Defending manipulated stocks?

Feb 6, 2026 | Market

As predicted, composite index (IHSG) opened lower by 2.5% this morning due to correction in commodities-related stocks and the manipulated stocks. Some try to defend the inflated/manipulated stocks with share buyback program. Chandra Asri (TPIA), for example, set...

Bracing for further corrections

Feb 6, 2026 | Market

Announcement from the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) about Indonesia’s GDP growth of 5.11% last year failed to cheer up market participants. Rupiah weakened further to Rp16,887 this morning after 0.39% correction yesterday. Composite index of Indonesia Stock...

Regulating fees will not save e-commerce sellers

Feb 6, 2026 | Law, Market

The government’s plan to regulate administrative fees charged to merchants on e-commerce platforms may sound like a pro-small business move. In reality, it risks repeating a familiar policy mistake: treating symptoms while ignoring the deeper structural problems of...

Universal healthcare under pressure

Feb 6, 2026 | Market, Politics

Many beneficiaries of Indonesia’s health insurance contribution assistance scheme (PBI Jaminan Kesehatan) found their coverage abruptly deactivated without prior notice. Now they are forced to navigate a time-consuming re-registration process, even when they need...

When “abandoned land” becomes a policy weapon

Feb 6, 2026 | Law, Market

Government Regulation (PP) No. 48/2025 on abandoned land is meant to send a clear message: concessions must be used productively, or they will be taken back by the state. On paper, the policy sounds logical. Idle land fuels speculation, distorts markets, and deprives...

Customs scandal that exposes systemic decay

Feb 6, 2026 | Law, Market

The Corruption Eradication Commission’s (KPK) revelation that customs officials allegedly received up to Rp7 billion in monthly kickbacks is not merely another corruption case. It is a stark reminder that border control system—supposedly the frontline of economic...

Stuck in the Middle

Feb 5, 2026 | Market

Indonesia’s economy may look healthy on the surface, with GDP growing 5.04 percent (year-on-year) in the third quarter of 2025. This growth, however, is still largely driven by household consumption that is expanding slowly, while per-capita GDP remains stuck at...

When a city chokes on its own waste

Feb 5, 2026 | Market

The piles of garbage now haunting the streets of South Tangerang in Banten province are not just a public nuisance. They are a political verdict. When waste overflows onto roads, markets and residential areas, the problem is no longer about sanitation. It is about...

When edtech meets big tech money

Feb 5, 2026 | Market

The ongoing courtroom revelations in the Chromebook procurement case are no longer just about overpriced laptops. They are becoming a test of how Indonesia manages conflicts of interest in an era where technology founders move into government—and where public policy...

Two tax scandals in one month

Feb 5, 2026 | Law, Market

Tax authority is once again at the center of a corruption storm. Within the span of just one month, two separate operations by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) have exposed alleged bribery schemes inside tax offices in Jakarta and Banjarmasin. The timing is...