Indonesia's benchmark Jakarta Composite Index fell 1.24 percent to 6,229.63 points on Tuesday (24/04). The performance of Indonesian stocks were in line with the general trend in Southeast Asia. Due to rising US treasury yields (touching nearly 3 percent, its highest level since January 2014) investors withdraw their funds from riskier assets in emerging markets. Concerns over US inflation and the fiscal deficit are behind the rising US treasury yield.

Read column ›

On Wednesday (18/04) Indonesian Industry Minister Airlangga Hartarto met Norwegian Minister of Fisheries Per Sandberg to discuss trade. In the meeting Hartarto requested easier access for several Indonesian products on the Norwegian market. For example, lower tariffs for textiles and footwear. Meanwhile, Indonesia also wants to keep access to Norway for products that are derived from palm oil. Recently, Norway's parliament voted to ban the public procurement and use of palm oil-based biofuel.

Read column ›

At the Indonesia-Africa Forum (IAF), held on 10-11 April 2018 in Bali, Indonesia agreed to negotiate preferential trade agreements (PTAs) with three African countries: Mozambique, Morocco, and Tunisia. Trade talks are part of a strategy to widen Indonesia's export markets. Considering heightened concerns over global trade as the USA and China - the two biggest trade partners of Indonesia - are implementing tariffs, Indonesia seeks to tap new markets, hence reducing its dependence on traditional export markets thus reducing the impact of US-China related trade turmoil.

Read column ›

In the April 2018 edition of its East Asia and Pacific Economic Update, the World Bank is cautiously optimistic about economic growth in developing East Asia and Pacific (EAP). After a better-than-expected global economy in 2017, growth in developing EAP is expected to remain stable in 2018, reflected by solid prospects in Thailand and several commodity exporters, notably Indonesia. Domestic demand is estimated to remain robust in most of the region's economies and continue to underpin growth in 2018 and beyond. However, with economies operating close to their potential, price pressures are expected to rise.

Read column ›