TheJakartaPost

Govt to restore yearly approvals process amid coal price slump

The energy minister has announced the move to undo last year’s implementation of the three-year approval process via the e-RKAB platform, which had led to overproduction and weaker oversight as well as reduced tax collection. ...

3 months ago

US-Vietnam trade deal sows new China uncertainty

The Southeast Asian nation has the third-biggest trade surplus with the United States of any country after China and Mexico, and was targeted with one of the highest rates in the US president's "Liberation Day" tariff blitz on April 2. ...

3 months ago

The Latest

Coordinating Economic Minister Airlangga Hartarto speaks to The Jakarta Post about Indonesian economy in his Jakarta office on Sept. 30, 2024.

RI to sign $34b pact with US partners ahead of tariff deadline, minister says

Jakarta is facing a 32 percent tariff in US markets and has previously offered to increase US imports to facilitate trade talks between the two sides.

3 months ago

A consumer inspects an electric motorcycle showcased in the Tangkas Ciater electric motorcycle showroom in South Tangerang, Banten, on March 6, 2023.

Electric two-wheeler incentives back in August, govt says

EV bikes sales in the first half of 2025 have plummeted, falling by 30 to 40 percent compared with the same period last year.

3 months ago

A worker prepares meal packages for the free nutritious meal program on Feb. 12 in the kitchen of an Islamic boarding school in Kudus regency, Central Java.

Indonesia free meal plan stunted by delays, protests, poisonings

Large-scale aid programs in Indonesia have a history of allegations of graft at both the regional and national levels.

3 months ago

Workers stitch apparel at a garment factory in Vietnam's Thai Nguyen Province on July 2, 2025. Vietnam, a global manufacturing hub reliant on exports, would face a 20 percent tariff on goods shipped to the US, lower than the 46 percent announced in April.

Trump says he will put 20 percent tariff on Vietnam's exports

The figure is lower than the April announcement that US importers of Vietnamese goods would have had to pay a 46 percent tariff.

3 months ago

A Whoosh Jakarta-Bandung high-speed train is seen on Oct. 2, 2023, during its inauguration at Halim station in Jakarta.

Whoosh losses raise doubts over Surabaya extension

The state-owned enterprises (SOEs) consortium involved in the operation of the Whoosh, PT Pilar Sinergi BUMN Indonesia (PSBI), recorded Rp 4.19 trillion in losses last year.

3 months ago

Out to sea: The Oyong oil and gas rig is seen in the Sampang Block, located in the Madura Strait, off the coast of East Java. Medco took over the block from Ophir Energy in 2019 after Medco acquired Ophir.

Govt targets 15,000 barrels per day from community oil wells

The energy ministry has identified around 7,000 potentially productive community wells in Aceh, Jambi, South Sumatra, Central Java and East Java.

3 months ago

A woman poses for a selfie next to signage for e-commerce giant Alibaba in the Xuhui district in Shanghai on February 22, 2025.

Tech

Alibaba launches e-commerce subsidies of $7b in consumption boost

Beijing is battling to stave off deflationary pressure, which has threatened to dampen economic growth even as challenges elsewhere mount.

3 months ago

Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati prepares devices she is about to use for the state budget presentation before the press in the Ministry's headquarter in Jakarta, on Jan. 2, 2024.

Finance Minister flags looming revenue shortfall amid tax slump

In the first half of this year, the government collected Rp 1.2 quadrillion, the lowest mid-year figure in three years and 9 percent below the same period in 2024.

3 months ago

The exterior facade of the building housing sovereign wealth fund, known as Daya Anagata Nusantara or Danantara, in Jakarta on February 24, which was earlier launched by Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto. Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto on February 24 launched a new sovereign wealth fund set to be the biggest in Southeast Asia's largest economy and give the ex-general greater control of the country's coffers. He wants to tap into the fund's assets, planned to be more than $900 billion, to boost Indonesia to a developed economy status, despite expert concern about its governance.

Danantara to receive $10b funding from foreign banks, CEO claims

Danantara CEO Rosan Roeslani noted that the agency had already secured $7 billion in international investment commitments from Qatar, Russia, China and Australia.

3 months ago

Business as usual: Trucks haul freight on Feb. 26, 2025 at the container terminal of Batu Ampar Port on Batam Island, Riau Islands province.

Economy

Batam's strategic role in regional industrial development

Batam’s close geographical proximity to Singapore and Johor, Malaysia could lead to lower transportation and logistics costs.

3 months ago

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks before signing a resolution approved by Congress to rescind the EPA's 2023 approval of California's plans to require a rising number of zero-emission heavy-duty trucks, and another resolution on California's low-NOx, or low-nitrogen oxide, regulation for heavy-duty highway and off-road vehicles and engines, at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 12, 2025.

US Senate passes Trump's sweeping tax-and spending bill, setting up House battle

The vote in the House, where Republicans hold a 220-212 majority, is likely to be close.

3 months ago

Indonesian manufacturing slows down as demand fizzles further

Contraction comes from entrenched domestic orders, scaled back hiring of local firms.

3 months ago

A chili seller sorts fresh picks for his display at a stall in Senen Market, Central Jakarta, on
June 10, 2024.

June inflation ticks up as food prices climb

On an annual basis, headline inflation climbed to 1.87 percent, up from 1.6 percent in May.

3 months ago

Cargo trucks park in a line at a container terminal at Tanjung Priok Port in North Jakarta in this undated photograph.

Indonesia posts $4.3b surplus in May on strong exports of CPO, steel

Despite ongoing trade talks in view of Trump's looming tariffs, the United States still contributed the most to Indonesia’s surplus in the January-May period this year, even jumping 31 percent to $7.08 billion compared to last year's figure.

3 months ago

Cool currency: A cryptocurrency mining computer equipped with four cooling fans is seen on display at a computer mall in Hong Kong, China, on Jan. 29, 2018.

Tech

CBEX crypto scam: AI-hyped Ponzi scheme defrauds African investors

CBEX used a "brandjacking" tactic, claimed to be licensed in the US, and said that a firm called ST Technologies International was responsible for the AI trading signals.

3 months ago

Japanese then-Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi (left) speaks as United States former Secretary of State Antony Blinken looks on during a joint press conference on January 11, 2023, held as part of the 2023 US-Japan Security Consultative Committee meeting at
the State Department in Washington, DC.

Economy

Japan says it won't sacrifice farm sector after Trump complains about rice

US President Donald Trump wrote in a social media post that Japan's reluctance to import American-grown rice was a sign that countries have become "spoiled with respect to the United States of America."

3 months ago

Coordinating Economy Minister Airlangga Hartarto delivers a press statement at the State Palace on April 28, 2025, after meeting President Prabowo Subianto to report on the ongoing negotiations with Washington aimed at averting steep United States import tariffs to be imposed on Indonesian-made goods.

RI pushes EV battery, critical mineral projects to woo US in tariff talks

State asset fund Danantara will also be involved in the mineral project being offered.

3 months ago

PT Poso Energy, a Kalla Group renewable energy subsidiary, operates the 515-megawatt Poso hydropower project in Poso, Central Sulawesi.

JETP head flags bottlenecks in green energy procurement

For the transition to succeed, JETP emphasized that PLN must not only accelerate renewable procurement but also prioritize inclusive access and ensure project viability across all regions.

3 months ago

Rolled steel is seen at a Hyundai Steel plant in Dangjin, about 130 km southwest of Seoul, on June 15, 2011.

China to keep anti-dumping steel duties on Indonesia, EU and South Korea

The duties on stainless steel billets and hot-rolled plates, first levied by Beijing in 2019, range from 20.2 percent for Indonesian imports to 43 percent for those from the EU.

3 months ago

Platform of the day: A man holds a smartphone displaying the home screen of Chinese social media app TikTok on April 19, 2024, in an office in Paris.

Tech

Trump says 'very wealthy' group to buy TikTok

"We have a buyer for TikTok, by the way," Trump said in an interview on Fox's Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo.

3 months ago

Companies

Godrej Launches Daycare, Supporting Working Moms with Equity and Peace of Mind

Many working parents in Indonesia, especially mothers still face a dilemma between family responsibilities and their careers. To address this issue, Godrej Consumer Products Indonesia (GCPI) established IPLAY at Godrej, a permanent in -house daycare center designed to support working parents.

3 months ago

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney (left) and US President Donald Trump arrive for a family photo during the Group of Seven (G7) Summit at the Kananaskis Country Golf Course in Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada, on June 16, 2025.

Canada rescinds tax on US tech firms in hopes of Trump trade deal

The digital services tax, enacted last year, would have seen US service providers such as Alphabet and Amazon on the hook for a multi-billion-dollar payment in Canada by Monday, analysts have said.

3 months ago

Business day: Workers load and unload containers at Ahmad Yani seaport in Ternate, North Maluku, on Oct. 16, 2024.

Indonesia to relax import rules as US tariff deadline nears

Five commodities prioritized for deregulation include forestry products, subsidized fertilizers, raw materials for plastic, other fuel types and food trays used in President Prabowo Subianto’s flagship free nutritious meals program.

3 months ago

President Prabowo Subianto delivers a speech during the groundbreaking ceremony of the integrated EV battery ecosystem project by the Antam-IBC-CBL consortium at Artha Industrial Hill, Karawang, West Java, on June 29.

Companies premium

Prabowo breaks ground on $5.9b EV battery plant in West Java

The plant's first phase is slated to begin operations by late 2026 with an initial production capacity of 6.9 GWh.

3 months ago

A worker milks a cow at the Bintang Tani dairy farm in Bogor regency, West Java, on Sept. 19, 2024.