Companies active in the pharmaceutical industry of Indonesia need to find strategies to overcome sharp rupiah depreciation. Indonesia’s pharmaceutical industry is still - to a large extent - dependent on the import of raw materials, hence a weakening rupiah raises the costs of imports thus eroding profit margins. Since May 2013, when the US Federal Reserve started to hint at monetary tightening, the US dollar has experienced bullish momentum. Between the May 2013 and July 2015, the rupiah depreciated around 37 percent against the US dollar.

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On June 29, 2015, the Minister of Manpower (Minister) issued regulation number 16 of 2015 on the Procedures to Employ Expatriates (New Expatriate Regulation), which revokes the old regulation number 12 of 2013 (Old Regulation). The New Expatriate Regulation impacts expatriates who are planning to work in Indonesia and who are already working in Indonesia and the local companies employing the expatriates. In this column we will discuss the most important changes for expatriate employees and their employers.

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In line with the implementation of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) by the end of the year, the ASEAN Open Skies policy (also known as the ASEAN Single Aviation Market) should become fully effective later this year. The ASEAN Open Skies policy, a key component of the AEC, involves the multilateral agreement of all ten ASEAN countries to unite their skies into a single aviation market (hence liberalizing rules and regulations to a large degree) in a bid to boost the region’s economic growth.

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Sektor properti residensial di Indonesia tetap menarik di 2015 kendati ada beberapa faktor yang menghambat pertumbuhan selama dua tahun terakhir. Dalam kolom ini saya membahas faktor-faktor yang telah melambatkan pertumbuhan di sektor properti Indonesia dan bagaimana pihak berwenang (seperti bank sentral dan Otoritas Jasa Keuangan) merespon tantangan-tantangan ini melalui peraturan baru. Terakhir, saya menyediakan sebuah update mengenai rencana Pemerintah, yang baru saja diumumkan, untuk mengizinkan kepemilikan asing atas apartemen mewah.

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