The latest reshuffle in Polri guards nickel business

May 18, 2026 | Market, Politics

The latest reshuffle inside the National Police was officially presented as routine institutional rotation. Yet the appointment of five new regional police chiefs across resource-rich provinces reveals something much larger: the growing fusion of security power,...

Salim Group’s overpriced Bank INA

May 18, 2026 | Market

Shares of Bank Ina Perdana (BINA), member of Salim Group, ended higher by 1% to Rp4,400 last Wednesday (May 13), making it among the most expensive banking stocks listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX). At the last quoted price, BINA was traded with PE multiple...

Banning tribal warfare, misreading Papua

May 18, 2026 | Law, Politics

The government’s latest push to ban tribal warfare in Papua Pegunungan may sound, at first glance, like a reasonable attempt to stop violence. No modern state can simply tolerate recurring armed clashes that leave civilians dead, schools abandoned and communities...

Garuda TV and the new architecture of media power

May 18, 2026 | Market, Politics

Media industry is collapsing economically. Newsrooms are downsizing, journalists are being laid off and local media outlets are shutting down under pressure from declining advertising revenue and the rise of algorithm-driven platforms. Yet amid this industry-wide...

Rate intervention from Prabowo & the banking stocks

May 17, 2026 | Market

Shares of state bank BRI (BBRI) ended substantially lower by 3.1% to Rp3,120 last Wednesday (May 13) as investors started to digest potential implication of President Prabowo’s ‘low interest rate’ policy through the so-called ‘People’s Credit Program’.  At the last...

Obayashi enters Indonesian toll road business

May 17, 2026 | Market

Japan’s Obayashi Corporation, known for its involvement in Indonesia’s construction business, will acquire shares of toll road operator PT Jakarta Tollroad Development (JTD)’s subsidiary, PT JTD Jaya Pratama (JTDJP), which is engaged in the toll road concession...

Hillcon’s downfall & the doubtful accounts

May 17, 2026 | Market

Shares of coal and nickel mining contractor Hillcon (HILL) ended substantially lower by 5.3% on Wednesday (May 13) to make a market capitalization of Rp265.4 billion as investors negatively responded poor financials for 2025. The stock collapsed 98% from its peak in...

Prabowo’s delusional comment on rupiah

May 17, 2026 | Market

Rupiah was traded at new record low of Rp17,611 per US dollar Friday (May 15) on global economic uncertainties stemmed from Iran war and the rise of crude oil price plus unresolved domestic economic issues. President Prabowo Subianto, however, downplayed its impact to...

Mountains of cash and General Sjafrie

May 15, 2026 | Market, Politics

Latest forest enforcement campaign no longer resembles a routine bureaucratic operation. It has evolved into something far more theatrical: stacks of confiscated cash displayed before cameras, senior officials posing behind mountains of money, and President Prabowo...

East Kalimantan’s brewing political storm

May 15, 2026 | Politics

Politics in Kalimantan Timur is no longer just about a regional dispute. What is unfolding today increasingly resembles a test of political legitimacy in the province that hosts Ibu Kota Nusantara. The escalating conflict between Governor Rudy Mas’ud and factions...