The World Bank Group (WBG) has appointed Indonesia’s former finance minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati as a co-chair tasked with addressing extreme poverty in low-income countries.  

Indonesia is expanding infrastructure, strengthening industrial capacity and accelerating digital adoption while pursuing growth that is more resilient, inclusive and sustainable. In an increasingly uncertain world, where supply chains shift rapidly and capital responds instantly to global events, the role of an international bank has evolved. It is no longer merely a facilitator of cross-border transactions, but a strategic partner that helps businesses and institutions navigate complexity with confidence.

In an attempt to urge the Japanese auto giant to set up its regional hub in Indonesia, the finance minister has indicated the government’s readiness to offer a slew of incentives across related sectors, from steel to financial services.

Apindo noted that every unresolved business obstacle weakens the multiplier effect needed to attract investment, expand production and create employment.

AI coding agents allow finance teams to build solutions without needing an engineering background, as they only need to define the logic and desired outputs, while the AI writes the code, tests it and connects it to relevant data sources.

Indonesia’s gross domestic product growth has decelerated in the second quarter, making the government’s target for the full year – a milestone toward reaching President Prabowo Subianto’s goal of 8 percent growth in his tenure – a tall order.

Airfares are unlikely to fall significantly despite lower aviation fuel prices this month as airlines continue to grapple with high operating costs and fuel surcharges well above pre-pandemic levels.

Asian stock markets jumped on Wednesday as strong earnings and a resurgence of demand for tech lifted Wall Street to record peaks, while hopes for progress on opening the Strait of Hormuz dragged on oil prices and bond yields.

Rising interest rates are driving up funding costs and squeezing net interest margins (NIM) of banks, with analysts saying lenders will need to step up operational efficiency to sustain profitability.  

Presidential Chief of Staff Dudung Abdurachman revealed that state-owned surveyor PT Sucofindo, which administers the testing program, would soon release 85 delayed surveyor reports after they had indicated the presence of rare earth elements.

The finance minister said the full year GDP growth this year was projected to hover between 5.6 and 6 percent despite the likelihood of a slowdown in the second quarter.

Despite an annual tobacco production shortfall of just 75,000 to 100,000 tonnes, Indonesia imports more than twice that volume from abroad.

South Korea's Kospi swung between gains and losses, with chip giants SK hynix and Samsung, which have been the poster boys of a month-long AI-themed rout, center of attention again.

Communications and Digital Minister Meutya Hafid said the government had begun reviewing the Constitutional Court's ruling and would assess whether regulations needed to be revised.

The purchasing managers’ index (PMI) climbed back above 50 last month as output edged higher and business confidence hit a six-month high, but weak exports and high input costs are keeping manufacturers wary.

Data from Statistics Indonesia (BPS), released on Monday, showed that the June shortfall narrowed from the $1.61 billion deficit recorded in May.

The losses widened from Rp 4.9 trillion recorded for the whole of last year, according to the latest financial report released by state-owned railway company PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI).  

Consumer price index growth cooled to 2.88 percent year-on-year in July despite ongoing pressure from high global oil prices, according to the latest report from Statistics Indonesia (BPS).

The yen leapt on Monday, keeping traders on alert for further intervention from authorities to shore up Japan's historically weak currency, days after Tokyo and Washington jointly intervened in the foreign exchange market.

Bali is seen as a possible location for the planned Indonesia International Financial Center (PFII), but can the resort island benefit from the development without becoming overburdened?  

All eyes are on President Prabowo Subianto, who is set to unveil next year's state budget in two weeks, which will reveal whether transfers to regional governments will face another round of cuts.

Low-cost airline Citilink has expanded its fleet 21 percent in the first half of 2026 from the previous semester, as part of a nearly $370 million first-phase funding provided by Danantara to parent company Garuda Indonesia to improve its MRO business.

Ukraine has hit the warehouses of Russia's largest online retailer Wildberries around a dozen times since mid-July, killing at least eight people and knocking out a large chunk of the company's storage capacity.

US petroleum giants ExxonMobil and Chevron released blowout profits Friday due to the Middle East war, as executives cautioned that elevated gasoline prices will probably continue to strain consumers.

The "create image" tool, unveiled Thursday, had integrated Google's Nano Banana 2 image-generation technology into Google Earth, letting users zoom into locations and build pictures in seconds based on the program's satellite, aerial and 3D-mapping data.

AI safety experts say the new disclosures paint a portrait of a group of cutting-edge labs whose ability to develop dangerous autonomous hacking agents outstrips their ability to keep them under control.

In 2024, Singapore secured an exclusive deal with Taylor Swift to make the country her only stop in Southeast Asia, despite her massive fan base in neighboring markets, including Indonesia.