Indonesia's benchmark Jakarta Composite Index fell 0.32 percent to 5,391.21 points on Friday (03/03), while the Indonesian rupiah depreciated 0.19 percent to IDR 13,383 against the US dollar (Bloomberg Dollar Index). The performance of Indonesian stocks and the currency was in line with the performance of its counterparts in Asia. Asian shares were tracking losses on Wall Street overnight where profit-taking kicked in as US indices have been in rally-mode since Donald Trump won the presidential election in November 2016.

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The value of export products originating from Indonesia's furniture and handicraft industry fell 16 percent year-on-year (y/y) to USD $1.6 billion in 2016 from USD $1.9 billion in the preceding year. The decline is attributed to the departure of several big furniture factories from Indonesia to Vietnam due to Indonesia's high logistics costs, higher minimum wages and Indonesian workers' low productivity. One example is America-based furniture manufacturer Maitland Smith.

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Indonesia's benchmark Jakarta Composite Index (IHSG) surged 1.06 percent to 5,421.54 points shortly before closing on Thursday (02/03) as most Asian stock indices were in the green zone, lifted by the performance of Wall Street overnight. Indonesian stocks were actually the best performing stocks across Asia today. To explain why Indonesian stocks performed so well today, we need to look first at US stocks' performance overnight. It is all related to Trump's latest speech.

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Indonesian authorities are eager to boost the number of tourists in Indonesia, both domestic and foreign tourists, because this will put the nation's economic wheels in motion, create employment opportunities for local communities and, in the case of foreign tourists, will result in rising foreign exchange earnings. In order to absorb a larger flow of tourists the government of Indonesia wants to see the development of more homestay accommodations across the Archipelago.

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