• Indonesia Carries on with Biodiesel Program despite Limited Success

    Although Indonesia's B15 biodiesel program, which refers to the government's program to blend 85 percent of diesel with a mandatory 15 percent of fatty acid methyl ester (derived from palm oil), is no success yet, the government is expected to introduce the B20 biodiesel program (raising the mandatory content of fatty methyl ester in biofuel to 20 percent) in early 2016. To support the B20 program, eleven companies are ready to supply biodiesel to state-owned energy company Pertamina and publicly-listed petroleum and basic chemicals distributor AKR Corporindo between November 2015 and April 2016.

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  • Stock Market & Rupiah Update Indonesia: China and Fed in Spotlight

    Indonesia's benchmark Jakarta Composite Index climbed 0.01 percent to 4,451.59 points on Wednesday (11/11) despite foreign investors recording a net sell of IDR 614.4 billion (approx. USD $45.5 million). Uncertainty persists in the global economy as more macroeconomic data from China signal weaknesses in the world's second-largest economy. Growth in output from China's factories declined to a six-month low in October (missing expectations), following earlier disappointing trade and inflation data. On the other hand, it triggers hope that Beijing will step up stimulus measures.

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  • Few Reasons to Get Excited about the Coal Mining Industry

    The global coal industry is still plagued by pessimistic sentiment. Not only has the global supply glut in combination with sluggish global economic growth put serious pressure on coal prices (while China introduced stricter coal quality tests on thermal coal imports), but most countries are also placing more emphasize on cleaner energy sources, which further curtail demand for coal. Coal prices are currently heading for a decade-low with January 2016 coal futures now at USD $52.55 per metric ton on the ICE Futures Exchange.

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  • Indonesia Mengimpor Lebih Banyak Beras dari Vietnam Bulan Ini

    Seperti yang disetujui pada bulan lalu, pada November ini Indonesia akan mulai mengimpor sekitar 1,5 juta ton beras dari Vietnam. Sebelumnya di tahun ini, Indonesia telah mengimpor 60.000 ton beras untuk menstabilkan harga beras karena ada kenaikan harga beras yang menguatirkan, yang Pemerintah tuduhkan terjadi karena mark-up harga oleh para pedagang pasar. Beras adalah makanan pokok untuk penduduk Indonesia, mengimplikasikan bahwa segmen masyarakat miskin menghabiskan porsi yang relatif besar dari pendapatan yang dapat dibelanjakan mereka untuk membeli beras. Ini berarti bahwa inflasi beras dapat menyebabkan kenaikan angka kemiskinan.

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