Kebanyakan indeks saham Asia menguat pada hari Rabu, dipimpin oleh Indeks Nikkei 225 di Jepang yang naik 2,70% karena prediksi akan adanya tindakan-tindakan stimulus dari Pemerintah. Sementara itu, Indeks Harga Saham Gabungan (IHSG) naik 1,09% menjadi 4.223,91 poin karena didukung oleh indeks-indeks saham yang naik di wilayah ini. Sementara itu, rupiah menguat 0,26% menjadi Rp 14.653 per dollar Amerika Serikat (Bloomberg Dollar Index).

Lanjut baca ›

Saham-saham Indonesia mengalami sebuah perjalanan ‘roller coaster’ pada hari Selasa (29/09). Setelah waktu pembukaan, Indeks Harga Saham Gabungan (IHSG) jatuh lebih dari 2% mendekati level terendah selama tiga tahun terakhir. Kendati begitu, indeks ini berhasil ditutup pada 4.178,41 poin dalam perdagangan hari ini, naik 1,41%. Sementara itu, rupiah berhasil memotong kerugiannya. Berdasarkan Bloomberg Dollar Index, rupiah melewati batas Rp 14.800 per dollar Amerika Serikat (AS) beberapa kali namun pada akhir hari hanya melemah 0,11% menjadi Rp 14.691 per dollar AS.

Lanjut baca ›

Dalam rangka mendukung rupiah yang sedang lemah, Badan Usaha Milik Negara (BUMN) Pertamina akan memotong pembelian langsung foreign exchange (forex) di pasar sebanyak sekitar 50%. Pertamina bersama dengan BUMN Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) berkontribusi sekitar setengah dari transaksi sehari forex karena perusahaan-perusahaan ini membutuhkan dollar Amerika Serikat (AS) untuk pembelian bahan bakar dan pembayaran hutang luar negeri.

Lanjut baca ›

Indeks Harga Saham Gabungan (IHSG) turun lebih dari 2%, menyentuh level terendah selama tiga tahun terakhir, sementara rupiah melemah melewati batas level Rp 14.800 per dollar Amerika Serikat (Bloomberg Dollar Index) pada pukul 09:00 Waktu Indonesia Barat (WIB) pada hari Selasa (29/09) karena penjualan saham besar-besaran terus berlanjut. Para investor kuatir mengenai kondisi ekonomi di Republik Rakyat Tiongkok (RRT) dan dunia serta rendahnya harga-harga komoditi, sambil mengantisipasi kenaikan Fed Fund Rate.

Lanjut baca ›

Indeks-indeks saham di Asia menunjukkan hasil yang bercampur antara baik dan buruk di hari perdagangan pertama minggu ini. Indeks Harga Saham Gabungan (IHSG) jatuh 2,11% menjadi 4.120,50 poin (terendah dalam dua tahun terakhir), sementara rupiah (secara tidak terduga) menguat 0,13% menjadi Rp 14.674 per dollar Amerika Serikat (AS) menurut Bloomberg Dollar Index. Sementara itu, pasar-pasar Eropa turun setelah dibuka pada hari Senin (28/09). Apa yang mempengaruhi pasar hari ini?

Lanjut baca ›

Indonesia berencana untuk memotong pajak yang dikenakan pada para eksportir lokal dalam rangka mendongkrak jumlah cadangan devisa, sambil mendukung rupiah, sebagai bagian dari paket kebijakan yang kedua. Rupiah Indonesia telah melemah 18,1% sejak awal 2015 karena ancaman kenaikan suku bunga AS, rendahnya harga-harga komoditi, dan devaluasi yuan Republik Rakyat Tiongkok (RRT). Pemerintah kini berencana untuk memotong pajak penghasilan atas bunga yang didapat para eksportir karena menabung pendapatan usaha ekspor mereka di bank-bank lokal. Saat ini, pajak penghasilan terhadap bunga bank (dari rekening-rekening tabungan) mencapai 20%.

Lanjut baca ›

Setelah dibuka pada hari Senin (28/09), saham Indonesia jatuh dengan cepat di tengah pasar-pasar Asia yang performanya mixed. Faktor utama yang menyebabkan beberapa pasar Asia jatuh adalah menurunnya keuntungan industri di Cina (memicu kekuatiran mengenai semakin melambatnya negara dengan ekonomi terbesar kedua di dunia). Keuntungan industri Cina jatuh 8,8% di bulan Agustus, memburuk dari penurunan 2,9% di bulan Juli. Pada pukul 09:50 WIB, Indeks Harga Saham Gabungan (IHSG) turun 1,41% menjadi 4.150,27 poin.

Lanjut baca ›

The central bank of Indonesia (Bank Indonesia) is set to announce the second installment of a policy package that aims at raising onshore US dollar supplies (and liquidity). As the rupiah has been the second worst-performing Asian emerging market currency (after Malaysia’s ringgit), having depreciated 18.1 percent against the US dollar so far in 2015, Indonesian policymakers are anxious to prop up the ailing currency in order to safeguard the country’s financial stability. Bank Indonesia's benchmark rupiah rate (Jakarta Interbank Spot Dollar Rate, abbreviated JISDOR) stood at IDR 14,690 per US dollar on Friday (25/09), a 17-year low.

Lanjut baca ›

Stock markets in Asia were mixed on Friday (25/09) after Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen said in a speech at the University of Massachusetts that the US central bank is still on track to raise interest rates before the year-end (provided no economic shocks take place as the move is data-dependent). After this looming hike, Yellen suggests to gradually tighten US monetary policy thereafter.

Lanjut baca ›

In line with other Asian emerging markets and currencies, Indonesian stocks and the rupiah are weakening on Friday (25/09) after Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen said during her speech at the University of Massachusetts that US interest rates are likely to be raised before the year-end, provided no economic shocks occur. Yellen stated that most FOMC participants agree on a Fed Fund Rate hike later this year, followed by gradual further monetary tightening thereafter.

Lanjut baca ›

The central bank of Indonesia (Bank Indonesia) is optimistic that the country's currency will continue to appreciate against the US dollar in the first quarter of 2014. Executive Director at the Economic and Monetary Policy Department of Bank Indonesia Juda Agung said that there are two factors that impact positively on the performance of the Indonesian rupiah exchange rate: the improved global economy and strengthening domestic economic fundamentals. However, Agung declined to estimate the value of the rupiah by the end of Q1-2014.

Lanjut baca ›

Foreign confidence in Indonesia's capital markets seems to be growing further after foreign investors continued to expand their stock portfolios last week. In February 2014 (up to Friday 21/02), foreigners purchased IDR 36.0 trillion (USD $3.1 billion) worth of stocks and sold IDR 29.3 trillion (USD $2.5 billion), resulting in net foreign buying of 6.7 trillion (USD $570.2 million) in the first three weeks of February 2014. When foreign net buying of January 2014 is added, total net foreign buying reached IDR 9.0 trillion (USD $766.0 million).

Lanjut baca ›

Only 50 days since the start of the fiscal year 2014 have passed and the government has already shown that it is not convinced to meet targets of basic macroeconomic assumptions set in the 2014 State Budget (APBN 2014). Therefore, the Indonesian government has lowered the outlook for all basic macroeconomic assumptions in the 2014 State Budget. On Thursday 19 February 2014, the government formally presented the downward revision of economic targets in the State Budget to the House of Representitative's Budget Agency.

Lanjut baca ›

The Indonesian rupiah exchange rate continued its recent appreciating trend on Monday (17/02). Based on the Bloomberg Dollar Index, the currency strengthened 0.39 percent to IDR 11,785 per US dollar at 16:00 local Jakarta time. Main reason for this renewed confidence in the rupiah is Indonesia's current account deficit, which eased significantly by the end of 2013. According to Bank Indonesia, the deficit eased from 4.4 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in the second quarter of 2013 to 1.98 percent of GDP in Q4-2013.

Lanjut baca ›

The current account deficit of Indonesia is expected to ease further in the first quarter of 2014 due to a possible slowdown of imports according to Deputy Finance Minister Bambang Brodjonegoro. This slowdown is estimated to be caused by the implementation of Indonesia's higher income tax on the import of durable consumer goods, effective from January 2014. However, the deficit will not ease markedly from the USD $4 billion deficit (equivalent to 1.98 percent of the country's gross domestic product) recorded in the fourth quarter of 2013.

Lanjut baca ›

At Bank Indonesia's Board of Governors’ Meeting today (13/02), it was decided to maintain the country's benchmark interest rate (BI rate) at 7.50 percent as well as the interest rates on the Lending Facility and Deposit Facility at 7.50 percent and 5.75 percent respectively. The policy is consistent with the tight monetary policy stance currently adopted in order to steer inflation back towards its target corridor of 4.5±1 percent in 2014 and 4±1 percent in 2015, as well as to reduce the current account deficit to a more sustainable level.

Lanjut baca ›

Statistics Indonesia (BPS), a non-departmental government institute, expects that Indonesia's trade balance will post a deficit of around USD $4 billion in 2014. The key question is whether increased manufacturing and agricultural exports can replace reduced raw mineral exports. The forecast of BPS is approximately similar to the country's trade deficit in 2013. Last year, Southeast Asia's largest economy recorded a deficit of USD $4.06 billion as the total value of exports amounted to USD $182.57 billion, while imports reached USD $186.63 billion.

Lanjut baca ›

As companies' financial results of 2013 slowly start to be released, two reports - so far - have raised eyebrows due to significant declines in net profit. These are publicly listed, but majority state-owned, airline Garuda Indonesia and fully state-owned electricity firm Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN). Both companies felt the impact of the sharply depreciating Indonesia rupiah exchange rate. The currency fell over 21 percent against the US dollar in 2013 due to capital outflows amid looming US tapering and current account deficit concerns.

Lanjut baca ›

Domestic sales of motorcycles in Indonesia fell 11 percent to 580,288 units in January 2014. The main reason for this decline in the first month of the year were severe floods brought about by high rainfall amid a peak of the rainy season. These weather conditions disrupted the distribution of motorcycles from factories to dealers. As a result, all motorcycle brands recorded lower sales figures according to data released by the Indonesian Motorcycle Industry Association (Aisi). However, more factors were at play.

Lanjut baca ›

ICRA Indonesia, an independent credit rating agency and subsidiary of ICRA Ltd. (associate of Moody's Investors Service), publishes a monthly newsletter which provides an update on the financial and economic developments in Indonesia of the last month. In the January 2014 edition, a number of important topics that are monitored include Indonesia's inflation rate, the trade balance, the current account deficit, the IDR rupiah exchange rate, and gross domestic product (GDP) growth. Below is an excerpt of the newsletter:

Lanjut baca ›