TOP NEWS
- The Jakarta Post — Bank Indonesia has held its benchmark rate at 4.75% while stepping up market interventions to stabilize the rupiah, as prolonged Middle East tensions narrow policy flexibility and heighten currency pressures.
- Tempo — MSCI has extended its suspension of Indonesia’s index adjustments while assessing ongoing market reforms, with regulators framing the move as a cautious but constructive step toward improving transparency and investor confidence.
- Tempo — President Prabowo is looking to expand cultural ties with South Korea by encouraging more K-pop concerts in Indonesia, signaling a softer push to boost creative industry collaboration and youth engagement.
Domestic Politics and Economy
- Tempo — Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan said Indonesia’s near-term economic outlook remains stable with strong fundamentals, as the government prepares contingency measures to manage energy risks and capture shifting global capital flows.
- The Jakarta Post — Indonesia is accelerating a shift toward paper, glass and bioplastics as surging global plastic prices, driven by geopolitical tensions, push industries to rethink cost structures and sustainability strategies.
- Tempo — Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa said Indonesia has no commitment to contribute funding to the Gaza “Board of Peace,” reaffirming that its role is limited to deploying peacekeepers rather than financial support.
- The Jakarta Post — Indonesian lawmakers are urging clearer foreign policy communication, warning that recent moves, from BRICS membership to closer US engagement, risk misinterpretation and could blur the country’s long-standing non-aligned stance.
- Tempo — Indonesia has formally condemned Israel’s placement of military propaganda on the ruins of the Indonesian Hospital in Gaza, calling it a provocative violation of humanitarian norms and demanding accountability.
Business and Investment
- Antara News — Indonesia has secured around US$32 billion in new investment commitments from Japan and South Korea, reinforcing strong foreign confidence as the government pushes downstream industrial growth and job creation.
