• Foreign Exchange Reserves of Indonesia Rise to $107B in May 2014

    The central bank of Indonesia (Bank Indonesia) announced that its foreign exchanges reserves had risen to USD $107.0 billion by the end of May 2014, up from USD $105.6 billion at the end of the previous month. This increase primarily stemmed from government oil and gas export earnings as well as an influx of foreign portfolio capital into Southeast Asia's largest economy, which reflects the positive perception of international investors with regard to the economic fundamentals of Indonesia.

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  • Growing Fuel and Electricity Subsidies Burden Indonesia's State Budget

    One of Indonesia's main fiscal problems is the ever increasing amount of public funds spent on energy subsidies (these include fuels and electricity subsidies). These subsidies aim to support the poorer segments of Indonesian society but several studies conclude that it are in fact the middle class and elite segments that benefit the most of these energy subsidies. Furthermore, by keeping energy prices artificially low, the government distorts the economy by creating a more-or-less 'false economy'.

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  • Yudhoyono Appoints Lukman Saifuddin as New Religious Affairs Minister

    Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who will end his second term as president in October 2014, is expected to appoint Lukman Saifuddin as the new Minister of Religious Affairs on Monday (09/06) or Tuesday (10/06) next week. The position of Religious Affairs minister has been vacant since Suryadharma Ali stepped down from his post in late May 2014 to focus on his defense after being named a suspect (by the country’s Corruption Eradication Commission, KPK) in the hajj pilgrimage fund-corruption case.

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  • Bank Indonesia: Consumer Confidence in Indonesia Increases in May 2014

    According to Bank Indonesia's consumer confidence survey, Indonesian consumers were more optimistic in May 2014 compared to the previous month. Consumer confidence in Southeast Asia's largest economy increased to 116.90 in May 2014 from 113.90 in April. The increase indicates that Indonesian consumers are more optimistic about the current condition of the Indonesian economy as well as conditions in the coming six months. The result in May 2014 was also higher than in the same month in 2013 (112.8).

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