Today, the central bank of Indonesia (Bank Indonesia) decided to keep its key interest rate - the seven day reverse repo rate - at 4.25 percent, a decision that had been expected by most - if not all - analysts as there have been rising pressures on the rupiah exchange rate after two surprise rate cuts in August and September, while there remain plenty of external matters that make investors careful about investing in emerging market assets.

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Moody's Investors Services, one of the big three credit global rating agencies, expects to see Indonesian companies posting steadily growing corporate earnings in 2017. This projection is supported by Indonesia's accelerating economic growth. After experiencing an economic slowdown in the years 2011-2015, the Indonesian economy is expected to grow 5.2 percent year-on-year (y/y) in 2017, improving from an estimated 5.0 percent (y/y) growth in 2016 and a 4.8 percent (y/y) growth realization in 2015.

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Global credit rating agency Moody's Investors Service believes Indonesia's non-financial companies, specifically those engaged in the commodities sector, will see improving corporate earnings in 2017 due to rising commodity prices and the economic recovery of the USA. In a report released on Monday (21/11), Moody's states that commodity prices are expected to continue their upward movement in 2017. This will trigger investment in the mining, oil & gas and crude palm oil (CPO) sectors.

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Indonesian Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati is hopeful that credit rating agency Standards & Poor's (S&P) will raise Indonesia's credit rating to investment grade. Hope is based on Indonesia's healthier state budget and the higher degree of fiscal credibility (supported by the ongoing tax amnesty program). Out of the big three global credit rating agencies only S&P is yet to assign investment grade status to Indonesia. In June 2016 S&P kept Indonesia's sovereign debt rating at BB+/positive outlook, one notch below investment grade.

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Global credit rating agency Moody's Investors Service released a report that includes a warning about the current state of Indonesia's corporate debt. Although Moody's is concerned about the relatively high reliance of Indonesian companies on foreign sources for their debt, the credit rating agency kept Indonesia's sovereign rating at Baa3 with a stable outlook. Moody's noted that Indonesia's government and corporate debt stands at 26.8 percent and 23.7 percent of the nation's gross domestic product (GDP), respectively.

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New York-based Moody's Investors Service kept Indonesia's sovereign credit rating at Baa3 (stable outlook), the lowest level within the investment grade rating. Although the rating agency is positive about the strong nature of Indonesia's economy and the prudent fiscal policy that is safeguarded by the Indonesian government and central bank, it sees few room for an upgrade soon (to Baa2) as government revenue is not expected to rise significantly in the period ahead. Moody's released this statement on Thursday (28/01).

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New York-based credit rating firm Moody’s Investors Service expects global economic factors to have less of a negative impact on Indonesian companies in 2016. In its latest report titled "Non-Financial Corporates - Indonesia: 2016 Outlook - Corporate Profits under Pressure but Likely to Stabilize" it states that amid stabilizing economic growth and the recently unveiled government stimulus packages, companies should manage to improve their corporate performances in 2016.

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US-based bond credit rating agency Moody's Investors Service said it would be credit-positive for Indonesia's sovereign credit rating to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal as participation would mitigate the negative effects of sluggish commodity prices on Indonesia's export performance. Through the TPP, which is one of the world's most ambitious trade deals covering an area that accounts for about 40 percent of world trade, Indonesia will expand its export base, Moody's wrote in a recent report.

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On 1 November 2015, Indonesia Investments released the latest edition of its newsletter. This free newsletter, which is sent to our subscribers once per week, contains the most important news stories from Indonesia that have been reported on our website in the last seven days. Most of the topics involve economic subjects such as approval of the 2016 State Budget, an update on stocks & the rupiah, the Trans-Pacific Partnership deal, Trikomsel Oke's default, the World Bank's doing business index, and more.

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In a new report US-based rating agency Moody's Investors Service says that Indonesian banks are strong enough to cope with ongoing currency volatility and sluggish economic growth. Although sharp rupiah depreciation does imply risks, "Indonesian banks seem manageable", Moody's Vice President and Senior Credit Officer Srikanth Vadlamani said, "as over 70 percent of local banks' debt constitutes related-party debt, implying minimal risks to the domestic banking system".

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Both Moody's Investors Service and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) released positive reports on Indonesia's banking sector. While Moody's changed its outlook on Indonesia's banking sector from stable to positive, the IMF said Indonesia's banking system is strong enough to cope with relatively slow economic growth and a rise in bad loans.

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Moody's Investors Service, one of the globe's three big credit rating agencies, affirmed Indonesia's Baa3 issuer rating, Baa3 senior unsecured bond ratings, and (P)Baa3 senior unsecured medium term note program rating. However, it also upgraded its credit outlook on Indonesia from "stable" to "positive", implying that Indonesia comes a bit closer to a rating upgrade. Such upgrade would trigger capital inflows (on the back of stronger investor confidence), while the cost of funds would become cheaper for the government when issuing government bonds.

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The government of Indonesia is preparing various investment instruments in order to absorb the (potentially large) inflow of capital following the launch of the tax amnesty program earlier this month. Besides government bonds, state-owned enterprises' bonds, real estate investment trusts (REITs), and property investment through private equity schemes (RDPTs), the government is also preparing trustees and zero coupon bonds. Without such investment instruments, bubbles are expected to appear due to the large inflow of funds into Indonesia's financial markets.

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Global credit rating agency Moody's Investors Service expects loan growth in Indonesia to continue to slow in 2016 as sluggish economic growth curtails corporate and individual demand for funding in Southeast Asia's largest economy. Meanwhile, a survey conducted by Standard & Poor's shows that the majority of Indonesians are financially illiterate, implying that the government needs to increase efforts to educate its population. Lastly, Asian Development Bank President Takehiko Nakao is convinced that a US interest rate hike will not cause a new financial crisis in Asia. Lets zoom in a bit further on these three subjects.

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Both Morgan Stanley and Moody's Investors Service have cast some negative perceptions on the condition of the Indonesian economy. First, American multinational financial services corporation Morgan Stanley released a report in which it stated that the recent rupiah rally will not last (Morgan Stanley maintains its year-end target of IDR 14,000 per US dollar). Then, global credit ratings agency Moody's criticized Indonesia's recently unveiled third policy package in which the government lowers energy prices for local manufacturers in a bid to support the industry.

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Global credit rating agency Moody’s Investors Service cut its forecast for economic growth in Indonesia this year from five percent (y/y) to 4.7 percent (y/y) due to the perceived hard landing of China’s economy in combination with sluggish conditions in Japan and the Eurozone. Weak demand from China, the world’s second-largest economy and the top trading partner of Indonesia, is expected to continue to plague Indonesian exports and earnings.

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Moody's Investors Service, a global bond credit rating agency, assigned a definitive rating of Baa3 (stable outlook) to Indonesian government notes maturing in 2025 and 2045 (these notes are issued under the government’s global medium-term note program). Moody’s said in a press release on Tuesday (13/01) that the Baa3 government bond rating is supported by the country’s narrow fiscal deficits, low public indebtedness, healthy economic growth prospects, and the large size of Indonesia’s economy.

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ICRA Indonesia, an independent credit rating agency and subsidiary of ICRA Ltd. (associate of Moody's Investors Service), publishes a monthly newsletter which provides an update on the financial and economic developments in Indonesia of the last month. In the June 2014 edition, a number of important topics that are monitored include Indonesia's inflation rate, the trade balance, the BI rate, the IDR rupiah exchange rate, and gross domestic product (GDP) growth. Below is an excerpt of the newsletter:

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ICRA Indonesia, an independent credit rating agency and subsidiary of ICRA Ltd. (associate of Moody's Investors Service), publishes a monthly newsletter which provides an update on the financial and economic developments in Indonesia of the last month. In the May 2014 edition, a number of important topics that are monitored include Indonesia's inflation rate, the trade balance, the BI rate, the IDR rupiah exchange rate, and gross domestic product (GDP) growth. Below is an excerpt of the newsletter:

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ICRA Indonesia, an independent credit rating agency and subsidiary of ICRA Ltd. (associate of Moody's Investors Service), publishes a monthly newsletter which provides an update on the financial and economic developments in Indonesia of the last month. In the April 2014 edition, a number of important topics that are monitored include Indonesia's inflation rate, the trade balance, the BI rate, the IDR rupiah exchange rate, and gross domestic product (GDP) growth. Below is an excerpt of the newsletter:

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