Presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto and his running mate Gibran Rakabuming Raka plan to raise the bar for how much local content must be included in some domestically manufactured goods, a policy they say will push downstream industry growth.

Industry players have complained about a planned excise tax on plastic products and sweetened beverages, arguing it will not solve what it is intended to and will cause other problems in the process.

The government has approved the revised plan of development (POD) for the Abadi liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in the Masela Block, which includes a carbon capture storage (CCS) facility slated to begin operations in 2030.

But are the Just Energy Transition Partnerships a major climate solution to moving away from fossil fuels in emerging economies? Or are these multi-billion dollar deals a "mirage"?

All presidential candidates have vowed to solve the housing problem in Indonesia where properties are beyond the reach of many hopeful homeowners, either due to soaring prices or an insufficient supply of land to accommodate rising demand.

Indonesia and the Asian Development Bank have agreed a provisional deal with the owners of the Cirebon-1 coal-fired power plant to shutter it almost seven years earlier than planned.

Governments launched new initiatives on Saturday to bolster clean energy and to wean themselves off fossil fuels at the UN climate summit in Dubai, where countries are grappling with how to halt the non-stop rise in planet-warming emissions.

United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, whose country is hosting the COP28 climate summit, announced on Friday the establishment of a US$30 billion climate fund for global climate solutions that aims to attract $250 billion of investment by the end of the decade.

The Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry will continue with its plan to initiate sea sand exports by early 2024 despite calls to repeal the policy.

The Islamic finance industry is smaller than one may expect in the country with the largest Muslim population, but a sharia banking road map released by the Financial Services Authority on Monday has received praise from analysts.

Developing Indonesia’s battery industry is expected to remain a challenging task, as the industry is still beset with a lack of regulation and an unclear path forward, which many fear could hamper the country’s electric vehicle (EV) ambitions.

Indonesia must reconsider its coal price cap policy to expedite renewable energy development in the country, according to analysts.

As 2023 draws toward its end, the full-year gap between state expenditure and state revenue may be smaller than projected back in July.

Bank Indonesia (BI) has kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged as it deems the current 6-percent rate sufficient to keep consumer prices under control.

Following Tuesday’s announcements of the 2024 provincial minimum wages, labor leader Said Iqbal, who heads several unions, said 5 million workers are gearing up for nationwide walkouts to ensure their demands are met.

The ministry cited the limited domestic supply of key battery components and the detrimental effect such scarcity had on subsidized EV adoption in the country.

The Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry wants managing agency partners (MIPs) to start collecting coal levies in January in a bid to improve coal producers’ compliance with the industry's domestic market obligation (DMO).

The policy proposals of all presidential candidates are similar to those of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, with no clear strategy for solving financial problems at infrastructure SOEs, experts say.

The Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry has revived a proposal that would allow private companies to sell electricity directly to the consumer through transmission owned by state-run utility firm PLN, which it hopes to include in the latest draft of the renewable energy bill.

"The labor issue has been agreed upon in pillars II to IV," Edi told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.

The Biden administration had emphasized finishing key chapters of its Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) initiative trade "pillar" in time for this week's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting, aiming to offer the region an alternative to China's growing trade clout.

Indonesia will focus more on emissions reduction programs as opposed to pushing for early retirement projects.

While Washington had for decades used free-trade pacts to forge relationships around the world, a more isolationist mood has gripped domestic politics.

Indonesia's leading presidential hopefuls are considering a push to end the state power utility's monopoly as part of efforts to speed up the transition to greener energy, their teams told Reuters.

Ministers from the 14 IPEF countries also formally signed the previously agreed text of a third pillar, covering supply chain resiliency, at a meeting during the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders' summit in San Francisco.

Coordinating Economic Minister Airlangga Hartarto said on Wednesday that discussions at an international summit in the US had not produced “the targeted resolution” on trade due to disagreement over several issues, including critical minerals, a key topic for Jakarta.

Labor unions have expressed their dissatisfaction with the 2024 minimum wage formula and announced nationwide walkouts involving millions of workers to take place by the end of this year. 

“We encourage the rich with swimming pools to seek approval, because they extract water from the same source as the broader community, used for everyday activities,” a government official said.

President Joe Biden's administration signaled Monday it would postpone a draft of an Asia trade pact that had been set to be unveiled at a summit in San Francisco, after facing domestic criticism.

Ganjar Pranowo and Anies Baswedan have distanced themselves from President Jokowi's food estate program, which is Prabowo Subianto's key solution for food security.