The structure of Indonesia's automotive industry remains weak as it is too dependent on imports of raw materials, making sales prices of cars highly vulnerable to the volatile Indonesian rupiah. The automotive industry has been one of the many local industries that has been plagued by Indonesia's economic slowdown and fragile rupiah (amid looming tighter monetary policy in the USA) as people's purchasing power has weakened. In the first ten months of 2015, Indonesian car sales stood at a total of 853,008 units, down 18 percent from car sales in the same period last year.

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Indonesia's Ministry of National Development Planning (Bappenas) wants to see declining unemployment and poverty rates in 2016 as economic growth improves in Southeast Asia's largest economy. Bappenas official Bambang Prijambodo said accelerated infrastructure development in the second half of 2015 and 2016 should manage to create more employment opportunities. Furthermore, the recent series of economic stimulus packages released by the Indonesian government aims to improve the country's investment climate and therefore should trigger more private investment.

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With the forest fires still raging on parts of the Indonesian islands of Sumatra and Kalimantan, damaging the tropical environment, while the toxic haze still spreads to other parts of Southeast Asia, having caused an estimated 500,000 cases of respiratory tract infection as well as 19 casualties, the ongoing disaster has been labelled a crime against humanity. A new and interesting research report, released by Dr. Herry Purnomo (scientist at the Bogor-based Center for International Forestry Research), points to a link between local elections and spikes in Indonesian forest fires.

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Before the end of the year, fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) company Kino Indonesia plans to conduct an initial public offering (IPO) on the Indonesia Stock Exchange. The company aims to raise around IDR 1 trillion (approx. USD $74 million) by offering 228.6 million new shares, equivalent to 16 percent of its enlarged capital, to the public. The price range of has been set between IDR 3,750 and IDR 5,225 per share. Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank and Indo Premier Securities launched the float on Tuesday (10/11) with book-building to continue until 20 November.

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