2014 was a challenging year for Indonesia’s telecommunications sector, as operators faced fierce competition and market saturation, and average revenue per user (ARPU) continued to decline. The IT sector, however, showed promising growth, which is expected to continue on the back of the burgeoning data centre, cloud computing and e-commerce segments, with an increasing number of private players benefitting…
Home to a growing base of consumers, Indonesia has seen the rising purchasing power of its fast-expanding middle class drive the retail industry to new highs in recent years. Foreign and domestic retailers alike are investing heavily in new construction and expansion projects that will see traditional retail models increasingly supplanted by modern franchises and chains. Although retail could be set…
Industrial development is perhaps the most important pillar of Indonesia’s long-term economic expansion strategy, and the nation has made significant economic strides in recent years as a result of its fast-expanding industrial sector. The country is now poised to outpace Thailand and Malaysia as a major regional manufacturing and export hub, and investors are increasingly choosing Indonesia over…
With the new administration under Joko Widodo committed to spending a greater share of the budget on improving the nation’s transport infrastructure and moves under way to provide an enhanced organisational and administrative framework for the sector, there is a new sense of energy with regards to transport in Indonesia. Indeed, with logistics costs equivalent to around 27% of GDP, efforts to reduce…
In its first year in power, Indonesia’s new government has launched a major drive to boost the nation’s transport, power and water infrastructure. The administration in Jakarta is taking a leading role in helping to overcome the challenges facing the industry, and the private sector has been given a clearer, more efficient legal and administrative framework within which to operate. Many of the…
After years of treading water, Indonesia’s energy sector is finding new optimism in the fresh faces being appointed to key government positions by the new president, Joko Widodo, with the hope that they will be able to renew investor interest in the industry and spur a wave of development. The changes at the top come at a critical time, as myriad factors continue to buffet the sector in Indonesia,…
The Indonesian banking sector continues to strengthen after a lengthy period of expansion. Business remains sound with sufficient capital to support credit growth, and the regulatory environment setting up the industry for further expansion. Questions about consolidation and foreign participation remain, and the structure of the sector going forward is a matter of debate. Economic concerns also hang…
Early moves made by the government of the new president, Joko Widodo, appear to be helping the economy considerably, especially on the FDI side. With the application of the right policies, the country could return to growth above 6%, and perhaps eventually reach the 7% target set by the new president. Indonesia is working off a sound economic base. The decline in GDP growth has been stopped, and the…
With full-year realised foreign direct investment (FDI) hitting a new record in 2014, Indonesia’s trade and investment flows have improved considerably over the last 10 years. The capital account deficit was brought back under 3% that year, and at the end of 2014 and in early 2015 the country reported a trade surplus after years in the red. Due to stronger economic growth and new policy initiatives,…
With the July 2014 election of a new president, Joko Widodo, a new mood of confidence and optimism is palpable in Indonesia, the world’s third-largest democracy and most populous Muslim-majority nation. Hopes are high that a new dynamism in Jakarta will see many long-standing challenges addressed. At the same time, the country’s economic expansion is continuing apace, with a large, young population…
