So, may be about when Grab will be merged with GoTo because of ‘strong political intervention’. At what price will they agree, time will tell. The planned merger, where Indonesian government, through sovereign wealth fund Danantara, expects ‘golden share’, is interesting because of so many interested parties involved. 

The recent case of a BRI customer losing hundreds of millions of rupiah, later reimbursed by the bank, exposes a critical truth about Indonesia’s digital financial system. Major banks today are rarely breached through their core infrastructure. Instead, attackers exploit weaknesses far outside the bank’s server room: the telecom layer, the national identity ecosystem, and the customer’s own device. These are the real entry points, and they are far more fragile than the public realize.

The government’s plan to tighten the rules governing the 0.5 percent final income tax for micro, small and medium enterprises (UMKM) marks a decisive shift in Indonesia’s tax policy. At first glance, the revision to PP 55/2022 seems like a technical clean-up. In reality, it reflects a deeper transformation in how the state wants to treat small businesses, how it defines “micro,” and how it intends to expand the tax base in a more data-driven era.

The renewed tension between Agriculture Minister Amran Sulaiman and Tempo magazine has been popularly framed as a continuation of their long, uneasy relationship. But reducing it to a personality clash misses the deeper story. The controversy triggered by the DPR and the Ombudsman’s findings on rice governance is not about media hostility — it is about the enduring structural weaknesses that have plagued Indonesia’s food system for years.

US-based investment firm KKR has decided to provide US$750 million financing to Chandra Asri (TPIA), the largest petrochemical firm in Indonesia which ventured into logistics and energy business in recent years. Funds from KKR will be used to finance the acquisition of Esso-branded retail fuel station network from ExxonMobil in Singapore.

Sovereign wealth fund Danantara is pushing for completion of merger of investment management companies, which would have a commanding market position ahead of Manulife and Schroders Indonesia. 

Minister of finance Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa expressed his concerns about lack of criticism from Indonesian media as among factors contributing to the economic stagnation. But, what if the ruling elite’s ignorance to criticism is the main issue?

One company, subsidiary of a state company, booked net loss of Rp37 billion in Jan-Sep 2025, slashed from Rp720 billion losses in the corresponding period last year. The company’s current ratio improved dramatically from 120% to 420%. But, why are investors worried?

In recent months, several Indonesian companies experienced Cesium-137 (Cs-137) contamination. The contamination was spread from a local scrap metal collection site and affected various industries. This leads to product recalls for some companies, while other companies have completed decontamination.

Sovereign wealth fund Danantara believes flag carrier Garuda Indonesia (GIAA) will start generating profit next year after injecting huge cash, whilst lower than previous plan, this year. While this would Garuda’s working capital, the flag carrier needs to take more bold initiatives to improve its operational efficiency.