Indonesia

President Joko Widodo attends a motor show in Jakarta on Feb. 16. Indonesia has large reserves of materials crucial for electric vehicles, like nickel.
Materials

Jokowi squeezes key EV material exports to spur Indonesian industry

U.S.-China tensions give Jakarta opening to pursue nationalist trade strategy

23 April 2023
Japan introduced its "specified skilled worker" program in April 2019 to bring in foreign staff for 12 sectors facing labor shortages. (Photo courtesy of Persol Global Workforce)
Agriculture

Japanese farms turn to foreign workers as rural population ages

Staffing company recruits temporary labor from places such as Southeast Asia

23 April 2023
Nasi pecel, a traditional Javanese salad with peanut sauce. (All photos by Ian Neubauer)
Life

Unearthing curious culinary secrets of Java

Indonesia's most populous island boasts a vibrant but underrated food culture

22 April 2023
Sung Kim, the U.S. special representative for North Korea and ambassador to Indonesia, speaks during an interview with Nikkei Asia at his official residence in Jakarta. (Photo by Dimas Ardian)
Interview

U.S. 'hopeful' on dialogue restart with North Korea: special rep

Sung Kim also says expanded drills with Indonesia 'good for regional stability'

19 April 2023
Merdeka Battery Materials is the latest Indonesian company in the resources sector to list on the stock market. (Source photos by Reuters and logo from Merdeka Battery Materials website)
IPO

Indonesia's Merdeka Battery Materials gains 11% in stock debut

Nickel producer's IPO, latest in the country's resource sector, raised $620m

18 April 2023
Bank Indonesia headquarters in Jakarta.
Economy

Indonesia holds rates at 5.75% for third straight meeting

Central bank expects inflation to ease to 2-4% target range in September

18 April 2023
Japanese chemicals maker Kuraray recently began production of high-performance resins at a new plant in eastern Thailand. (Photo courtesy of Kuraray)
Supply Chain

Thailand, Indonesia emerge as bigger links in EV supply chain

Japanese, Chinese and South Korean suppliers get in ahead of vehicle production

18 April 2023
What appears to be a railroad terminus station building in Jakarta projects an unfinished appearance years after trains were supposed to begin rolling. (Photo by Anna Nishino)
Belt and Road

Belt and Roadblocks: More of China's borrowers fall into distress

Indonesia worries about whether it might fall into Sri Lanka-like debt trap

16 April 2023
Action-packed Vietnamese revenge thriller "Furies" (2023) is set in the criminal underbelly of 1990s Ho Chi Minh City, where three female vigilantes team up to smash a crime syndicate to smithereens. (Courtesy of Netflix)
Arts

Netflix spotlight falls on Southeast Asian films

Hit Indonesian picture spurs streaming giant's commitment to local content

14 April 2023
Indonesia Investment Authority is preparing a EV-focused fund and is already "reviewing a deal pipeline," says Chief Investment Officer Stefanus Ade Hadiwidjaja. (Photo by Koya Jibiki)
Interview

Indonesia sovereign fund steps up EV plans with China's CATL

INA preparing pipeline of Nusantara projects, chief investment officer says

13 April 2023
A nickel processing facility operated by Harita Nickel on Obi Island in Indonesia. The company recorded the country's largest IPO so far this year.
IPO

Indonesia's Harita Nickel shares gain 4.4% in market debut

Battery materials producer raised $670m in country's largest IPO so far in 2023

12 April 2023
Indonesian President Joko Widodo, center, talks to members of the U-20 national soccer team at Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium in Jakarta on April 1. 
Politics

Indonesia U-20 World Cup cancellation sparks political backlash

Potential Jokowi successor's anti-Israel rhetoric targeted for blame

11 April 2023
GoTo and its CEO, Andre Soelistyo, are grappling with how to make the superapp and e-commerce company profitable. (Source photos by Getty and Reuters) 
Business Spotlight

Indonesia's GoTo far from profitability one year after listing

Investors shun stock amid sea of red ink, as regional peers' prospects brighten

7 April 2023
DigiAsia is betting on its first-mover advantage in Indonesia's embedded finance industry as it pushes for growth. (Screenshot from DigiAsia Bios' website) 
DealStreetAsia

Indonesian fintech DigiAsia Bios looks abroad after SPAC merger

B2B startup eyes Vietnam, Cambodia and the Philippines for expansion

6 April 2023
Sumatra's Lake Toba, the world's largest caldera lake, is the westernmost destination among the five. 
Travel & Leisure

Indonesia tries to transform Bali-reliant tourism sector

Five places designated as 'super priority' destinations

5 April 2023
Engineers were the most sought-after workers in Singapore, Indonesia and Vietnam, according to a study conducted by Singapore-based staffing platform Glints and Monk's Hill Ventures.
Startups

ASEAN startups face talent crunch despite tech layoffs: study

Early-stage companies compete with enterprises to hire growing pool of job seekers

4 April 2023
Founded in 2019, Swap Energy builds charging infrastructure for two-wheeled electric vehicles. (Screenshot from Swap Energy's website) 
DealStreetAsia

Indonesian EV battery startup Swap Energy raises $7.2m

Ondine Capital leads funding round that includes SBI Kejora Orbit Fund

3 April 2023
Analysts point that out that the commercial real estate sector is particularly sensitive to rising rates, weighing on hopes for a revival in the market. (Source photo by AP)
Market Spotlight

From Hong Kong to Japan, commercial property sector faces chill in Asia

REITs could lose out as China reopening hopes fade and interest rates bite

3 April 2023
The Mt. Marion lithium mine in the Goldfields region of Western Australia: The country is home to the second-largest reserves of lithium. (Handout photo from Ganfeng Lithium) 
Opinion

Australia and Indonesia should forge business ties in lithium

Missing ingredient for Widodo's vision for EV sector is close at hand

3 April 2023
A truck transports a container at a port in Shandong province, China. Economists expect exports of goods and services to China to support ASEAN economies.
Economy

Thai, Malaysian outlooks improve on tourism, China recovery: JCER

Economists say U.S. bank fallouts emerge as new concern for Asia

2 April 2023
Workers monitor operations at a nickel smelter run by Vale in Indonesia's South Sulawesi province on March 30. Vale, Ford Motor and China's Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt have agreed to develop a new smelter in a neighboring region.
Automobiles

Ford signs nickel smelter deal with Vale Indonesia, Huayou

Equity investments are part of $4.5bn development of Sulawesi block

31 March 2023
Indonesia has been denied the opportunity to host this year's U-20 World Cup after it opposed the entry of the Israeli team.
Sports

Indonesia stripped of FIFA tournament, killing World Cup dream

Nation denied event after protests erupted over Israel's participation

30 March 2023
Indonesia's Merdeka Battery Materials plans to use IPO proceeds to partially fund a new nickel smelter amid increasing demand for the metal in electric vehicle batteries. (Photo by Ismi Damayanti)
IPO

Merdeka Battery Materials puts $1.28bn price on nickel smelter plan

Investment comes as Indonesian company aims to raise up to $580m in IPO

30 March 2023
Japan's NTT Corp. will invest $90 million in a third data center in Bangkok to cater to rising demand from cloud service providers. (Source photos by AP and courtesy of NTT) 
Telecommunication

From Thailand to Indonesia, ASEAN leads cloud market growth

NTT expands data center capacity; AWS commits $6 billion in Malaysia

29 March 2023
Hundreds of conservative Muslims march in Indonesia's capital on Monday to protest against the Israeli team's participation in the FIFA Under-20 World Cup.
Sports

Indonesia U-20 World Cup roiled by Israel participation row

Politically charged opposition in Muslim-majority country cancels tournament draw

29 March 2023