Rubber prices tumbled about 2 percent in early trading on Friday (21/07) after surging 4 percent in the previous trading session. The price of rubber for December 2017 delivery, the most active contract on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange (Tocom), tumbled 1.99 percent (or 4.30 points) to 211.90 yen per kilogram at 07:40 am local Jakarta time. Ahead of this tumble, there occurred a rubber price rally as most farmers held back their rubber stock sales following expectations of higher prices.

Read more ›

The Indonesian government is having problems curbing the nation's coal output, especially now coal prices are at a much more attractive level compared to one year ago. Therefore, the government may consider implementing disincentives or even sanctions in order to keep coal production under control and push it down to (an annual) 400 million metric tons by 2019.

Read more ›

Indonesia's benchmark coal price (in Indonesian: Harga Batubara Acuan, or HBA) rose 4.6 percent month-on-month (m/m) to USD $78.95 per metric ton in July 2017. The HBA price, set by Indonesia's Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry each month, is based on (1) the Platts Kalimantan (5,900 kcal/kg GAR assessment), (2) the Argus-Indonesia Coal Index 1 (6,500 kcal/kg GAR), (3) the Newcastle Export Index - formerly the Barlow-Jonker index (6,322 kcal/kg GAR) - and (4) the globalCOAL Newcastle (6,000 kcal/kg NAR) index.

Read more ›

While Indonesian authorities try to curtail the nation's coal production in order to safeguard plenty of supplies for future use (particularly to fuel Indonesia's coal-fired power plants), it is difficult for local coal miners to resist producing and exporting more coal now coal prices are still about 50 percent higher compared to the situation one year ago.

Read more ›

The coal price is expected to rise in the remainder of this year as China seems eager to limit domestic coal output, while global coal demand is predicted to rise in the second half of 2017. After a steep decline in May, coal prices have been recovering in June. So far this month, coal prices rallied around 10 percent to slightly above USD $80 per ton (Newcastle index, July contracts).

Read more ›

Fully state-owned Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN), which holds a monopoly on electricity distribution in Indonesia, will soon acquire coal mining concessions in order to safeguard its future coal supplies and have a stronger position when negotiating coal prices with traders. PLN's power plants are estimated to require slightly more than 88 million tons in 2017, hence being the country's largest coal consumer.

Read more ›

Despite seeing a supply surplus in Asia, coal prices are expected to remain stable in the foreseeable future supported by expectations of Chinese intervention into domestic coal production. China is the world's largest producer and consumer of coal and therefore the main determinant of the coal price. On Friday (19/05), the Newcastle coal index (May 2017 contracts) rose 0.27 percent to USD $74.25 per ton.

Read more ›

Alfa Energi Investama, an Indonesia-based coal miner, will offer 300 million shares (equivalent to 23 percent of the company's enlarged shares) to the public in its initial public offering (IPO) on the Indonesia Stock Exchange at a price range of IDR 400 - 500 a piece. Lautandhana Securindo has been appointed as lead underwriter.

Read more ›

Indonesia's benchmark Jakarta Composite Index was slightly in green territory shortly after opening on Wednesday (10/05), seemingly recovering from yesterday's losses when market participants were alarmed by the controversial two-year prison sentence for former Jakarta Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama ("Ahok") that was handed by the North Jakarta District Court as the defendant was found guilty of blasphemy. Another matter that impacted negatively on Indonesian stocks was the big drop in global coal prices.

Read more ›

Good news for Indonesian coal producers. Indonesia's benchmark coal price (in Indonesian: Harga Batubara Acuan, or HBA) continued to rise. The May 2017 HBA was set at USD $83.81 per metric ton, up 1.6 percent from the price that was set in the preceding month. The HBA, which is based on a selection of domestic and international coal indices, is set on a monthly basis by Indonesia's Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry.

Read more ›

Amid rising mining commodity prices, Indonesian coal mining company Adaro Energy saw its share price surge at the start of 2018. The mining index is actually the best-performing index so far this year in Indonesia, rising 13.58 percent since the start of the year. Being a mining company - or more precisely an energy company (as it recently entered the power generation sector) - Adaro Energy is among the major beneficiaries.

Read more ›

A number of listed coal mining companies on the Indonesia Stock Exchange are eager to raise production capacity amid attractive coal prices. One way to boost production capacity is through the acquisition of other coal miners. Indonesia's key thermal coal price (Harga Batubara Acuan, HBA) - the monthly benchmark price that is set by the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry - rose slightly to USD $94.80 per metric ton in November 2017.

Read more ›

Foreign exchange earnings are important assets for a national economy. Therefore, many nations have recently been taking a much more protectionist approach vis-à-vis trade in an effort to strengthen their trade positions, generate trade surpluses, hence see the inflow of more foreign exchange earnings. Foreign exchange assets support a stable local currency as well as economy.

Read more ›

Sales of United Tractors, the largest distributor of heavy equipment in Indonesia and part of the Astra Group, continue to climb in 2017. In fact, the management of United Tractors now expects full-year 2017 sales to exceed their initial forecast. Sara Loebis, Corporate Secretary of United Tractors, said the company has therefore raised its forecast for full-year heavy equipment unit sales from 3,000 to 3,200 units.

Read more ›

Overall, low crude oil prices are problematic for stock markets as low prices indicate the world economy is not expanding on full throttle. This curbs investors' risk appetite. Particularly those companies that are active in the oil industry (or in related industries) will likely face declining share prices. However, there are also positive effects of low oil prices. For example consumers' purchasing power should improve because prices at the gas pump are lower, while some companies can curb operational costs. Hence, consumer and transportation stocks should actually benefit from low oil prices.

Read more ›

The recently rallying coal price is a major boost for leading Indonesian coal miner Adaro Energy. Mirae Asset Sekuritas noted in a new report that Adaro Energy is in a great position to book higher corporate earnings in the years ahead because the miner's structure (and subsidiaries) are highly integrated and therefore it can more-or-less control the costs and risks in each business stage.

Read more ›

The soaring benchmark thermal coal price of the Indonesian government (called harga batubara acuan, abbreviated HBA), which is set (on a monthly basis) by the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry, should boost earnings of listed Indonesian coal miner Tambang Batubara Bukit Asam in 2017. The HBA price nearly doubled to USD $102 per metric ton in December from the year-start. Besides the rising coal price, the company should also see improving corporate earnings due to its expected rising sales volume.

Read more ›

The sharply rallying coal price in the second half of 2016 and its strong cash position (a sign of financial strength and liquidity) is the right recipe for listed Indonesian coal miner Harum Energy to post strong corporate earnings this year. In fact, Indonesian securities company Trimegah Securities believes that Harum Energy is the coal miner that will benefit the most of all listed coal miners on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) because 95 percent of its coal sales is sold on the spot market.

Read more ›

Indonesia's November 2016 coal price broke a record. The nation's benchmark thermal coal price (locally known as the Harga Batubara Acuan, HBA) - a monthly price set by Indonesia's Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry and which is based on domestic and international coal indices - jumped 22.9 percent month-on-month (m/m) to USD $84.89 per metric ton this month, the highest monthly HBA price rise ever recorded. Compared to the start of the year, Indonesia's coal price has now risen 59.6 percent, the sixth straight monthly gain. But is this reason for euphoria?

Read more ›

Many Indonesian coal miners that are listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) have seen their shares surge in the past couple of months supported by the recovering coal prices. Indonesia's thermal coal price (in Indonesian: Harga Batubara Acuan, abbreviated HBA), a monthly price set by Indonesia's Energy and Mineral Resource Ministry and which is based on domestic and global coal prices, soared from USD $50.92 per metric ton in February 2016 to USD $63.93 per ton in September.

Read more ›