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...

Digital state still depends on outsiders

May 19, 2026 | Market, Politics

The latest experiment with digital social assistance for 36 million citizens reflects a larger ambition within President Prabowo Subianto’s administration: transforming the state into a fully digital government. Officials speak confidently about integrated databases,...

Journalists caught in Gaza’s expanding conflict

May 19, 2026 | Politics

Journalist Andre Prasetyo Nugroho recorded a video saying that if it reached the public he had likely been “intercepted or kidnapped” by Israeli forces, the message sounded like a warning from the edge of a war zone. Hours later, contact was reportedly lost with...

Indicators to watch

May 19, 2026 | Market

Rupiah declined further to Rp17,713 per US dollar this morning despite statements from central bank leaders that the currency would regain grounds in the coming months and that crude oil retreated from recent high as Trump said he called off a planned military strike...

Kalbe Farma vs Soho Global

May 19, 2026 | Industries, Market

Shares of Kalbe Farma (KLBF) ended lower by 1.2% on Monday (May 18), while Soho Global Health (SOHO) lost 4.71%. These pharmaceutical players came out with diametrical results in the first quarter of 2026. Kalbe Farma, the largest player listed on the Indonesia Stock...

Geo Energy-Trafigura

May 19, 2026 | Commodities

SGX-listed Geo Energy Resources Ltd, which operates coal mines in Indonesia, has signed non-binding memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Trafigura Pte Ltd, one of the world’s largest commodities trading companies, related to development of hard-coking coal asset in...

Bank Mayapada vs Bank Mega

May 18, 2026 | Market

Bank Mayapada (MAYA), controlled by Dato’ Tahir, booked net profit of Rp37 billion only in the first quarter of 2026, not even one-tenth of Bank Mega (MEGA), controlled by Chairul Tanjung, despite the fact that Mayapada is substantially bigger than Mega in terms of...

Deeper corrections

May 18, 2026 | Market

Pretty much as predicted, rupiah depreciated further to as low as Rp17,670 on Monday (May 18), while composite index of Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) collapsed around four percent before paring some losses and closed the trading day down 1.85%. There are some factors...

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,...