International Finance Corporation (IFC), investment arm of the World Bank, has reportedly agreed to provide loan facilities of up to US$275 million to PT Trans Corpora, a company controlled by tycoon Chairul Tanjung, for the development of retail, tourism, and properties all over the country.

Shares of Sido Muncul (SIDO), Indonesia’s largest consumer herbal player, ended higher by 3.75% to Rp830 Monday (Feb 18), as investors responded positively the company’s strong performance in the fourth quarter of 2018. After flat growth in the first nine months of 2018, Sido Muncul posted double digit growth in the quarter. 

Chevron Pacific might soon get to work on the Indonesia Deepwater Development (IDD) project. It would be a welcome progress given that the American company’s contract in the Rokan Block did not get extended. The Special Task Force for Upstream Oil and Gas Business Activities (SKK Migas) has said that the Plan of Development (POD) of the IDD Project was near the finish line.

Indonesia’s export declined 4.7% year-on-year to US$13.87 billion (FOB), while import declined 1.83% to US$15.03 billion (CIF). As a result, Indonesia suffered ‘trade deficit’ (not entirely goods, because of the cost of freight and insurance in the import) of US$1.16 billion. Oil and gas sector contributed US$454.8 million of ‘deficit’ despite downfall in prices.

Investors sold off shares in flag carrier Garuda Indonesia (GIAA) on Thursday (Feb. 14) after the airliner decided to cut prices of air tickets by 20% for all domestic routes, to responding the government’s order, after plenty of public outcry over the past month.

Entering the second presidential debate Sunday (Feb 17), state-owned EPC firm Hutama Karya has finally completed construction of Bakauheni-Terbanggi Besar (141 KM) toll road in Lampung province this week. Built with Rp16.8 trillion of investment, this will be the longest toll road in Sumatra, the second most populous island in the country.

In mid January, we reported that the Ministry of Communication and Informatics (Kominfo) had been working on revising the Government Regulation No. 82/2012 on Electronic System and Transaction (RPP PSTE), and that the Ministry was discussing the draft with the State Secretariat (Setneg). Professional associations have since reacted strongly against the draft.  

State-owned gas distributor Perusahaan Gas Negara (PGAS), which is now a subsidiary of state-owned company Pertamina, allocates a capital expenditure (capex) of US$400 million for this year, mostly to fund its gas pipe network project. In 2018, PGAS’s capex was US$500 million.

Labuan Bajo in Flores Island, East Nusa Tenggara, one of 10 emerging destinations prioritized by Jokowi-Kalla administration, recorded 163,807 visits of tourists last year, wherein nearly half were foreigners. Number of visitors has nearly doubled since 2016, but room for growth is still there. 

Organic chemical is still one of the largest import for Indonesia. The country imported US$6.93 billion worth of organic chemicals (including petrochemicals) last year, an increase of 17.45% from 2017. Import of plastics (made from petrochemicals) and the articles, meanwhile, grew 19.2% to US$9.2 billion.