• Trade Balance Indonesia: Bouncing Back to a Surplus in May but Outlook Remains Gloomy

    After the massive USD $2.29 billion trade deficit in April 2019 (which was the biggest monthly trade deficit in six years), Indonesia managed to turn the balance into a USD $206.7 million surplus in May 2019. Albeit small, Indonesian policymakers must have been relieved seeing the surplus as previously there were mixed opinions whether Indonesia would record a surplus or deficit in May.

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  • Monetary Policy: What Did Bank Indonesia Decide at Its June Policy Meeting?

    In line with expectations, the central bank of Indonesia (Bank Indonesia) decided to leave its benchmark interest rate – the BI 7-Day Reverse Repo Rate – unchanged at 6.00 percent, while also maintaining its deposit facility and lending facility rates at 5.25 percent and 6.75 percent, respectively, at the two-day monthly monetary policy meeting that was held on 19 and 20 June 2019.

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  • Property in Indonesia: Government Revises Luxury Goods Tax

    The Indonesian government has revised its luxury goods tax policy (in Indonesia known as PPnBM) for (luxury) property. Previously, apartments with a selling price of at least IDR 10 billion (approx. USD $700,000) and houses with a selling price of at least IDR 20 billion (approx. USD $1.4 million) were subject to a 20 percent luxury goods tax. The latest revision has now raised the minimum price of the property to IDR 30 billion (approx. USD $2.1 million) for all types of property.

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  • Peak in Urbanization; A Consequence of the Traditional Lebaran Holiday

    An annual peak in urbanization in Indonesia is one of the most interesting consequences of the Lebaran period. Ahead of Lebaran - a national holiday when Indonesian Muslims celebrate the end of the Ramadan month - around 20 million Indonesians (most of whom reside in the urban centers of Java) travel back to their places of origin to spend a couple of days with their (extended) families. It is a tradition that is locally known as mudik.

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