President Prabowo Subianto and Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati jointly announce that the VAT hike from 11 percent to 12 percent would only apply to luxury goods and services.

The House of Representatives has suggested a land amnesty to legalize ownership over millions of hectares of land with no right to cultivate (HGU) and to collect more state revenue.

“I think, in the future, we also have to increase palm oil plantations. We don’t have to be afraid of endangering, what is it called, deforestation, right?” Prabowo said.

The government says there is no reason for additional aircraft inspections even after authorities in South Korea on Monday ordered a "comprehensive inspection" of all Boeing 737-800s aircraft operated by domestic carriers.  

Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati hails the benefits of media ties as a way to garner public support without the backing of political parties for technocrats like herself.

President Prabowo Subianto’s administration has announced a series of ambitious energy transition pledges this year, including reviving early coal retirement plans and adding 75 gigawatts of new renewable energy capacity over next decade, but the year has also revealed serious impediments to this effort.

In late October 2021, the House’s plenary session passed the tax bill stipulating the VAT hike in 2025 with the support of eight political parties, including the PDI-P, Gerindra and Golkar.

Deputy Manpower Minister Emmanuel Ebenezer Gerungan said around 80,000 people had been laid off this year, up from last year’s 64,855 people, mostly in West Java.

NGOs say efforts to simplify environmental regulations should not come at the expense of sustainability, which they argue is under threat from the Job Creation Law.

Regardless of the President's instruction to temporary halt major infrastructure projects, the Public Works Ministry has vowed to continue ongoing toll road projects, arguing that roads were necessary to pave the way for Prabowo's three-pronged goal of food, energy and water security.

The incentives, announced on Monday, will partially waive luxury sales tax (PPnBM) for hybrid car purchases by 3 percentage points to a range of 3 to 9 percent from the initial 6 to 12 percent.

Apindo and other business associations say a 5 percent cut in loan interest rates for labor-intensive industries is insufficient to help employers stay afloat.

Bank Indonesia (BI) has refrained from cutting interest rates despite relatively low inflation as it focuses on buttressing the rupiah at a time when a strong US dollar is putting pressure on other currencies.

In October, the Treasury finalized rules effective Jan. 2 that will limit US investments in artificial intelligence and other technology sectors in China that could threaten US national security.

The government is proceeding with its plan of hiking value-added tax to 12 percent at the turn of the year but has announced multiple incentives to soften the blow for consumers.

The prototype reactor is to be delivered by South Korea in 2028 via sea route, with total investment for the project set to amount to Rp 17 trillion (US$1.06 billion), which would include a survey, research, technology transfer and infrastructure, among other things.

Public Housing and Settlements Minister Maruarar Sirait said the state budget alone is insufficient, with its current capacity covering less than 10 percent of the goal.  

The Agriculture Ministry has signed a collaboration deal to enlist military and police support in pursuit of food security, one of President Prabowo's key policy programs.

US President-elect Donald Trump's transition team is exploring ways to significantly reduce, merge, or even eliminate the top bank regulators in Washington, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday citing people familiar with the matter.

Business associations emphasized that challenges, such as providing geolocation data, would not be fully resolved by the delay alone, unless the government decide to give more support.

The move piles pressure on global tech giants such as Facebook-owner Meta Platforms and Alphabet's Google to pay publishers for content or face the risk of paying millions to continue operations in Australia. The rule to affect tech firms with local revenue over A$250 million. 

The EU and US are eager to get their companies to shift their focus from China to alternative emerging markets, particularly in ASEAN, but say regulatory uncertainty in Indonesia threatens FDI opportunities.

New President Prabowo offered a surprise commitment at last month's G20 summit to close hundreds of coal and fossil-fuel power plants by 2040, a bold pledge from one of the world's top coal producers and consumers.

The Financial Services Authority (OJK) and the government plan to gradually build a complete gold investment ecosystem, including a national gold council and hallmarking to ensure product authenticity.

Authorities in two Indian states that are driving its economic growth are drafting tighter workplace rules and inspections to protect white collar employees following the death of a young executive at global consultancy Ernst & Young (EY), which her family blamed on overwork.

The statement, posted on his social media platform Truth Social, did not offer further details. 

For more than one year the government has failed to relocate hundreds of Rempang Island residents to make way for what is promised to be the world’s second-largest glass and solar panel manufacturing site.

“This [move] highlights that there is no coordination between [ministries]," said Andry Satrio Nugroho of the Institute for Development of Economics and Finance (Indef).

The plan comes as the country is estimated to lose over 100,000 hectares (ha) of rice fields each year due to land conversion. Meanwhile, the country has projected it could only create 60,000 ha of new rice fields annually.

Following widespread backlash late last month on the government's plan to hike the VAT rate to 12 percent from Jan. 1, House Commission XI is proposing a selective implementation of the new rate to just luxury goods, both domestic and foreign.