The central bank of Indonesia (Bank Indonesia) reported that Indonesian consumers are becoming increasingly optimistic about economic prospects and their personal financial situation this year, evidenced by a 5.1 point rise in Bank Indonesia's Consumer Confidence Index to 112.6 points in January 2016. This index is based on a survey, involving 4,600 households in 18 cities across the archipelago (a reading above 100 indicates optimism, while a reading below 100 indicates pessimism).

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Indonesian government officials confirmed that there was one case of the Zika virus in the country but emphasized that there is no need for panic. This case occurred in early 2015 in Jambi (Sumatra) and was discovered when researchers studied specimens during a dengue fever outbreak. The infected person recovered and there are no reports of other cases. Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared this mosquito-borne virus a global emergency after having spread in South and Central America as well as the Caribbean. Asia is also vulnerable as the mosquito thrives in congested cities.

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So far this year, a total of 108 Indonesian companies have taken advantage of the tax incentive offered by the government of Indonesia through its fifth economic stimulus package (released on 22 October 2015). This tax incentive makes it more attractive for companies to revalue their fixed assets. With higher-valued assets as well as larger capital, these companies can borrow more funds from banks, hence having more room to invest. This should then boost overall economic growth of Southeast Asia's largest economy.

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The Indonesian rupiah has been under pressure so far today (03/02) on concern that falling oil prices drag down other commodity prices, hence negatively affecting Indonesia's export performance. Yesterday, a global selloff in stocks occurred as oil prices were again touching the USD $30 per barrel mark. Emerging market currencies too are under pressure. The Indonesian rupiah had depreciated 0.79 percent to IDR 13,799 per US dollar (Bloomberg Dollar Index) by 12:55 pm local Jakarta time.

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