• More Room for Foreign Investment in Indonesia's Insurance Sector

    Following the enactment of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) in 2015, the Financial Services Authority (OJK) will allow foreign insurance corporations to open a branch office in Indonesia. The AEC will transform the ASEAN region into a region with free movement of goods, services, investment, skilled labour, as well as a freer flow of capital. Currently, foreign insurance corporations are prohibited from opening a branch in Indonesia unless it is in the form of a joint venture company with a 80 percent foreign ownership limit.

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  • PDI-P, Golkar and Gerindra are the Most Popular Political Parties in Indonesia

    The latest survey of research institute Charta Politika Indonesia indicates that only three Indonesian political parties can rely on enough popular support to win the legislative election that will be held on 9 April 2014. These three parties are PDI Perjuangan (PDI-P), Golkar and Gerindra. Other parties will not have a chance to win the election based on the survey that was conducted in March 2014. Results of the March survey confirmed that these three parties' popularity grew markedly from the institute's December 2013 survey.

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  • DBS Bank: Indonesia's Household Consumption Accelerates on Election

    Singapore-based DBS Bank predicts that household consumption in Indonesia will grow 5.6 percent (yoy) in the first semester of 2014, which is slightly higher than the growth recorded in the last three years. Gundy Cahyadi, economist at the DBS Bank, said that the main reason for this accelerated household consumption is the legislative election that will be held on 9 April 2014. Traditionally, consumption peaks in times of elections. Household consumption is one of the main pillars of Indonesia's economic growth, accounting for 55 percent of GDP.

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  • Land Acquisition Issue Limits Development of Indonesia's Toll Roads

    In the past ten years, Indonesia has seen its toll roads expand by about 300 kilometers only. In 2004, the total length of the country's toll road network was 611 kilometers. In 2014, it reached a length of 918 kilometers. This slow growth of toll road development is alarming as the lack of quality and quantity of infrastructure is one of the major bottlenecks for Indonesia's economic development. (as subsequent high logistics costs put off investors). The difficulty of land acquisition is possibly the most notorious stumbling-block for infrastructure development.

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