The Today's Headlines section of Indonesia Investments is a regularly updated section which contains the latest information with regard to topics that are currently causing headlines in Indonesia's media. Most of our headlines cover political, economic and social matters. As a consequence of their recent nature, these topics may not have crystallized fully yet and can, therefore, lack a profound analysis. For publications with a more in-depth understanding of subjects, we refer you to our News, Financial or Business columns.
The latest Federal Reserve minutes, released on Wednesday (05/07), injected a degree of uncertainty into markets. The minutes, covering the Federal Open Market Committee's June meeting, show a fragmented Fed that is split on when to start shrinking the Fed's massive $4.5 trillion balance sheet as well as on the inflation slowdown.
After having encouraged capital inflows into Indonesia through the tax amnesty program, Indonesian President Joko Widodo now also urges those multinational companies that operate in Indonesia but are listed abroad to go-public on the Indonesia Stock Exchange. He particularly targets those companies that generate more than 50 percent of their revenue from Indonesia, or, have more than 50 percent of their total assets in Indonesia.
Credit growth in Indonesia's banking sector is estimated to have, finally, touched double-digit figures in the first half of 2017, while growth should further accelerate in the remainder of the year. Some Indonesian banks saw their credit growth figures touch 20 percent (y/y) so far this year, a marked improvement from the situation one year ago. Lets zoom in on the performance of two big Indonesian banks.
Investment in homestays as well as the value of houses in Yogyakarta have risen significantly after local authorities implemented a moratorium on new hotel development (effective since Jan. 1, 2014 and will last until at least 1 Jan. 2018). The city and province of Yogyakarta, located in the center of Indonesia's Java island, are important tourist destinations. Moreover the city of Yogyakarta is a key student city. Therefore, demand for houses in Yogya (used for the homestay or student accommodation business) has grown.
