Every quarter we are very eager to learn the latest update of the Kontan CEO Confidence Index (KCCI). The KCCI is an index compiled by Kontan, an Indonesian newspaper and magazine that focuses on business and investment (and is part of the Kompas Gramedia Group). Each quarter, 30 chief executive officers (CEOs) of big Indonesian companies – covering a range of sectors - are surveyed. Their feedback is important because these CEOs are decision-makers in influential companies.

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Rice is a crucial commodity, particularly for Asia where most of the population is dependent on rice as the basic staple food that is consumed on a daily basis (and usually multiple times per day). It is estimated that more than 90 percent of rice is produced and consumed in Asia. Hence, rice consumption and production in the West is rather insignificant (although rice does have a centuries-long history in the West and thus there also developed specific European rice culinary specialties such as the risotto in Italy or the paella in Spain). Thus, rice-producing Asia is a net exporter of rice to the rest of the world.

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For the 4th year in a row Indonesian inflation was under control. Based on data from Indonesia’s Central Statistics Agency (BPS), the nation’s annual headline inflation rate was 3.13 percent in full-year 2018. By Indonesian standards, that is a low inflation figure. The final figure even fell below the central government’s 3.5 percent (y/y) target that was set in the 2018 state budget and it fell below our (revised) prediction of 3.25 percent (y/y). But it did fall conveniently within the central bank’s wide target range of 2.5 – 4.5 percent (y/y).

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In the month of December 2018 the Indonesian rupiah weakened 0.99 percent from IDR 14,339 per US dollar on the last trading day of November 2018 to IDR 14,481 per US dollar on the last trading day of December 2018 (based on Bank Indonesia’s benchmark JISDOR rate).

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