Economy

A worker watches as trucks carry nickel ore at a mine on Indonesia's Sulawesi Island: President Jokoko Widodo is urging the country's miners to move into higher value-added downstream businesses.
Economy

Indonesia's Widodo urges miners to move into processing

Creating downstream businesses seen as cure for chronic current-account deficit

4 December 2018
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3 December 2018
Lion Air has a spotty safety record, having had a series of minor incidents that included runway overruns.
Companies

Indonesia investigator denies saying Lion Air plane 'not airworthy'

Yet safety body also says it will not change 'preliminary findings'

29 November 2018
 Nurcahyo Utomo, a lead investigator with Indonesia's National Transportation Safety Committee, describes the preliminary findings on last month's Lion Air crash in Jakarta on Nov. 28.   
Companies

Lion Air crash report mixes clues with more questions

Crews on successive flights faced similar problems but reacted differently

28 November 2018
Indonesian rupiah banknotes are seen at a money changer in Jakarta.
Politics

Rupiah thrust to center stage of Indonesian presidential race

Opposition attacks Widodo's latest attempts to defend currency and economy

28 November 2018
© Illustration by Ailsa Johnson
Asia Insight

Asia's overstretched airports brace for 4bn flyers

Passenger count far outpaces construction but new tech offers hope

27 November 2018
The Philippine central bank says its monetary tightening is justified in light of rising consumer prices.
Economy

Looming US rate hike spurs Asian central banks to act pre-emptively

Indonesia and Philippines raise rates to stimulate economies

15 November 2018
Bank Indonesia had increased its key rate by a total of 175 basis points since May.
Economy

Bank Indonesia surprises with sixth rate hike this year

Central bank tightens on widening current-account deficit

15 November 2018
Japan wants to help Southeast Asian nations train more specialists in information technology.
Economy

ASEAN to groom 80,000 tech specialists with Japan's help

Tokyo will also assist with the construction of smart cities in Southeast Asia

15 November 2018
India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi, center, and Indonesia's President Joko Widodo, left, speak with China's Premier Li Keqiang at the RCEP summit in Singapore on Nov. 14. 
International relations

India sought to delay RCEP deal beyond general election

Indonesia accuses Japan of trying to 'force its interests' on members

14 November 2018
The courtyard of Bank Indonesia, which is close to completing a currency deal with Singapore that will help stabilize its economy and financial market.
Economy

Southeast Asian central banks play defense against Fed tightening

Indonesia and Singapore sealed currency deal and Thailand considers a rate hike

9 November 2018
Consumer spending in Indonesia turns out to be lackluster in third quarter.
Economy

Indonesia's growth slows as consumption fails to pick up

After tsunami and plane crash, more headwinds hit Joko Widodo ahead of election

5 November 2018
A small marijuana plant grows in a lab at Niagara College in Ontario, Canada.
Economy

Asia plants seeds for medical cannabis market

Thailand, Singapore and China pursue research into health care uses

4 November 2018
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1 November 2018
A villager walks by a geothermal power plant in Central Java Province. Indonesia is rich in geothermal reserves.
Environment

Southeast Asia to double renewables with help of experts

International agency to steer ASEAN away from coal

31 October 2018
Bank Indonesia decided on Tuesday to keep its seven-day reverse repo rate at 5.75%. 
Economy

Indonesia holds rates steady despite expecting more Fed hikes

Central bank to observe currency and trade deficits as conditions improve

23 October 2018
Meikarta, a new township, is being built in the Bekasi district on the eastern fringes of Jakarta. 
Companies

Indonesia raids home of Lippo Group CEO in bribery probe

Lawyer said Meikarta developer 'very surprised and deeply regretted' the case

18 October 2018
A shortage of boarding gates and long lines are among signs of overcrowding at Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta International Airport. (Photo by Keiichiro Asahara)
Economy

Jakarta plans $10bn waterfront airport as travel demand surges

Together with Soekarno-Hatta Airport, the two create region's biggest gateway

18 October 2018
People walk in the port hit by the tsunami on the coastline in Palu, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia, on October 13.
14 October 2018
A collision on a high-speed train in Wenzhou, China, in 2011 killed 40 people.
Business trends

Catalyst or catastrophe? Lessons from Asia's high-speed rail failures

Spurring growth with ambitious projects requires far more than financing

14 October 2018
The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank held their annual meetings this week in Indonesia to highlight Asia's growth since the late-1990s currency crisis.
Trade war

Reliance on China risks slowing Southeast Asia economy

G-20 ministers raise concern over trade war impact on supply chains

13 October 2018
Finance ministers and central bankers from Japan, Indonesia and Argentina are among those gathered in Indonesia for two days of G-20 talks through Friday. 
Economy

G-20 convenes in Bali as pleas for trade cease-fire grow louder

Ministers meeting unlikely to spell relief for emerging markets

11 October 2018
Wary of weaker exports, economists now see the five biggest ASEAN economies growing 4.9% this year, down 0.1 of a point from the previous projection.
Economy

ASEAN growth forecasts take hits from trade war and market turmoil

Survey of economists reveals fears for exports and currencies over long haul

11 October 2018
Indonesian President Joko Widodo visited Palu twice in the week after an earthquake and tsunami in late September resulted in more than 2,000 fatalities. (Getty Images)
Politics

Widodo leads Palu relief efforts, with eye on election

Indonesian president keen to project image of support amid criticism

10 October 2018
New cars for export at the Tanjung Priok Car Terminal in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Trade war

Weaker Asian currencies fail to lift manufacturers' exports

September PMI survey shows rising purchase cost remains key threat to the region

10 October 2018