Darmin Nasution, the Chief Economics Minister of Indonesia, said economic growth of Indonesia in the first quarter of 2016 may be somewhat curtailed as the (food) harvest season has shifted from March to April and May. The harvest season is important for the economy because it causes a multiplier effect. However, government-led infrastructure investment may still be able to push Indonesia's gross domestic product (GDP) growth higher in Q1-2016 compared with the 5.04 percent (y/y) growth of Q4-2015. Nasution said he expects a Q1-2016 GDP growth rate around 5.1 - 5.2 percent (y/y).

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Despite last week's rallying oil prices, rising stocks on Wall Street and in Europe, as well as expectation of a more gradual increase in US interest rates, Indonesia's benchmark stock index (Jakarta Composite Index) plunged 1.23 percent on Monday (11/04). Overall, the performance of Asian stock markets was mixed reflected by stock trading in the two big economies of China and Japan. Whereas Japanese stocks fell due to the stronger yen (touching a new 17-month high against the US dollar), Chinese stocks climbed on easing worries about deflationary pressures (after China's March CPI inflation remained flat at 2.3 percent y/y).

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The banking sector of Indonesia is expected to rebound in 2016 due to the lower primary reserve requirement ratio for rupiah deposits (6.5 percent), lower cost of funds as well as operational costs, rising credit volume (due to the lower interest rate environment) and improving purchasing power. The banking sector is also expected to feel the positive impact of the stimulus packages unveiled by the Indonesian government aimed at strengthening domestic businesses and improve the investment climate. And lastly, banks are to benefit from the government's push for infrastructure development.

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In the first three monthly policy meetings this year (January-March) the central bank of Indonesia (Bank Indonesia) cut borrowing costs by a total of 75 basis points. Indonesia's benchmark interest rate (BI rate) was cut from 7.50 percent at the year-start to 6.75 percent at Thursday's Board of Governors' meeting. The overnight deposit facility rate and lending facility rate were also cut by 75 basis points, each, in the first three months. The lower interest rate environment in Indonesia signals that the financial fundamentals are strong. This is partly reason behind strong inflows of foreign capital into Southeast Asia's largest economy.

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In its March 2016 Indonesia Economic Quarterly, titled "Private Investment is Essential", the World Bank cut its forecast for Indonesia's economic growth in 2016 to 5.1 percent year-on-year (y/y) from an earlier estimate of 5.3 percent (y/y). This downward revision was made due to weaker-than-expected global economic conditions, further weakening commodity prices, and limitations to Indonesian government spending brought about by a looming shortfall in tax revenue.

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Indonesia's economic growth in the first quarter of 2016 could reach 5 percent (or more) year-on-year provided that the government manages to optimize spending on infrastructure projects and improve people's purchasing power. Large drops in domestic car and motorcycle sales so far this year show that Indonesia's purchasing power remains bleak. Other indicators - such as cement and retail sales - are also not too strong. Firmanzah, economist at the Paramadina University, said the 0.09 percent (m/m) deflation that occurred in February could be a sign of further weakening purchasing power.

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The Indonesian rupiah continues to appreciate sharply. By 13:15 pm local Jakarta time on Friday (04/03), Indonesia's currency had appreciated 0.96 percent to IDR 13,105 per US dollar (Bloomberg Dollar Index), its strongest level since May 2015. Meanwhile, Bank Indonesia's benchmark rupiah rate (Jakarta Interbank Spot Dollar Rate, abbreviated JISDOR) appreciated 0.76 percent to IDR 13,159 per US dollar. What explains this strong performance of the rupiah?

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Stakeholders in Indonesia's property sector may regret to learn that Indonesia's House of Representatives (DPR) decided to postpone deliberations on the tax amnesty bill until (at least) April 2016. This tax amnesty bill, originally planned to be implemented in early 2016, offers attractive tax rates to those tax evaders who declare untaxed wealth and repatriate their funds to Indonesia. If implemented in early 2016, then the bill was estimated to generate up to USD $4.4 billion in additional tax revenue in 2016. Meanwhile, part of repatriated funds would find their way into the nation's property sector.

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Astra International reported a 25 percent year-on-year (y/y) decline in net profit to IDR 14.4 trillion (approx. USD $1.1 billion) over 2015. This is the company's lowest net profit figure in the past five years. Main reasons for this weak performance is falling domestic consumption in Indonesia and persistently sliding commodity prices. Astra International, an investment holding company, is among the largest diversified conglomerates in Indonesia and regarded the barometer of the Indonesian economy due to the group's presence in various sectors.

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Indonesia's manufacturing industry was worth IDR 2,097.7 trillion (approx. USD $156 billion) in 2015, contributing 18.1 percent to the country's gross domestic product (GDP), up from 17.8 percent of GDP in the preceding year. However, this higher contribution of manufacturing to the economy is mainly caused by the declining roles of oil & gas, commodities, agriculture and mining within the Indonesian economy. These sectors have all seen their roles decline amid persistently low commodity prices.

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Car sales in Indonesia declined 8 percent to 98,198 units in May 2014 from 106,811 units in the previous month. The Indonesian Automotive Industry Association (Gaikindo) said that the decline was the direct consequence of several public holidays (International Labour Day and the commemorations of Buddha’s birthday as well as ascensions of Prophet Muhammad and Jesus Christ). These holidays caused a lower car production rate and a reduced number of car deliveries to wholesale dealers.

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The central bank of Indonesia (Bank Indonesia) expects Indonesia’s economy to grow by 5.3 percent in the second quarter of 2014. If realized, it means that gross domestic product (GDP) of Southeast Asia’s largest economy will accelerate from the disappointing GDP growth result recorded in the first quarter of 2014 (5.21 percent). Perry Warjiyo, Deputy Governor at Bank Indonesia, said that growth in Q2-2014 will be primarily supported by household consumption and investments which traditionally peak in the second quarter.

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ICRA Indonesia, an independent credit rating agency and subsidiary of ICRA Ltd. (associate of Moody's Investors Service), publishes a monthly newsletter which provides an update on the financial and economic developments in Indonesia of the last month. In the April 2014 edition, a number of important topics that are monitored include Indonesia's inflation rate, the trade balance, the BI rate, the IDR rupiah exchange rate, and gross domestic product (GDP) growth. Below is an excerpt of the newsletter:

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The central bank of Indonesia (Bank Indonesia) decided at today’s Bank Indonesia Board of Governors’ Meeting, convened on 8 May 2014, to maintain the country's benchmark interest rate (BI rate) at 7.50 percent, with the Lending Facility rate and Deposit Facility rate held at 7.50 percent and 5.75 percent respectively. This policy is consistent with efforts to steer the rate of inflation towards its target corridor of 4.5±1 percent in 2014 and 4.0±1 percent in 2015, as well as to reduce the current account deficit to a more sustainable level.

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After Statistics Indonesia (BPS) had announced on Monday (05/05) that Indonesia's gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 5.21 percent year-on-year (yoy) in the first quarter of 2014 (considerably below analysts' projections of around 5.6 percent), concerns have risen about the country's economic expansion for the remainder of the year. The government of Indonesia targets a GDP growth rate of between 5.8 and 6.0 percent (yoy). However, several international institutions do not agree with this optimistic target.

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Statistics Indonesia (BPS) announced on Monday (05/05) that the economy of Indonesia - Southeast Asia's largest economy - grew at a much slower pace in the first quarter of 2014 than had been expected by analysts. Gross domestic product growth slowed to 5.21 percent (year-on-year) in Q1-2014, significantly down from the 6.03 percentage growth (yoy) that was recorded in Q1-2013. Gross domestic fixed capital formation (GFCF) slowed to 5.13 percent from 5.9 percent in the same period last year.

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ICRA Indonesia released an analysis of the economic impact of the ban on export of raw minerals. The ban - stipulated by the new 2009 Mining Law - became effective per 12 January 2014 (although in a milder form as some mineral ore exports are allowed under specific terms) and aims at boosting domestic processing. However, it led to great concern among domestic and foreign stakeholders as its implications on the economy of Indonesia - a global leader in exports of mineral resources - were unknown.

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Standard Chartered Bank Economist Eric Sugandi expects that the central bank of Indonesia (Bank Indonesia) will have raised its benchmark interest rate (BI rate) by 50 basis points (bps) to 8.00 percent by the end of 2014. Sugandi also said that it is highly unlikely that Bank Indonesia will lower its BI rate in the next two years amid further Federal Reserve tapering and possible US interest rate hikes in 2015 and 2016. Moreover, the Indonesian government may still decide to reduce fuel subsidies further (thus triggering inflationary pressures).

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ICRA Indonesia, an independent credit rating agency and subsidiary of ICRA Ltd. (associate of Moody's Investors Service), publishes a monthly newsletter which provides an update on the financial and economic developments in Indonesia of the last month. In the March 2014 edition, a number of important topics that are monitored include Indonesia's inflation rate, the trade balance, the BI rate, the IDR rupiah exchange rate, and gross domestic product (GDP) growth. Below is an excerpt of the newsletter:

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The central bank of Indonesia (Bank Indonesia) expects Indonesia's economic growth to slow to 5.77 percent (year-on-year) in the first quarter of 2014. However, despite this further slowing trend, the institution is content with recent macroeconomic developments: external demand is growing, while domestic demand is moderating, thus impacting positively on the country's current account deficit as well as inflation. Household consumption is expected to have grown in Q1-2014 due to the holding of legislative elections on 9 April 2014.

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