• Freeport Indonesia Speeds up Land Acquisition to Secure Export Permit

    After the government of Indonesia threatened to revoke the export permit of Freeport Indonesia by the end of January on claims that the company fails to show its commitment to establish a new copper smelter in Southeast Asia’s largest economy, the local unit of US mining giant Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold (re)confirmed today that it is serious to build the smelter. Based on renegotiations between the government and Freeport Indonesia (agreed upon in July 2014), the company had been allowed to resume copper concentrate.

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  • Rupiah Exchange Rate Indonesia: Why Did it Appreciate on Wednesday?

    The Indonesian rupiah exchange rate appreciated 0.76 percent to IDR 12,481 per US dollar on Wednesday (21/01) based on the Bloomberg Dollar Index. The performance of the rupiah was in line with most other emerging Asian currencies as Japan’s yen strengthened (against the US dollar) after Japan’s central bank announced to maintain an accommodative monetary policy in an attempt to boost inflation to two percent (y/y). Furthermore, speculation about quantitative easing in Europe boosted attractiveness of riskier Asian assets.

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  • IMF Downgrades Global Economic Growth, China at 24-Year Low

    There was few good news from a global economic perspective as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) sharply cut its outlook for global economic growth in the next two years. According to the IMF, global economic growth will only reach 3.5 percent (y/y) in 2015 and 3.7 percent in 2016 due to poorer prospects in China, Russia, the Eurozone, and Japan. Economic growth of China (the world’s second-largest economy) fell to a 24-year low at 7.4 percent year-on-year (y/y) in 2014, below the government target of 7.5 percent (y/y).

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  • International Relations Indonesia: Tensions after Execution Drug Convicts

    After five foreigners and one Indonesian citizen were executed by firing squad on early Sunday morning (18/01), diplomatic tensions have risen. Despite international appeals from Brazil and the Netherlands, the Indonesian government decided to go-ahead with the execution of six convicted drug traffickers, involving four men (from Brazil, the Netherlands, Malawi and Nigeria), and two women (from Indonesia and Vietnam). Brazil and the Netherlands have recalled their ambassadors from Jakarta.

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