko Widodo summoned Chief Economics Minister Darmin Nasution for a meeting to express his concern about the issue. In particular the high degree of foreign ownership of Indonesian securities needs attention as foreign ownership of government bonds has reached a new record high. Therefore, analysts say Indonesia needs to optimize government revenue (for example by reforming the nation's tax system) rather than depend on loans and bonds.

    Lanjut baca ›

  • Indonesia & Panama Papers: What & Who Are the Involved Companies & People?

    There are plenty of Indonesian names mentioned in the Panama Papers, the massive leak of about 11.5 million confidential documents from the database of Panama-based law firm Mossack Fonseca. Here we present the top 20 of largest Indonesian companies mentioned in the leaked documents. Although it is widely known that offshore firms (special purpose vehicles) in tax havens are set up to engage in tax evasion, it needs to be emphasized that not all people and companies named in the documents are in fact involved in violations of the law.

    Lanjut baca ›

  • No Investment Grade Yet but S&P Positive about Indonesia

    Global credit rating agency Standard & Poor's (S&P) appreciates the policy reforms that have been conducted by the Indonesian government because these changes lead to more openness as well as to enhanced competitiveness. Apart from cutting costly energy subsidies (and redirecting a large chunk of available funds to infrastructure development) the government also unveiled 12 economic policy packages since September 2015 (while more packages are in the pipeline) that include matters such as tax incentives and deregulation (aimed at boosting investment).

    Lanjut baca ›