• Corporate News Update: Tiga Pilar Sejahtera & Indonesia Eximbank

    Indonesian food company Tiga Pilar Sejahtera, a market leader in the country’s dry vermicelli and dry noodles segments, considers to acquire two food companies in Malaysia and Vietnam in a move to expand business beyond the Indonesian borders. Sjambiri Lioe, Finance Director at Tiga Pilar Sejahtera, said that the company (which is listed under ticker symbol AISA) has set aside a total of USD $80 million for this acquisition. He refrained from mentioning the names of the targeted Asian companies.

    Read column ›

  • Consumer Confidence in Indonesia Declines in December 2014

    The latest survey of Indonesia’s central bank indicates that consumer confidence fell in December 2014. The central bank’s Consumer Confidence Index fell 3.6 points to 116.5 in the last month of 2014 (a score above 100 signals optimism among consumers) due to the impact of higher subsidized fuel prices implemented in November 2014. This move triggered higher prices of products and services. The central bank’s Consumer Confidence Index is based on interviews with 4,600 households in 18 Indonesian cities.

    Read column ›

  • Update Indonesian Economy: Inflation, Trade Balance & Manufacturing

    Indonesia’s inflation reached 2.46 percent month-to-month (m/m) in December 2014 due to the impact of higher subsidized fuel prices implemented on 18 November 2014. On a year-on-year (y/y) basis, Indonesia’s inflation was recorded at 8.36 percent, slightly lower than the result in 2013 (8.38 percent). Inflation has been high in 2013 and 2014 as the Indonesian government raised prices of subsidized fuels in both years in an attempt to relieve fiscal pressures brought about by costly oil imports.

    Read column ›

  • Indonesia & Malaysia Support Banking Integration in ASEAN Region

    Bank Indonesia (the central bank of Indonesia) and the Financial Services Authority (OJK) signed an agreement (the ASEAN Banking Integration Framework, abbreviated ABIF) with Malaysia’s central bank to support banking integration in the ASEAN region. The website of Bank Indonesia states that ABIF “provides an operating framework for ASEAN member states to implement principles and the integration process in the banking sector to support the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) [which is to be implemented later this year]”.

    Read column ›