• Cement Demand Indonesia Continued to Fall in January-July 2015

    In the first seven months of 2015 Indonesian cement sales continued to fall, signalling decreased property and infrastructure development in Southeast Asia’s largest economy. Domestic cement sales fell 4.1 percent to 31.3 metric tons in the January-July 2015 period from the same period last year. Apart from the slowing economy (which slowed to a six-year low in the second quarter of 2015), weakening cement sales in July were also caused by Idul Fitri celebrations when business traditionally comes to a near standstill.

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  • China’s Yuan Devaluation: Indonesian Stocks & Rupiah Rebound

    For the third straight day China allowed its currency to weaken against the US dollar. On Thursday (13/08) the yuan depreciated 0.7 percent against the greenback, signalling that China’s central bank may let the yuan weaken further in a controlled manner. Yesterday, just before trading closed, it actually intervened to support the currency as the yuan depreciated nearly two percent (the daily limit). The move of China to devalue the yuan is a step toward liberalization and also boosts the country’s sluggish export performance.

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  • Political News Indonesia: Joko Widodo Reshuffles Cabinet

    Nearly one year after inauguration, Indonesian President Joko Widodo reshuffled his cabinet on Wednesday (12/08) due to the perceived disappointing performance of several ministers as Indonesia’s economy has continued to slow in 2015. Widodo installed six new ministers in a ceremony at the State Palace in Jakarta. The reshuffle aims to boost investors’ confidence in Indonesian assets. Today, the rupiah and Indonesian stocks are weakening severely due to China’s decision to devalue its yuan.

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  • Indonesia Stock Exchange: Initial Public Offering Bank Harda Internasional

    On Wednesday (12/08), Bank Harda Internasional became the 12th company to list on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) in 2015. The bank released 800 million shares to the public at a price of IDR 125 (USD $0.01) per share hence raising IDR 100 billion (USD $7.2 million) through the initial public offering (IPO). Despite harsh conditions - the benchmark Jakarta Composite Index fell 2.66 percent during the first trading session on Wednesday - shares of Bank Harda Internasional (with IDX code BBHI) rose 3.2 percent to IDR 129.

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