Issues to watch

May 20, 2026 | Market

Rupiah depreciated further to as low as Rp17,786 this morning before regained some grounds on expectation of higher BI rate. Composite index of Indonesia Stock Exchange/IDX (IHSG), in the meantime, opened lower by more than one percent despite government’s claim of...

Crime, economics and the return of military expansion

May 20, 2026 | Market, Politics

Defense Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin recently defended the government’s plan to establish 750 new military battalions by arguing that their presence would help reduce crime and stimulate local economies. The statement may sound practical on the surface, but it exposes...

Beyond the 8 percent cut

May 20, 2026 | Market

GoTo’s decision to end the GoRide Hemat subscription scheme has been celebrated by many Gojek drivers as a long-awaited victory. For months, driver groups had protested the program, arguing that it created unfair competition among drivers and forced them to “pay” for...

Gemini Omni

May 20, 2026 | Market

Google’s launch of Gemini Omni may be remembered not simply as another artificial intelligence breakthrough, but as the moment video itself stopped being reliable evidence. At Google I/O 2026, the company unveiled an AI system capable of generating and editing videos...

EV battery investment updates

May 20, 2026 | Market

Nickel ended lower by 0.43% to US$18,700 per ton in the London Metal Exchange (LME) Tuesday (May 19) despite reports about strong EV sales growth in Europe. How about EV battery investments in Indonesia? Well, first of all, movement of nickel price is now less...

Anti-market: Amran blames mafia

May 20, 2026 | Market

Minister of agriculture Andi Amran Sulaiman blamed food mafia behind the rise of cooking oil price. Pretty much in contrast to market dynamics, Amran said cooking oil price should decline instead.  Amran said palm oil production continues to increase, while demand...

Navy for soybean

May 20, 2026 | Commodities, Market

On top of the national police’s involvement in corn production, Minister of defense Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin told lawmakers this week that Indonesian Army (TNI-AD) has been tasked to grow corn and rice, while the Navy is responsible for soybean.  Indonesian military, as...

More market interventions: Coal and palm oil 

May 19, 2026 | Market

Composite index of IDX (IHSG) fell 3.46% Tuesday (May 19) as market participants negatively responded rumour about the government’s plan to takeover export of coal and palm oil (CPO) through a state trading entity.  Shares of coal miners ended mostly lower ground....

Layoffs in 2026 (5)

May 19, 2026 | Market

Full impact of rupiah’s downfall and high input costs (energy and raw materials) will likely be seen clearer in the second and third quarter, but many companies have slashed workforce in the first quarter of the year due to falling sales and squeezed margins. Garment...

Regulating marketplaces is easier said than done

May 19, 2026 | Market

The government is preparing to regulate marketplace fees through a proposed ministerial regulation aimed at protecting small businesses from rising platform charges. The policy, which includes incentives and potential cuts to marketplace commissions for SMEs, appears...