The government says Indonesia may benefit from Washington’s newly introduced tariffs on Chinese goods, but businesses beg to differ, warning that Indonesian export goods were not ready to meet US demand.

Indonesia jumped 14 spots to 22nd place globally, making it the most improved country in a list of destinations according to the World Economic Forum’s latest Travel and Tourism Development Index (TTDI) released on Tuesday.

South Korea ranked seventh in terms of foreign direct investment (FDI) in Indonesia, with investment recorded at US$2.5 billion in 2023, an increase of more than $200 million (8.7 percent), compared with 2022.

According to the central bank, the interest rate hike in April helped the rupiah strengthen by 1.66 percent between the end of April and May 21.

Bilateral cooperation between Indonesia and South Korea has been established for over 50 years. The close relationship between the two countries continues to be promoted, especially in the sectors of economy, trade and investment.

Indonesia and South Korea have maintained bilateral ties for more than 50 years, with relentless efforts conducted to spur close bilateral relationship, especially in economics, trade and investment.

Indonesia and the Republic of Korea have seen a significant strengthening of their economic cooperation post-pandemic, with bilateral trade reaching US$20.8 billion in 2023. Korea's foreign direct investment (FDI) in Indonesia, totaled approximately $2.5 billion in 2023, up by over $200 million from the previous year, marking Korea as the seventh-largest investor in Indonesia. Among the major investments realized is the construction of a downstream petrochemical plant by Lotte Chemical, a leading Korean chemical company established in 1976 and ranked among the world's top seven with a stable profit structure. The realization of PT Lotte Chemical Indonesia’s investment is the downstream petrochemical complex, the LOTTE Chemical Indonesia New Ethylene Project (LINE Project), a naphtha cracker worth tens of trillions of rupiah located in Cilegon, Banten.

Coordinating Maritime Affairs and Investment Minister Luhut Pandjaitan said the government was pushing for Bali to welcome privately held companies handling family-controlled business operations, pitching the island as an alternative base to Hong Kong and Singapore.

China's commerce ministry on Sunday launched an anti-dumping probe into POM copolymers, a type of engineering plastic, imported from the European Union, United States, Japan and Taiwan.

China on Friday announced some of its most sweeping measures yet to stabilise the crisis-hit property sector, allowing local governments to buy "some" apartments, relaxing mortgage rules and pledging further efforts to deliver unfinished homes.

Fitch Ratings forecasts debt financing expansion to fund Prabowo’s big-ticket plans, which would bring Indonesia’s budget deficit close to the legal limit but could also spur growth through increased economic activity.

The state budget next year has been in the spotlight after Prabowo, who is currently the defense minister, announced that he would push forward with his free lunch program for Indonesian schoolchildren, which is estimated to cost Rp 1 trillion per day. 

Outgoing shipments of goods dropped in April partly because of fewer working days that month and partly because of lower prices for some export commodities.

A US move to raise tariffs on Chinese goods is a sign of weakness, not of strength, and shows that some in the United States may be "losing their minds", China's foreign minister said on Wednesday, in unusually blunt comments.

Preliminary data from Bank Indonesia (BI) point to just a slight rise in retail sales last month even as consumer confidence jumped by a respectable margin.

Major credit rating agency Fitch Ratings said the decline in new car sales may push local multifinance companies to seek growth in other sectors, such as used car loans.

The government has accused foreign interests of sabotaging Indonesia’s semiconductor industry development, with a minister claiming that actors in neighboring countries were using environmental arguments to slow investment in the archipelago.

As the number of health claims rise, industry analysts are urging insurers and hospitals to review their risk-sharing schemes to avoid transferring the burden from the former to the latter, among other measures.

China's consumer prices rose for a third straight month in April, while producer prices extended declines, signalling an improvement in domestic demand, as Beijing navigates challenges in its bid to shore up a shaky economy.

Increased household consumption, particularly over the peak Idul Fitri holiday season, is likely to contribute in pushing quarter-two growth above 5 percent, but analysts urge caution with regard to the central bank's optimistic projection.

Experts point to a decline in interest in farming but say many young people have few other options.

The share of renewables in global electricity generation rose to a record of 30 percent last year from 19 percent in 2000. Indonesia, meanwhile, only had a 20 percent share in 2023. 

Pertamina EP, the exploration and production arm of state-owned oil and gas giant Pertamina, blamed a dearth of oil rigs for hampering efforts to achieve the 1 million barrels of oil per day (bopd) target.

The credit rating agency suggested that new car purchases are unlikely to accelerate significantly for the rest of the year due to the central bank interest rate hike in April.

Buoyed by elevated domestic consumption during the Islamic festive season and the presidential election, Indonesia’s economy again exceeded expectations with GDP growth of 5.11 percent in the first quarter.

Indonesia still lacks the aluminum smelters and alumina refineries needed to support its downstream vision.

Amid the government's impending discussions on PLN's new 2024-2033 RUPTL and JETP stakeholders' ongoing negotiations toward a June 30 deadline, energy experts are urging the scheme's projects to get off the ground before interest flags.