Dividend ratio of state banks
Two state banks, Bank Mandiri (BMRI) and Bank Negara Indonesia (BBNI), have released their full year 2025 financials. Mandiri reported a tiny 0.9% growth in net profit to Rp56.3 trillion last year, slightly below private-owned bank BCA, which has substantially smaller total assets.
Prasasti: Blurred lines between research and lobbying
Like many think tanks, Prasasti presents itself as an independent institution committed to data-driven analysis and objective policy recommendations. In practice, however, it also acts as a bridge between corporations and the government–a role that, by design, places Prasasti in a grey zone, where policy facilitation could easily turn into lobbying. This blurs the boundary between public-interest research and private-interest advocacy.
Foreign publishers can train our developers—but must not own their future
Garena’s latest game development competition in Jakarta looks, at first glance, like a textbook example of healthy industry collaboration. In a 48-hour game jam, young developers are forced to compress ideas into working prototypes, confront technical constraints and present their creations to industry judges. For many students, it is the closest simulation of real studio life they will ever experience.
Digs pocket deeper to bail out Krakatau Steel?
State steel maker PT Krakatau Steel (KRAS), which struggled for decades to make money, has Danantara as its saviour. After receiving US$295 million shareholders’ loan late last year, which likely be converted into equity, Danantara stepped in as investor to replace China’s Delong Steel in a new steel project.
Danantara’s integrated poultry projects
ID Food, a state company involved in some food commodities, has over the weekend kicked off development of integrated poultry facilities in five locations under the Rp20 trillion investment from Danantara.
Defending manipulated stocks?
As predicted, composite index (IHSG) opened lower by 2.5% this morning due to correction in commodities-related stocks and the manipulated stocks. Some try to defend the inlated/manipulated stocks with share buyback program. Chandra Asri (TPIA), for example, set aside Rp2 trillion for the buyback, but at the same time issuing Rp2 trillion bonds.
Bracing for further corrections
Announcement from the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) about Indonesia’s GDP growth of 5.11% last year failed to cheer up market participants. Rupiah weakened further to Rp16,887 this morning after 0.39% correction yesterday. Composite index of Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX)/IHSG also ended lower by 0.53%.
Regulating fees will not save e-commerce sellers
The government’s plan to regulate administrative fees charged to merchants on e-commerce platforms may sound like a pro-small business move. In reality, it risks repeating a familiar policy mistake: treating symptoms while ignoring the deeper structural problems of Indonesia’s digital economy.
Universal healthcare under pressure
Many beneficiaries of Indonesia’s health insurance contribution assistance scheme (PBI Jaminan Kesehatan) found their coverage abruptly deactivated without prior notice. Now they are forced to navigate a time-consuming re-registration process, even when they need immediate access to a medical treatment. BPJS Kesehatan (operator of the universal healthcare) attributes this issue to an update of the National Socioeconomic Single Data (DTSEN). But in a broader sense, it reflects the impact of shifting government priorities that quietly sacrifices non-priority programs in the name of fiscal reallocation.
When “abandoned land” becomes a policy weapon
Government Regulation (PP) No. 48/2025 on abandoned land is meant to send a clear message: concessions must be used productively, or they will be taken back by the state. On paper, the policy sounds logical. Idle land fuels speculation, distorts markets, and deprives the public of economic benefits. But in practice, the regulation risks turning into something far more dangerous: a blunt policy weapon that undermines legal certainty and scares away long-term investment.