When the world’s most popular mobile game changes hands
Media outlet reporterd that ByteDance is negotiating the sale of Moonton, the developer of Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, for between US$6 billion and US$7 billion. For Indonesia, this is not just another global tech deal. It is a reminder of how deeply the country’s digital entertainment economy depends on foreign intellectual property.
Compliance kills entrepreneurship
Indonesia has spent the past decade promoting formalization as the cure for its vast informal economy. From the Job Creation Law to the introduction of one-person limited liability companies, policymakers promised that starting a business would become cheaper, faster and easier. For micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and early-stage startups, the message was clear: formalize, and the state will support you.
When cooperatives meet the barracks
The Red and White Cooperative, is increasingly shaped by an unusual actor: the military. What began as a state-driven effort to accelerate rural logistics and food distribution has now openly enlisted the Indonesian Military (TNI), including its territorial apparatus, to help establish cooperatives across villages. The justification is efficiency. The consequence, however, may be far more political.
Bigger losses in fourth quarter for XLSmart Telecom
Shares of XLSmart Telecom (EXCL), a joint venture between Axiata Group and Sinarmas (Widjaja Family) opened lower by 2% to Rp2,950 this morning as investors responded to financial report for full year of 2025, where the company posted net loss of Rp4.43 trillion.
Inflated/Manipulated Stocks: Impack Pratama
Shares of plastic processor PT Impack Pratama Industri Tbk (IMPC) opened lower by 1.4% to Rp2,190 this morning. While the stock has lost nearly 50% from its peak, the last quoted price reflected PE multiple 190 on annualized earnings in Jan-Sep 2025, one of the most expensive stocks in the market.
The hidden danger in revising financial law
Barely three years after its passage, Omnibus Law on Financial Sector Development and Strengthening Law (UU P2SK) is already under revision. On the surface, the move appears technical, meant to follow up on a Constitutional Court ruling and clarify certain provisions. But beneath the procedural language lies a far more consequential issue: the growing risk of politicizing Bank Indonesia.
Will Purbaya change policy on multinationals’ royalty & service fees? Unilever Case
Finance minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa pledged to keep the budget deficit below 3% GDP this year. That means he has to significantly grow revenue side of the budget because slashing spending would compromise his ambition to record a 6% GDP growth.
Nickel: Cut in plan, not supply (2)
Indonesian Nickel Industry Forum (FINI) estimated actual nickel ore production of 265 million tons, way below the approved work plan and budget (RKAB) of 379 million WMT. The country, accordingly, imported 15.84 million WMT of ores, mostly from the Philippines. That means total demand from nickel smelters was around 280 million WMT.
The dangerous signal from the Martabe saga
The controversy surrounding the Martabe gold mine has exposed a troubling pattern in Indonesia’s policymaking: decisions are announced first, and only afterward are the facts examined. The government’s handling of the Martabe permit is not just a sectoral issue in mining. It is a warning sign about how policy signals are being sent to the market.
MBG budget reallocation
The Indonesian government seems comfortable ignoring criticism from its own citizens, but suddenly becomes attentive when an international rating agency speaks. Public concern meant little until Moody’s warned of fiscal strain from large-scale spending programs like MBG. Only after Indonesia’s sovereign credit outlook was revised from “stable” to “negative” did the government begin considering reallocating the MBG budget for 2026.