Indonesian government’s plan to cut nickel production in 2026 by 34% lifted price from US$14,056 in mid December to as high as US$18,875 per ton by January 6, 2026, but then the commodity retreated to US$17,100 on Thursday (Jan 8) as market participants started doubting magnitude of the production cut.

Rupiah was traded at Rp16,815 per US dollar this morning, lost more than 3% year-on-year. It is not the worst because India’s Rupee already lost 4.7%, while Vietnam’s Dong down 3.5%. Rupiah is now weaker than the government’s assumption when designed the 2026 State Budget (Rp16,500 per USD).

So, the State budget deficit in 2025 was 2.92% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), way above the target set in the 2025 budget law (2.53%) and the government’s mid-year prediction (2.78%). Any change that the deficit could surpass the legal ceiling 3% GDP this year?

President Prabowo Subianto proclaimed Indonesia’s self-sufficiency in rice, which was achieved on December 31, 2025. By not importing rice in that year, the President said his administration achieved the self-sufficiency three years ahead of target. He didn’t mention about huge import (4.52 million tons) of rice in 2024, which helped boosting the national stock.

Indonesia’s plan to pursue a tax revenue target of Rp 2,357.7 trillion in 2026 sounds bold on paper. Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa, the government insists that the target will be achieved not through new taxes or higher rates, but via tighter compliance, stronger supervision and administrative reforms. In theory, this is a sensible approach. In practice, it risks repeating an old policy trap: chasing numbers while the economic base remains fragile.

Shares of Unilever Indonesia (UNVR), market leader for personal care business, slipped by 0.38% to Rp2,600 after the company’s announcement to sell its Sariwangi brand to Djarum Group.

The Red-and-White Village Cooperative (KDMP) is the second largest program of Prabowo administration this year after the free meal program in terms of money to be spent. Capped Rp3 billion per cooperative, we’re talking about a combined Rp240 trillion. How this will be implemented?

Shares of PT Sinergi Inti Andalan Prima Tbk (INET), an Internet service provider (ISP), surged 16.1% on Tuesday (Jan 6) on the company’s plan to raise a combined Rp4.2 trillion from the issuance of new shares (rights issue) and bonds to finance expansion of fiber optic and FTTH networks.

The quiet exit of PT Astra Welab Digital Arta, better known as Maucash, should have triggered alarm bells across Indonesia’s financial sector. Instead, it passed almost unnoticed—treated as just another corporate adjustment in a slowing economy.