Our Financial Columns offer analyses of subjects related to the Indonesian financial markets. Together, these columns - that also have high news value in the current state of the Indonesian economy - intend to provide a clear and detailed picture regarding the structure and performance of these markets.
Concerns about Indonesia's current account balance increased after Bank Indonesia announced last week that the country's current account deficit widened to USD $8.02 billion, or 3.0 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), in the second quarter of 2018. It is Indonesia's highest quarterly deficit since Q3-2014, thus putting additional pressures on the rupiah exchange rate.
Madusari Murni Indah, an Indonesia-based company that is engaged in the production of ethanol and carbon dioxide gas (CO2), plans to set its share price in the range of IDR 500 - 600 a piece for its initial public offering (IPO) on the Indonesia Stock Exchange.
Bank Indonesia decided to hold the BI 7-day Reverse Repo Rate at 5.25 percent during the July 2018 monthly policy meeting. It also maintained the deposit facility and lending facility rates at 4.50 percent and 6.00 percent, respectively. Bank Indonesia believes the rates are consistent with its efforts to maintain domestic financial market attractiveness against a backdrop of pervasive uncertainty on global financial markets.
The Indonesian government decided not to revise its 2018 State Budget despite the fact that a couple of assumptions in the budget - such as the rupiah exchange rate or the oil price - differ markedly from the actual (real) level in the first half of 2018. After a meeting at the Presidential Palace in Bogor, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati told reporters that President Joko Widodo will not adjust these assumptions due to a number of considerations.
