• Consumer Confidence in Indonesia Falls Slightly in September

    A survey of Indonesia’s central bank (Bank Indonesia) shows that Indonesian consumer confidence declined slightly to 119.8 points in September 2014 (from 120.2 points in the previous month) on concerns that price increases will limit people’s purchasing power. These concerns are triggered by president-elect Joko Widodo’s plans to raise prices of subsidized fuels before the year-end in an effort to safeguard the country’s financial fundamentals. Widodo (popularly known as Jokowi) will be inaugurated on 20 October 2014.

    Lanjut baca ›

  • Internet in Indonesia: Internet Connection Speed Remains Weak

    Based on a report from Akamai Technologies Inc, an America-based Internet content delivery network, Indonesia is ranked 101 in terms of the world’s fastest Internet connections with an average Internet connection speed of 2.5 Mbps. This implies that Internet connection quality in Indonesia is among the weakest regions in the world. As Internet has become an essential tool for the transfer of information, fast Internet is important to foster efficient business and a solid investment climate.

    Lanjut baca ›

  • Poverty in Indonesia: Around 34.4 Million Indonesians Live in Slums

    According to data from Indonesia’s Ministry of Public Works there were 34.3 million Indonesians living in slums in August 2014. Public Works Minister Djoko Kirmanto stated that he wants the involvement of the Ministry of Housing, the National Development Planning Ministry (Bappenas), and the Ministry of Environment to resolve this issue. Currently, around 11.3 percent of the Indonesian population is poor. Head of Bappenas, Armida Alisjahbana, earlier stated to target to ease Indonesia’s poverty rate to 9-10 percent by 2015.

    Lanjut baca ›

  • Indonesia’s New Parliament Inaugurated; Clash on Speaker Voting

    A total of 555 people have been officially inaugurated as members of Indonesia’s House of Representatives (DPR) for the period 2014-2019 on Wednesday (01/10). The ceremony was witnessed by incumbent President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono as well as President-elect Joko Widodo (Jokowi) and his running mate Jusuf Kalla. The Jokowi-Kalla pair will be inaugurated as the country’s next president and vice-president on 20 October 2014. The PDI-P, winner of the legislative election, is the largest party in the House.

    Lanjut baca ›