Indonesia has recently signed a $500 million conditional agreement for the acquisition of a hotel and a 5-hectare land in Makkah, Saudi Arabia, as part of the Hajj Village plans. On top of that, the sovereign fund Danantara is currently in the top two bidders to acquire 84 hectares of land in the Jabal Hindawiyah area, the result of which will be announced by the end of this month or January 2026.

President Prabowo Subianto’s decision to finally sign the government regulation on wages for 2026 was supposed to end months of uncertainty. Instead, it has exposed a deeper problem in Indonesia’s economic governance: policies are no longer designed to provide certainty, but to manage political pressure in real time.

West Java Governor Dedi Mulyadi’s decision to suspend housing construction permits across the province has quickly evolved from an environmental policy into a national governance problem. What was framed as disaster mitigation is now testing the limits of decentralization, legal certainty, and political accountability in Indonesia’s housing sector.

For several years, Binar Academy has been held up as one of the most credible edtech success stories. Founded by Alamanda Shantika, a former senior product leader at Gojek, Binar emerged with a compelling narrative: closing Indonesia’s digital talent gap while promoting inclusive access to technology skills, particularly for women and underrepresented groups.

Sinarmas, controlled by Widjaja Family, is not a new player in energy sector. Other than operating power plants, the group is one of the largest coal miners in the country (through Berau Coal and Golden Energy Mines). But, the group’s entry into oil and gas surprised some.

KLSE-listed Velesto Energy Berhad informed market authorities on Tuesday (Dec 16) that PT Indonesia Drilling Energy (IDE) has signed a sale and purchase agreement for its jack-up drilling rig, Naga 3, for a total consideration of US$63 million.

After months of deliberation and preparation, Indonesia is finally set to enact a social media ban for underaged users, following in the footsteps of Australia that became the world-first country to do so. The new policy, which will take effect from March 2026, is designed to protect the younger vulnerable population from harmful online content, but the public is also concerned about its implications for the adults and their freedom of expression given the country’s current state of law enforcement.

China Shenhua Energy Company, one of the world’s largest coal producers, sold 37 million tons of coal last month, down 3.6% year-on-year, confirming softening demand across China, the largest importer of the commodity.

Defying doubts about his credentials in macro-economic management, Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa claimed of involvement in policy making of the previous administrations of Jokowi and SBY in his early days after being appointed minister of finance. Yet, he openly complained about the signature Omnibus Law from Jokowi administration causing lower tax collections from coal miners. 

The prolonged delay in operating Indonesia’s National Data Center (Pusat Data Nasional, PDN) is no longer a technical footnote in the country’s digital transformation agenda. It has evolved into a policy failure with tangible security, fiscal, and governance consequences. What was meant to be the backbone of Indonesia’s data sovereignty is now an idle infrastructure—one that exposes the state to precisely the risks it was designed to mitigate.