Category: Business

Cigarette maker Gudang Garam (GGRM) plans to inject fresh capital of Rp1 trillion to its subsidiary, PT Surya Dhoho Investama (SDHI), to support the construction of Dhoho Kediri Airport in East Java. The capital injection will be made in stages, starting March 3 until the end of 2021. 

Global stock markets mostly retreated on Tuesday (March 2). United States (US) stocks giving up gains as investors looked to central banks for clues on monetary policy changes. Since the pandemic started, an easy monetary policy has fuelled a stock market rally but damped the interest in bonds. This has stopped in the last few weeks, with yields jumping and bond prices falling as expectations for economic recovery increased, fuelled by vaccination progress and fiscal stimulus. 

Oil and gas services firm Elnusa (ELSA) booked a net profit of Rp249.1 billion in 2020, declined 30% from Rp356.47 billion in 2019, as finance cost jumped 230% to Rp132 billion from the previous Rp40.5 billion. Meanwhile, its revenue fell 8.3% to Rp7.7 trillion year on year (y/y).  

We noted busier activities in Jakarta’s roads, restaurants, and malls in the past few days. It is not entirely clear whether this is related to progress of Covid-19 vaccination, but more friends have gotten the shots. Some also noted traditional markets, including Tanah Abang, the largest textile market in Southeast Asia, have been busier recently.

Indonesian manufacturing growth lost momentum in February 2021 amid the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic. On Monday (March 1), IHS Markit reported that Indonesia Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) fell to a three-month low of 50.9 in February 2021 from 52.2 a month earlier. Output grew the least in four months, and new orders expanded at the softest rate in three months. Meantime, export orders fell for the fifteenth month running, while employment shrank for the twelfth month in a row but at the slowest pace in the sequence.

Global stock markets gained on Monday (March 1), with United States (US) stocks rallying as vaccine rollout optimism, and economic prospects nudged sentiment. On the policy side, the House passed early Saturday a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, and the Senate will now consider the legislation. 

State cement producer Semen Indonesia (SMGR) booked a net profit of Rp2.79 trillion in 2020, grew 16.7% from Rp2.39 trillion in 2019, thanks to lower financial costs. Its revenue declined 12.9% to Rp35.17 trillion, and gross profit fell 8.6% to Rp11.6 trillion. SMGR’s finance costs fell 28% to Rp2.32 trillion from the previous Rp3.2 trillion, helping the bottom line’s growth.