• Financial Update Indonesia: Rupiah, Current Account and Bonds Issuance

    Indonesia's central bank (Bank Indonesia) said that it expects the Indonesian rupiah exchange rate to trade between IDR 11,600 and IDR 11,800 per US dollar throughout the fiscal year of 2014. Governor of Bank Indonesia Agus Martowardojo said that this assumption is based on pressures that originate from Indonesia's current account deficit. In 2013, the current account deficit hit USD $29.09 billion, or 3.33 percent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP). The current account balance has a major influence on the performance of a currency.

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  • Manufacturing PMI of Indonesia Hits New Record in May 2014

    Indonesia's HSBC Markit purchasing managers' index (PMI) reached its highest level ever at 52.4 in May 2014, up from 51.1 in April 2014, as new domestic orders rose (indicating an improvement in domestic activity). According to HSBC economist Su Sian Lim, the outcome may be evidence that the slowdown in domestic manufacturing is starting to bottom out. In the previous two months, the index indicated slowing manufacturing activity in Southeast Asia's largest economy although remained above the 50.0 level for nine straight months.

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  • Link Net Conducted Successful IPO on the Indonesia Stock Exchange

    On Monday (02/06), Indonesian Internet services provider Link Net conducted its initial public offering (IPO) on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX). Despite the negative market sentiments (brought on by the release of Indonesia's wide April 2014 trade deficit), the company's shares rose 50 percent on its trading debut. Offered at IDR 1,600 (USD $0.14) per share at the start of trading, the shares finished at IDR 2,600 (USD $0.28) on Monday. Ciptadana Securities was appointed as lead underwriter for the IPO.

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  • Tobacco Sales Banned for 24 Hours during World No Tobacco Day in Papua

    According to the Indonesian Ministry of Health, approximately one-third of Indonesians aged over ten years smoke (36 percent), with 67 percent of men and 4.5 percent of women smoking some form of tobacco. While Indonesia is the fifth-largest tobacco market in the world, it is the only World Health Organization (WHO) member state in Southeast Asia that has not ratified the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). The FCTC was developed in response to the globalisation of the tobacco industry and tobacco use.

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