• Banking Sector Indonesia: OJK Needs More People to Combat Fraud

    Indonesia's Financial Services Authority (OJK), the central government's agency that regulates and supervises Indonesia's financial services sector, needs to hire hundreds of new staff in order to safeguard monitoring of the nation's banking sector and to enhance its early warning system in order to detect possible corruption cases. As up to 350 OJK workers are expected to return to the central bank per 1 January 2017, good monitoring of the banking sector is in jeopardy.

    Read column ›

  • Stock Market: What Were Indonesia's Top Picks in 2015?

    Although the Jakarta Composite Index, Indonesia's benchmark stock index, fell 12.13 percent during the year 2015, not all shares of listed companies were in red territory last year. It is interesting to take a look at those shares, particularly the blue-chip stocks, that still managed to rise amid unconducive domestic and global economic conditions. Therefore, we present the top gainers of the LQ45 index. This LQ45 index, created by the research and development division of the Indonesia Stock Exchange, consists of 45 stocks that meet specific criteria.

    Read column ›

  • US Dollar to Dictate Asian Currency Moves in 2016

    The financial markets have had an interesting year in 2015, with several significant surprises seen in the major asset classes. On the whole, 2015 could probably be best described as a year of stabilizing with stocks and commodities holding mostly steady throughout the period. This has been largely true in the currency markets, as well. But there are some factors that are likely to influence trends for world currencies in new ways in 2016. Central banks in some regions will likely have significant influence in others, and investors will need to remain aware of the possibilities early in order to position for potential trend chances in critical areas.

    Read column ›

  • Wage of Indonesian Employees Reregulated (1/3)

    On October 23, 2015, the Ministry of Manpower issued regulation number 78 of 2015 concerning Wage (New Regulation). The New Regulation is replacing the old regulation number 8 of 1981 concerning the Protection of Wage (Old Regulation). The New Regulation is a far more detailed implementation of regulations concerning wage/salary for employees in Indonesia compared to the Old Regulation and covers more subjects.  In this first out of a three series column, we discuss the salary structure, non-wage and calculation of wage.

    Read column ›