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10 April 2025 (closed)
Jakarta Composite Index (6,254.02) +286.04 +4.79%
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Latest Reports Bank Indonesia
Agus Martowardojo, Governor of the central bank of Indonesia (Bank Indonesia), said there are still 320 local companies that have not complied with the central banks' hedging requirements regarding foreign loans. A Bank Indonesia study conducted in late-2014 showed that the country’s private sector foreign debt is vulnerable to several risks i.e. currency risks, liquidity risks and overleverage risks due to unhedged loans.
As expected, the central bank of Indonesia (Bank Indonesia) left its benchmark interest rate (BI rate) unchanged at 7.50 percent at the October Board of Governor's meeting on Thursday (15/10). Meanwhile, Bank Indonesia maintained the deposit facility rate and the lending facility rate at 5.50 percent and 8.00 percent, respectively. Rates were left unchanged as the global economic outlook remains highly uncertain. This jeopardizes the stability of the Indonesian rupiah.
After Islamic New Year celebrations, Indonesia’s financial markets reopened on Thursday (15/10). The sharp appreciation of the Indonesian rupiah on Thursday morning is remarkable. By 10:10 am local Jakarta time, the rupiah had appreciated 2.36 percent to IDR 13,295 per US dollar (Bloomberg Dollar Index) hence extending last week’s gains when Indonesia’s currency strengthened around 9 percent against the greenback. Emerging markets assets are still gaining on signs that the Federal Reserve will not raise US interest rates in the short-term.
The central bank of Indonesia (Bank Indonesia) announced on Wednesday (07/10) that the country's foreign exchange reserves had fallen to USD $101.7 billion at the end of September 2015 (from USD $105.3 billion in the preceding month). The reserve assets declined due to the servicing of government foreign debt and rupiah exchange rate stabilization efforts. Until Friday (02/10), the rupiah was plagued by severe pressure caused by looming higher US interest rates.
Investors' confidence in Indonesia's rupiah restored over the past three days after markets began to believe that the US Federal Reserve has little scope to raise its key Fed Fund Rate this year (due to weak US non-farm payrolls and US ISM non-manufacturing PMI). Bank Indonesia's role should also be highlighted. Indonesia's central bank intervened heavily (through currency swaps and by using its foreign exchange reserves) to stabilize and keep the currency from weakening toward and beyond the IDR 15,000 per US dollar level. This tells investors that Bank Indonesia will not allow a worse decline.
In Indonesian media more and more (unofficial) information circulates about the third installment of the government's economic policy package. This third installment, which is expected to be unveiled next week by Indonesian President Joko Widodo, involves lowering prices of gas, diesel and electricity (for industries) to avert more layoffs in Indonesia's manufacturing industry. Meanwhile, the government may lower lending rates (by cutting unnecessary costs) in order to boost credit expansion in Southeast Asia's largest economy.
After the government of Indonesia unveiled the second installment of its economic policy package on Tuesday (29/09), the central bank (Bank Indonesia) followed suit by releasing a rupiah exchange rate stabilization package on Wednesday (30/09). Bank Indonesia’s package has three main pillars: (1) safeguarding rupiah rate stability, (2) strengthening rupiah liquidity management, and (3) strengthening foreign exchange supply and demand management.
The central bank of Indonesia (Bank Indonesia) is set to announce the second installment of a policy package that aims at raising onshore US dollar supplies (and liquidity). As the rupiah has been the second worst-performing Asian emerging market currency (after Malaysia’s ringgit), having depreciated 18.1 percent against the US dollar so far in 2015, Indonesian policymakers are anxious to prop up the ailing currency in order to safeguard the country’s financial stability. Bank Indonesia's benchmark rupiah rate (Jakarta Interbank Spot Dollar Rate, abbreviated JISDOR) stood at IDR 14,690 per US dollar on Friday (25/09), a 17-year low.
The central bank of Indonesia (Bank Indonesia) estimates that inflation will ease below seven percent year-on-year (y/y) in September 2015 on the back of lower prices of raw foods and lower administered prices (including fuel and electricity) in the post the Ramadan and Idul Fitri period. Bank Indonesia Governor Agus Martowardojo said the central bank expects inflation at around 6.95 percent (y/y) in September.
In line with expectation, the central bank of Indonesia (Bank Indonesia) decided to keep its key interest rate (BI rate) at 7.50 percent for a seven consecutive month in September’s Board of Governor’s meeting (17/09) as it aims to stabilize the rupiah amid global volatility caused by looming higher US interest rates and China’s hard landing (as well as yuan depreciation), while combating inflation which stood at 7.18 percent (y/y) in August. The overnight deposit facility rate and lending facility rate were left unchanged at 5.5 percent and 8 percent, respectively.
Latest Columns Bank Indonesia
The central bank of Indonesia (Bank Indonesia) believes that the USD $430 million trade deficit that was recorded in January 2014 is a normal result taking into account the implementation of the ban on exports of unprocessed minerals (which reduces exports of materials such as copper and nickel) and seasonal trends as exports are always lower in January than in December due the end of winter peak demand for raw materials and ongoing contractual negotiations at the beginning of each year.
The rate of Indonesian inflation eased in February 2014. Inflation decelerated in February 2014 to 0.26 percent (month-to-month) or 7.75 percent (year-on-year), down from the previous month at 1.07 percent (mtm) or 8.22 percent (yoy) respectively. The drop in the inflation rate is attributable to central and local government policy taken to minimize the second-round effects of recent natural disasters, thereby bringing the inflation of volatile foods in the reporting month to just 0.32 percent (mtm) or 9.85 percent (yoy).
The central bank of Indonesia (Bank Indonesia) is optimistic that the country's currency will continue to appreciate against the US dollar in the first quarter of 2014. Executive Director at the Economic and Monetary Policy Department of Bank Indonesia Juda Agung said that there are two factors that impact positively on the performance of the Indonesian rupiah exchange rate: the improved global economy and strengthening domestic economic fundamentals. However, Agung declined to estimate the value of the rupiah by the end of Q1-2014.
The central bank of Indonesia (Bank Indonesia) believes that Indonesia's recently introduced ban on the export of unprocessed minerals, in effect since 12 January 2014, will result in slowing economic growth in several regions in the eastern part of Indonesia as these regions are main sources of mineral production. Doddy Zulverdi, Head of the Economic Assessment Group in Bank Indonesia's Department of Economic and Monetary Policy, said that Sulawesi and Kalimantan will post slowing economic growth this year.
The Jakarta Composite Index (Indonesia's benchmark stock index, also known as IHSG) continued its upward rally on Monday (17/02) even though it had concerned us that the index almost touched its 'overbought' level. Especially as the index posted limited gain by the end of last week, it made us unsure about its performance on Monday. And while there are several factors that caused positive market sentiments, we still warn for potential weakening of the index due to profit taking. On Monday (17/02), the IHSG rose 1.05% to 4,555.37 points.
The Indonesian rupiah exchange rate continued its recent appreciating trend on Monday (17/02). Based on the Bloomberg Dollar Index, the currency strengthened 0.39 percent to IDR 11,785 per US dollar at 16:00 local Jakarta time. Main reason for this renewed confidence in the rupiah is Indonesia's current account deficit, which eased significantly by the end of 2013. According to Bank Indonesia, the deficit eased from 4.4 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in the second quarter of 2013 to 1.98 percent of GDP in Q4-2013.
The weakening Dow Jones Index on Wednesday (12/02) caused negative market sentiments in Asia the following day. Most Asian indices, including Indonesia's Jakarta Composite Index (IHSG), were down. Not even the announcement that Bank Indonesia decided to maintain its benchmark interest rate (BI rate) at 7.50 percent was able to push the IHSG back in the green zone. Investors probably already anticipated the central bank's decision as it was in line with the market's expectation.
At Bank Indonesia's Board of Governors’ Meeting today (13/02), it was decided to maintain the country's benchmark interest rate (BI rate) at 7.50 percent as well as the interest rates on the Lending Facility and Deposit Facility at 7.50 percent and 5.75 percent respectively. The policy is consistent with the tight monetary policy stance currently adopted in order to steer inflation back towards its target corridor of 4.5±1 percent in 2014 and 4±1 percent in 2015, as well as to reduce the current account deficit to a more sustainable level.
The pace of Indonesia's monthly January inflation rate was higher in 2014 than in the same month during the past five years. This relatively high inflation rate this year, recorded at 1.07 percent, was caused by severe rainfall and floods in several parts of Indonesia (particularly in the cities of Jakarta and Manado) amid the peak of the rainy season. These weather-related circumstances impacted on prices of food products as distribution channels were disrupted, thus giving rise to increasing prices. Annual inflation, however, slightly eased.
On Wednesday 5 February 2014, Statistics Indonesia (BPS, a non-departmental government institute) is expected to release Indonesia's official GDP growth figure for the year 2013. It is estimated that the outcome will be the lowest GDP growth figure since 2009 when Southeast Asia's largest economy grew 4.6 percent after feeling the impact of the global financial crisis. In 2013, again, Indonesia felt the negative influence of external troubles. And in combination with domestic factors, Indonesia's economic growth is expected to be around 5.7 percent in 2013.
