Indonesia’s Central Statistics Agency (BPS) announced on Monday (01/12) that the country’s inflation figure accelerated to 6.23 percent year-on-year (y/y) in November 2014 (from 6.23 percent y/y in the previous month) due to the impact of higher subsidized fuel prices implemented by the Indonesian government. On 18 November, prices for subsidized fuels (low-octane gasoline and diesel) were raised by more than 30 percent in a bid to reallocate public spending from fuel consumption to productive long-term development.

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The sea toll road, a maritime program initiated by Indonesian President Joko Widodo, may reduce the country’s logistics costs by 10 to 15 percent, said Secretary of the Expert Team of the National Logistics System, Nofrisel. Currently, between 18 and 22 percent of companies’ production costs in Indonesia are absorbed by logistics costs, particularly due to expensive transportation costs, hence seriously reducing competitiveness of Indonesian companies. In peer regional countries this figure is below ten percent.

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Indonesia Investments updated the company profile of Indonesia’s largest taxi operator. Blue Bird - the dominating market leader in Indonesia’s taxi services market - recently conducted an IPO on the Indonesia Stock Exchange, raising IDR 2.4 trillion (USD $200 million) by selling around 14 percent of its enlarged share capital. With an expanding population, a rapidly growing middle class, a low taxi penetration ratio, an urbanizing society, and lack of decent public transportation, demand for taxi services has been growing in Indonesia.

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Ahead of implementation of the ASEAN Single Aviation Market (ASAM) in 2015, it is important for Indonesia to improve infrastructure at (and around) airports, particularly the nation’s smaller airports, in order to be able to compete with other airports in the ASEAN region. ASAM will turn ASEAN into a unified and single aviation market by 2015, meaning that air travel between ASEAN member states is fully liberalized. As such, ASAM will supersede existing unilateral, bilateral and multilateral air services agreements between ASEAN members.

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Low cost carrier Indonesia AirAsia, the Indonesian unit of Malaysia's AirAsia, carried 4.08 million air passengers in the first half of 2014, a growth of 12 percent from the same period last year (3.64 million passengers). However, this growth figure failed to achieve the company’s initial target as it had to reduce flights and routes in an effort to cut back on expenses amid high operational costs. Although the firm managed to pass on part of expensive fuel costs to passengers (fuel surcharge), operational costs for specific routes are high.

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The annual mudik tradition has started in Indonesia. The term mudik refers to the exodus of Indonesian workers from the cities back to their hometowns ahead of Lebaran (the Indonesian name for Idul Fitri) which starts on 28 July 2014. Lebaran, a national holiday (from 28 July to 1 August), marks the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan and is usually celebrated at people’s places of origin, implying that Indonesian cities become more-or-less deserted for one week. In the week up to Lebaran people start to mudik.

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Doddy Riyadi, official at the Indonesian Economic Development Committee (KP3EI), said that logistics costs in Indonesia are expected to have fallen three to four percent by the year 2015. Currently, Indonesia is characterized by relatively high logistics costs, thereby reducing the competitiveness of Indonesian products on the international market (curbing exports) as well as, generally, causing a less attractive investment climate. The primary cause of high logistics costs is Indonesia’s lack of quality and quantity of infrastructure.

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One of Indonesia's main fiscal problems is the ever increasing amount of public funds spent on energy subsidies (these include fuels and electricity subsidies). These subsidies aim to support the poorer segments of Indonesian society but several studies conclude that it are in fact the middle class and elite segments that benefit the most of these energy subsidies. Furthermore, by keeping energy prices artificially low, the government distorts the economy by creating a more-or-less 'false economy'.

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The non-oil & gas industry of Indonesia grew 5.56 percent in the first quarter of 2014. Although general economic growth in Southeast Asia's largest economy has slowed to 5.21 percent in the first quarter, several industries such as the Food and Beverage Processing Industry, the Transportation Equipment Industry, Machinery & Equipment Industry, as well as Farming & Plantation-based Industries post strong growth. The Indonesian Industry Ministry targets a 6.5 percentage rate for the country's industrial sector in 2014.

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Eka Sari Lorena, an Indonesia-based transportation company, is the next company that will conduct an initial public offering (IPO) on the Indonesia Stock Exchange in order to gain funds for further business expansion. Last year, Eka Sari Lorena was denied to go public as it did not get approval from market regulators. After securing approval this year, the company offers 150 million shares (43 percent of its enlarged equity) in an IPO which starts today (01/04). Its listing on the Indonesia Stock Exchange is scheduled for 15 April 2014.

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Usage of biodiesel for transportation in Indonesia is expected to reach 7.2 million kiloliter by 2015, a sharp increase from 600,000 kiloliter in the first nine months of 2013. State-owned Pertamina is expected to supply the extra 6.6 million kiloliter of biodiesel. The reason why the Indonesian government is eager to develop palm-based biofuel for transportation purposes is to reduce the country's reliance on the import of expensive diesel fuel. Imports of fuels and gas are the foremost reason that Indonesia is coping with a wide current account deficit.

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In its most recent report regarding Indonesia's economy, the World Bank states that high logistic costs form a serious impediment to the country's economic growth. The report, titled Annual Logistics Report, is compiled by Bandung Institute of Technology’s Research Center for Logistics and Supply Chains, the Indonesian Logistics Association (ALI), the STC Group, Panteia Research Institute, and the World Bank Indonesia Office. The report provides an analysis and overview of the progress made in tackling the problem of logistics in Indonesia.

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In recent years, Indonesia's car sales have shown robust growth, culminating in a record high number of 1.12 million sold car units in 2012. This is an important statistic because car sales inform us about the state of the economy. Generally, rising car sales indicate an expanding economy while declining car sales indicate that the economy is slowing down. When we take a look at the table below, there is a link visible between Indonesia's GDP growth and rising car sales, except for 2011 to 2012 when GDP growth declined while car sales rose.

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