Economy: Indonesia’s official foreign reserve assets increased to US$135.9 billion as of end-December 2020, from US$133.6 billion end-November. The position of official reserve assets was equivalent to finance 10.2 months of imports or 9.8 months of imports and servicing government’s external debt, and well above the international adequacy standard of three months imports. Bank Indonesia…
Economy: Bank Indonesia decided to keep the BI Rate (BI 7-Day Reverse Repo Rate) at 3.75%, while also maintaining the Deposit Facility rates at 3.00% and Lending Facility rates at 4.50%. The decision is consistent with projected low inflation and maintained external stability, coupled with efforts to support the economic recovery. The central bank has…
BOTTOM LINE: Tentative signs of economic recovery emerge over November until mid-December. Inflationary pressure is still manageable, rupiah strengthens, interest rates fall, while stock and bond indexes rallies. Manufacturing entered an expansionary phase, while external trade charted significant monthly growths. Covid-19 pandemic remains the biggest threat for further recovery. The virus outbreak has yet to…
Economy: At the G20 Riyadh Leaders’ Summit on 29 November, Indonesia reiterated commitment for a more sustainable and greener economy. President Joko Widodo stressed that Indonesia’s government is set to transform the country’s economy to offer greater environmental protection. “Economic recovery following the Covid-19 pandemic will no longer overlook our responsibility to protect nature, and…
Economy: Amidst the Covid-19 pandemic adversely affect the economy, Indonesia’s Balance of Payment (BOP) in the Q3/2020 recorded surplus. The BOP valued at US$2.1 billion, much lower than the surplus of US$9.2 million recorded in the previous quarter. Such development was supported by the current account and the capital and financial account surpluses. As a…
BOTTOM LINE: The inflation returned in October, after three consecutive months of deflation. Rupiah fairly stable, while stock market was on bullish trend since October until the third week of November. Bank Indonesia reduced BI Rate to 3.75% in a bid to support the recovery of economy, which has entered into recession in the third…
Economy: Indonesia’s economic growth is predicted to return to a positive path in the fourth quarter of 2020 or at the end of this year, and hence Indonesia will get out of the recession zone. The Governor of Bank Indonesia (BI) said he was confident that Indonesia’s economy would continue to improve after two quarters,…
Economy: For the first time since the Asian financial crisis in 1997/98, Indonesia’s economy has fallen into recession as the country struggles to control the Covid-19 pandemic. According to the central statistics agency, Indonesia’s economy contracted at a 3.5% annual pace in July-September, the second consecutive quarterly contraction. The economy shrank at a 5.32% pace…
Economy: The Covid-19 pandemic has deepened the exposure of women’s vulnerability to economic shocks and deepens inequality that has existed in Indonesia since before the pandemic. It is likely to reverse progress in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), revealed a new report by UN Women titled “Counting the costs of COVID-19, assessing the impact…
Economy: A recent survey revealed that Indonesians are the most optimistic of their regional peers about the speed of economic recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic. The survey, which was conducted by market research firm Ipsos between 18 to 22 September and involved 500 people from six countries in the region, found that 75 per cent…