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View all search resultsThe presence of the Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park (IMIP) Private Airport in Morowali Regency, Central Sulawesi, has sparked controversy after Defense Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin asserted that the facility operates without proper state oversight. The issue appears to reflect a broader debate among state institutions, revealing friction between figures from the previous administration and the current government.
Indonesia's nickel smelter boom, long promoted as the centerpiece of its downstream industrialization agenda, is entering a new phase. Through Government Regulation No. 28/2025, the government has moved to restrict new smelter permits, prompting questions over whether this signals a response to overcapacity, a recalibration of its downstream strategy or the start of a more measured and deliberate industrial policy.
President Prabowo Subianto, who often arrives at the presidential office in a locally produced Maung vehicle, has renewed his promise to create Indonesia's first official national car within the next three years. Whether he can succeed where his predecessors failed remains uncertain, as both Soeharto and Joko "Jokowi" Widodo saw their own national car dreams fade due to political and economic missteps.
Cooperatives and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are now eligible to manage mining concessions over significant land areas across the country following the issuance of a revision to the Government Regulation (PP) No. 39/2025 on implementation of mineral and coal mining operations. While the government has presented this policy to boost local economic participation, particularly among communities near existing mines, it has also raised concerns over the limited technical capacity of co-ops and SMEs and the risk that they could be used as fronts for large corporations.
As President Prabowo Subianto and Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka marked their first year in office on Monday, a new report revealed that public confidence in their administration remained low and both leaders received average performance scores of 3 and 2 out of 10, respectively.
The government has walked back its previous plan to raise the tobacco excise tax, a policy that had been a central pillar of its earlier crackdown on illegal cigarettes. Under the former administration, the approach was largely punitive, marked by annual excise hikes, aggressive “Gempur Rokok Ilegal” raids on small retailers, and stiff penalties for anyone caught selling untaxed products. In a major policy shift, Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa has now announced that the government will instead offer amnesty to illegal cigarette producers, aiming to incentivize them to register, fulfill their tax obligations, and transition into the formal, regulated market.
Indonesia will need to accelerate both revenue collection and government spending in the final months of this year, after realizing just over half of the 2025 outlook by the end of August. The Finance Ministry reported that state revenue reached Rp 1.64 quadrillion (US$98.61 billion) as of Aug. 31, or 57.2 percent of the outlook, and realized state spending of Rp 1.96 quadrillion (55.6 percent). This left the 2025 state budget with a deficit of Rp 321.6 trillion, equal to 1.35 percent of gross domestic product (GDP).
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