On Monday evening (09/06), the first debate between Indonesia’s two presidential candidates (joined by their running mates) was held and broadcast live on national television by various Indonesian television stations. This debate is the first in a series of five debates in which both teams - Joko ‘Jokowi’ Widodo and Jusuf Kalla vs Prabowo Subianto and Hatta Rajasa - are able to share their vision and mission to the Indonesian electorate. The debate immediately became a trending topic on social media.

Read more ›

The Indonesian rupiah exchange rate has appreciated 0.50 percent to IDR 11,779 per US dollar by 16:00pm local Jakarta time on Monday (09/06). This performance is in line with the general trend in Asia where emerging market currencies strengthened against the greenback on today’s trading day. The rupiah is among today’s best-performing emerging currencies as it was boosted by the higher trade surplus of China (one of Indonesia’s most important trading partners) and economic growth in Japan.

Read more ›

With the presidential election of Indonesia (scheduled for 9 July) becoming a battle between Governor of Jakarta Joko Widodo, popularly known as Jokowi, and former army general and Suharto crony Prabowo Subianto, it is worth taking a closer look into the ideas and policies that both candidates would like to implement if elected as the next Indonesian president, as well as their stance on specific economic issues. The viewpoints that are mentioned below are based on the documents that both parties provided to the General Election Commission.

Read more ›

One day after the official announcement that two pairs will compete in the presidential election (9 July 2014), the benchmark stock index of Indonesia (Jakarta Composite Index or IHSG) and the Indonesian rupiah exchange rate are still in a state of decline. Although yesterday (19/05) the rupiah and IHSG strengthened considerably prior and shortly after Joko "Jokowi" Widodo declared that Jusuf Kalla would be his running mate (the vice-presidential candidate) in the election, markets have been selling Indonesian assets since Monday afternoon.

Read more ›

In front of the Joang '45 Museum, which illustrates Indonesia's battle for independence, Joko "Jokowi" Widodo (Governor of Jakarta) officially declared that Jusuf Kalla is his running mate (or the vice-presidential candidate) in the upcoming presidential election (scheduled for 9 July 2014). It had been speculated for weeks that Jusuf Kalla (former Indonesian Vice-President, businessman and philanthropist), would be Jokowi's running mate but it was only officially declared just after noon (local Jakarta time) on Monday (19/05).

Read more ›

Although we are still waiting for the official announcement (which is expected to follow shortly), more and more signs are pointing towards the nomination of Jusuf Kalla as the running mate (or vice-presidential candidate) of Jakarta Governor Joko "Jokowi" Widodo in the presidential election that is scheduled for 9 July 2014. The pair will have the full support of the PDI-P, NasDem, PKB and Hanura coalition. The chairmen of the NasDem (Surya Paloh) and PKB (Muhaimin Iskandar) have reportedly confirmed that Kalla will be the running mate.

Read more ›

It is becoming more and more likely that the Golkar party (the second-largest political party of Indonesia based on the legislative election that was held in April 2014), will join the coalition that consists of the PDI-P (winner of the legislative election), NasDem and PKB. This coalition has already announced its full support for highly popular Governor of Jakarta Joko “Jokowi” Widodo as the coalition’s presidential nominee for the presidential election (9 July 2014). The running mate of Jokowi, however, remains a question mark.

Read more ›

Both the Indonesian rupiah exchange rate and the country's benchmark stock index (known as the Jakarta Composite Index or IHSG) have strengthened significantly on Wednesday's trading day (14/05). The rupiah appreciated 0.76 percent to IDR 11,450 per US dollar by 15:00 local Jakarta time according to the Bloomberg Dollar Index. Meanwhile, the IHSG gained 1.09 percent to 4,975.13 by the same time. Main reason for this strong performance is the official declaration of the PDI-P to form a coalition with NasDem and PKB.

Read more ›

Indonesian newspaper Investor Daily reported that on Friday 9 May 2014 Joko Widodo, the presidential candidate of the PDI-P (winner of the April 2014 legislative election), will announce his running mate for the presidential election. According to the newspaper, Surya Paloh - founder of the NasDem party - said that the running mate (vice-presidential candidate) has already been agreed upon although he declined to mention a name. The PDI-P and NasDem formed a coalition last month in order to nominate a presidential candidate.

Read more ›

Although Indonesia's benchmark stock index (known as the Jakarta Composite Index or IHSG) fell immediately after its opening on Monday (28/04), the index is expected to strengthen this week as Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo will announce his running mate for the 2014 presidential election. Jokowi is the presidential nominee of the PDI-P party (the largest opposition party in the Indonesian parliament), which won the legislative election in April 2014 by securing about 19 percent of the popular vote.

Read more ›

As had been predicted previously by various popularity surveys, the outcome of the Indonesian presidential election, a race between Joko Widodo (known as Jokowi) and Prabowo Subianto, was close. In fact, after the unofficial yet reliable quick count results had been collected, both camps claimed a victory. However, the majority of the quick count results show a Jokowi victory with a margin of about five to six percentage points. On 22 July 2014, the Indonesian General Elections Commission (KPU) will announce the official result.

Read more ›

Indonesian Army Chief of Staff Budiman, without choosing a side, hopes to see a clear victory for one of the presidential candidates - Joko Widodo or Prabowo Subianto - in the election that is scheduled for Wednesday (09/07) as a large win will reduce chances of public disorder caused by disappointed supporters. Budiman said that a gap of at least five percent between the two contenders (based on the quick count results which will be released on the day of election) is considered a safer level.

Read more ›

The result of Indonesia’s presidential election (scheduled for 9 July 2014), which has become a tight race between Prabowo Subianto and Joko Widodo (Jokowi), will for sure have a large impact on foreign investors’ confidence in Indonesian politics and the economy. A few weeks ago, a survey of Deutsche Bank showed that a majority of respondents (consisting of foreign investors) intend to sell their Indonesian assets if controversial candidate Prabowo Subianto will be elected. What are foreigners’ perceptions of a Subianto win?

Read more ›

Senior economist at the Institute for Development of Economics and Finance (INDEF), Didier Damanhuri, believes that Indonesia’s two presidential candidates - Joko Widodo (popularly known as Jokowi) and Prabowo Subianto - are both similar in economic approach as both men are primarily focused on high gross domestic product (GDP) growth as the measurement for economic development, while, in fact, many countries that only focus on GDP growth show a high degree of economic inequality.

Read more ›

The performance of Indonesia’s benchmark stock index (known as Jakarta Composite Index or IHSG) was similar to the performance at the start of last week, possibly influenced by the presidential debates that took place a day prior to the past two Mondays. These debates, between the two presidential candidates (Joko Widodo and Prabowo Subianto), are broadcast live on national television and are important to outline each candidate’s vision and mission to the people. On 9 July 2014, Indonesians will vote for a new leader.

Read more ›

Sunday evening (15/06), the second debate between Indonesia’s two presidential candidates - Prabowo Subianto and Joko ‘Jokowi’ Widodo - was held. This debate was broadcast live on various Indonesian television stations and - once again - managed to become a trending topic on social media. The debate, the theme of which was ‘development of the economy and social welfare‘, was characterized by a nationalistic and protectionist tone. This tone had already been set by Subianto in the past weeks but now Jokowi also stressed protectionism.

Read more ›

The Indonesian rupiah exchange rate appreciated 0.25 percent to IDR 11,860 per US dollar according to the Bloomberg Dollar Index on Thursday (05/06). However, this is not expected to be the start of an appreciating trend for the currency as there are still various domestic and international factors that place pressure on the rupiah. Contrary to the Bloomberg Index, Bank Indonesia's benchmark rupiah rate (Jakarta Interbank Spot Dollar Rate, abbreviated JISDOR) depreciated 0.54 percent to IDR 11,874 against the US dollar today.

Read more ›

It had been speculated for a while, but yesterday the official declaration of Indonesia's presidential candidates and their running mates (the vice-presidential candidates) were presented. In the upcoming election, scheduled for 9 July 2014, Jakarta Governor Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo will face Prabowo Subianto, former army general and former son-in-law to president Suharto (Indonesia's second president), in a battle for the country's presidential seat. What is there to tell about this battle?

Read more ›

Similar to when the market expects the release of positive companies' corporate earnings reports, the benchmark stock index of Indonesia (known as the Jakarta Composite Index or IHSG) gained significantly at the start of today's trading day (19/05) as the market waited for the official declarations of the presidential and vice-presidential candidates that will participate in the presidential election that is scheduled for 9 July 2014. The two pairs that will compete are the Joko Widodo-Jusuf Kalla pair and the Prabowo Subianto-Hatta Rajasa pair.

Read more ›

After a promising start of the day, the rupiah exchange rate and Indonesian stocks lost all of their earlier gains ahead of closing on Monday day (19/05). Around 10:00 local Jakarta time, the rupiah rate appreciated more than 0.60 percent to IDR 11,346 per US dollar on speculation that Jusuf Kalla would be nominated as Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's running mate in the presidential election (9 July 2014), backed by a coalition consisting of the PDI-P, NasDem, PKB and Hanura. After the official declaration, however, the currency lost all of its earlier gains.

Read more ›