Biden’s calls on steel
Joe Biden, who seeks a second term, has asked US authorities to triple taxes (import tariffs) on Chinese steel. This might have significant impact to Indonesian iron and steel industry, which grew fast in recent years thanks to immense investment from Chinese companies.
Q1/24 Results: Squeezed margins at Telkom
Shares of state telco firm Telkom Indonesia (TLKM) ended higher by 1.56% to Rp3,250 on Thursday (Apr 18) even when the company reported 5.8% decline in net profit due to squeezed operating margins.
M&A Update
Elang Mahkota Teknologi (EMTK), or the Emtek Group, through its subsidiary PT Roket Cipta Sentosa (RCS) is carrying out the negotiation process for the takeover of Cardig Aero Services (CASS) for Rp872.76 billion value.
Latest on the Battle against Perpetrators of Forest Fires
Back in 2019, in addition to suing PT Sari Asri Rezeki Indonesia (PT SARI) for the forest fires on their concession, the Ministry of Environment and Forestry also sued several other companies at the same time through several different district courts. Below are the updates on the legal process.
Latest on Corruption in Sidoarjo
The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) began 2024 with a Sting Operation in East Java. This time, the KPK succeeded in securing a number of parties and uncovering a case of alleged corruption in Sidoarjo. After the initial investigation, interestingly, the KPK only named one suspect. After a couple of weeks, towards the end of February 2024, the KPK named a new suspect. The decision by then is interesting because the chronology of events reveals allegations that the proceeds of corruption were used for the Regent’s interests, but the Regent was still a free man, until this week. The KPK finally announced that they had named the Regent as suspect.
Retail Sales Rise the Most in 8 Months
Retail sales in Indonesia increased by 6.4 percent year-on-year in February 2024, sharply picking up from a 1.1 percent growth in the previous month. It marked the ninth straight month of expansion in retail trade and the fastest pace since last June, as spending...
Rupiah at 4-Year Low
The Indonesian rupiah touched a four-year low of 16300 per USD in April, following a trend of weakening Asian currencies due to expectations of the Federal Reserve keeping interest rates high and uncertainty in the Middle East causing a flight to safety. A lackluster...
Powell Says Rates to Stay Higher for Longer
Recent inflation data indicate the central bank may need more time to feel comfortable lowering interest rates, Fed Chair Powell said during a panel discussion at the Wilson Center in Washington alongside Bank of Canada Governor Macklem. “The recent data have clearly...
Playing catch-up with Vietnam on Apple?
So, Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, met president Joko ‘Jokowi’ Widodo and president elect Prabowo Subianto in Jakarta Wednesday (Apr 17) with fresh ‘commitment’ to look at ‘possible’ manufacturing investment. While Indonesia is the largest market in Southeast Asia for Apple, the country is seen by the tech giant only as a market. Cook visited Vietnam first, where he committed more investments.
Harum-Eternal Tsingshan Partnership
Coal miner Harum Energy (HRUM), owned by Kiki Barki Family, has on April 5 2024 signed a memorandum of understanding on strategic cooperation in the context of developing the company’s nickel portfolio. In recent years, HRUM has invested in the nickel sector as part of the company’s business diversification strategy.