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☆ Indonesia's GoTo to cut 1,300 jobs to step up cost cutting
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

GoTo said it has achieved around 800 billion rupiah ($51 million) in cost savings in the first half of this year through efficiency measures in technology, marketing and outsourcing. GoTo, which offers ride-hailing and financial services, went public in April with a $1.1 billion stock sale. Its shares are trading 44% below its initial public offering price, as investor sentiment on the tech sector sours amid soaring inflation and interest rates. Shares in GoTo rose 2.8% on Friday after announcing the job cuts. In recent months, Southeast Asia's largest-ecommerce firm Shopee cut jobs in various countries and shut some overseas operations as parent Sea (SE.N) struggle with losses.

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/IllustrationSINGAPORE, Nov 17 (Reuters) - The dollar was little changed on Thursday as investors digested mixed U.S. economic data, while the British pound rose ahead of the government's budget update. Yet the dollar paused on Thursday after U.S. retail sales data for October, released on Wednesday, came in stronger than expected. "Markets have positioned for the Fed to pivot (but) the U.S. retail sales data very much challenges that narrative," said Commonwealth Bank of Australia currency strategist Kim Mundy. Traders will also scrutinise speeches from numerous Fed officials on Thursday for hints about rate hikes. China's yuan weakened 0.36% to 7.126 per dollar as new COVID cases caused concerns that officials could order more lockdowns.

LONDON, Nov 17 (Reuters) - The pound rose for a third day against the dollar on Thursday ahead of finance minister Jeremy Hunt's new budget full of "tough but necessary" measures to control inflation. Against the euro , sterling has only risen by around 6% since late September and by 9% against the yen. Benchmark 10-year gilts are around 3.3%, their lowest since mid-September, just before Truss and Kwarteng released their budget. Typically, this would have dragged on the pound, given the lower yield advantage it affords investments in sterling. Adding an extra element of risk on Thursday, are the economic forecasts of the independent Office for Budget Responsibility, which did not release any kind of breakdown of the impact of Truss' budget in September.

☆ Indonesia orders exchanges to stop trading FTX tokens - regulator
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

JAKARTA, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Indonesia has ordered crypto exchanges in the country to stop trading the FTX tokens following its bankruptcy filing in U.S. court, the sector's regulator said in a statement Thursday. Indonesia's Commodity Futures Trading Regulator said the order was made since Nov. 14. Reporting by Gayatri Suroyo and Stefanno Sulaiman Editing by Shri NavaratnamOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Indonesia's Indika, Taiwan's Foxconn mull EV partnership with Thai firm
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Stefanno Sulaiman | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

JAKARTA, Nov 16 (Reuters) - Coal miner PT Indika Energy (INDY.JK) and Taiwan-based Foxconn (2317.TW), which are partnering to make electric vehicles in Indonesia, are considering bringing in a Thai firm as a third partner, Indika's top executive told Reuters on Wednesday. Arsjad Rasjid, President Director of Indonesian miner Indika, declined to name the Thai company nor any target for the completion of the partnership due to ongoing negotiations, but said the three could invest in EV or EV battery production. In September, Indika and Foxconn launched a $2 billion joint venture to make EVs, batteries and energy storage in Indonesia. Foxconn, Apple's biggest iPhone maker, also has a $1 billion joint venture with Thai energy group PTT (PTT.BK) to produce battery EVs. Indika is one of the top coal miners in Indonesia, which is the world's biggest coal exporter.

☆ Indonesia Oct trade surplus seen at $4.5 bln as global trade weakens- Reuters poll
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Summary Trade data due at 0400 GMT on Tuesday, Nov. 15JAKARTA, Nov 14 (Reuters) - Indonesia's trade surplus is seen narrowing slightly in October to $4.5 billion, amid weakening in global trade and moderating commodity prices, a Reuters poll showed on Monday. The median forecast from 15 economists in a Reuters poll was for a $4.5 billion surplus in October, below September's surplus of nearly $5 billion. Export growth was seen at 13.85% annually in October, slower than September's 20.28%, while imports were seen up 23.62% on a yearly basis, versus 22.02% in September. Bank Mandiri's economist Faisal Rachman, who predicted a $4.42 billion October surplus, said while export growth was slowing, demand for imports was rising in preparation for year-end needs. Still, the Indonesian government has forecast the resource-rich nation will book its biggest exports on record this year of $292 billion.

☆ Indonesia to set up $2 bln EV fund with China's CATL, CMB International
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

JAKARTA, Nov 14 (Reuters) - The Indonesia Investment Authority, the country's sovereign wealth fund, is to set up a green electric vehicle (EV) fund of at least $2 billion with China's battery maker CATL and CMB International, the fund's CEO said on Monday. INA CEO Ridha Wirakusumah then signed an agreement for the partnership with company executives from CATL and CMB International. "With CATL and CMB International as the main partners, we are looking for limited partners to invest in the green EV fund, to seize this EV value chain opportunity primarily in Indonesia," Ridha said. Indonesia is keen to develop its own EV and battery industries at home, after banning exports of nickel ore to ensure supply for investors since 2020. Earlier this year, CATL announced a $6 billion power battery project in Indonesia, in partnership with Indonesian companies.

☆ China's Silk Road Fund to invest in Indonesian pharma firms
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

JAKARTA, Nov 13 (Reuters) - China's Silk Road Fund (SRF) and Indonesia's INA sovereign fund INA invest in two state-owned Indonesian pharmaceuticals companies in a deal worth about 1.86 trillion rupiah ($120 million), a deputy minister said on Sunday. "We hope the investment partnership can improve the pharma firms' digital services, product development and also repair (their) capital structure," he said. SRF was set up in 2014 and is backed by China's foreign exchange reserves, China Investment Corp, the Export-Import Bank of China and the China Development Bank. In July INA and SRF signed an investment framework agreement under which the Chinese fund aims invest up to 20 billion yuan ($2.8 billion) in Southeast Asia's biggest economy. ($1 = 15,490.0000 rupiah)($1 = 7.1066 Chinese yuan renminbi)Reporting by Stefanno Sulaiman Editing by Martin Petty, Kanupriya Kapoor and David GoodmanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Indonesia Q3 GDP growth picks up, but below forecast
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

JAKARTA, Nov 7 (Reuters) - Indonesia's economic growth accelerated in the third quarter to 5.72%, the fastest in more than a year, but below market expectation, official data showed on Monday. The second quarter growth rate was 5.44%. Economists in a Reuters poll had expected gross domestic product in the July-September quarter to be 5.89% bigger than the same period last year. Unadjusted for seasonal factors, GDP expanded 1.81% from the previous three months, compared with the poll's forecast of 1.62%. Reporting by Stefanno Sulaiman, Gayatri Suroyo and Fransiska Nangoy; Editing by Martin PettyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Indonesian digital lender Neo Commerce targets full-year profit in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Tjandra also pledged that its high deposit rate of up to 8% per year would not be a one-off. BNC's net interest margin (NIM), an indicator of profitability and as of September at 12.7%, was sufficient even with high deposit rates, he said. Sea Group's digital bank SeaBank Indonesia offers a deposit rate of 7%, while Bank Jago offered a 7% rate for its saving products during a promotional period in August. BNC is targeting 10-11 trillion rupiah loan disbursement this year and up to 40% growth in 2023, Tjandra said. But the lender is still expected to book a full-year loss of around 500-600 billion rupiah in December, Tjandra said.

☆ Indonesia e-commerce group Blibli sets IPO price at 450 rupiah per share
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

JAKARTA, Nov 2 (Reuters) - Indonesian e-commerce group Blibli has set its initial public offering price at 450 rupiah ($0.0288) per share, according to its prospectus released on Wednesday. Blibli's operator PT Global Digital Niaga plans to raise as much as 7.99 trillion rupiah in its IPO this month. The share sale offering is set for Nov. 2-4, according to the group. ($1 = 15,650.0000 rupiah)Reporting by Stefanno SulaimanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ ECB must keep raising rates even if recession risks rise, Lagarde says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( Stefanno Sulaiman | Fransiska Nangoy | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

FRANKFURT, Nov 1 (Reuters) - The European Central Bank must keep raising interest rates to fight off inflation, even if the probability of a euro zone recession has increased, ECB President Christine Lagarde said in an interview published on Tuesday. "We are determined to do what is necessary to bring inflation back to our 2% target." The ECB has raised interest rates by a combined 200 basis points over the past three meetings, and markets are pricing in a string of further moves that would take the 1.5% deposit rate close to 3% in 2023. "The destination is clear, and we are not there yet," Lagarde said without specifying where rate hikes might end. "The longer inflation stays at such high levels, the greater the risk that it spreads throughout the economy," Lagarde said.

☆ Indonesia foreign arrivals rebound further in September
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

JAKARTA, Nov 1 (Reuters) - Foreign arrivals to Indonesia in September hit their highest level since the start of the pandemic, official data showed on Tuesday, as more visitors returned to resort destinations like Bali after an easing of COVID-19 restrictions. There were about 538,300 arrivals in September, up from only 5,000 in the same month a year ago, with the majority going to Bali, said Setianto, deputy head of Statistics Indonesia. Arrivals in September were slightly ahead of the previous month's figure of 510,200. For the January-Sept period, Indonesia saw 2.27 million visitors compared with 86,245 in the same period last year, when travel restrictions to curb COVID-19 were in place. However, arrivals remained far below the pre-pandemic levels in the same periods of 2018 and 2019, when Indonesia had nearly 10 million foreign visitors.

☆ Indonesia pledges more ambitious carbon emission cut
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

JAKARTA, Oct 25 (Reuters) - Indonesia has revised up its carbon emission reduction targets, pledging more effective land use and better energy policy to cut greenhouse gas emissions more than its 2015 Paris Agreement commitment, a minister said on Tuesday. Indonesia is one of the world's biggest carbon emitters, with much of its pollution coming from forest and peatland clearance. The government has set a new target to cut emission levels by 31.89% on its own or 43.2% with international support by 2030. That is more ambitious than its Paris Agreement pledge, which was to cut emissions by 29% or 41% with international help, its chief economic minister Airlangga Hartarto said. A plan to start levying carbon tax this April has been delayed due to high global energy prices.

☆ Indonesia's GoTo considering secondary offering of shares
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

JAKARTA, Oct 24 (Reuters) - Indonesia's biggest tech firm PT GoTo Gojek Tokopedia Tbk (GOTO.JK) is exploring a coordinated secondary offering of shares held by pre-IPO shareholders after a lock-up period ends late next month, the company said on Monday. It said it would not issue or sell new shares, so there would be no dilution of GoTo's shares. The remaining shares are held by some of GoTo's executives and shareholders, each with ownership of less than 5%. Shares of GoTo closed at 190 each on Monday, a drop of 5%. GoTo debuted on April this year, raising $1.1 billion in an IPO by selling around 4% of its shares at 338 rupiah each.

A street vendor sells papers with the news of Indonesian New Capital Nusantara (IKN) on its headline, during a traffic in Jakarta, March 15, 2022. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan/File PhotoJAKARTA, Oct 19 (Reuters) - Indonesia will offer generous incentives, including a 30-year tax break, for companies investing in a $32 billion project to build a new capital city in the country called Nusantara, an official said late on Tuesday. Bambang Susantono, head of the Nusantara National Capital Authority, made the comments at a gathering with hundreds of local and foreign investors in the current capital Jakarta. Susantono asked the gathering to consider investing in areas such as healthcare, education and entertainment in the new capital, promising that regulations on fiscal incentives would be released soon. A June survey of 170 experts by the Indonesian Centre for Strategic and International Studies found nearly 59% were unsure the Nusantara project would materialise, citing uncertainty over funding and management.

☆ Indonesia Sept trade surplus seen at $4.8 bln as exports slow
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Summary Trade data due at 0400 GMT on Monday, Oct. 17JAKARTA, Oct 14 (Reuters) - Indonesia's trade surplus likely remained elevated in September, albeit below the level recorded in the previous month, amid a slowdown in export growth, a Reuters poll showed on Friday. The September trade surplus is seen at $4.84 billion, narrower than the previous month's $5.76 billion, according to the median forecast of 12 economists. Indonesia is a major exporter of coal, palm oil, nickel, tin and other commodities. Analysts have warned moderating commodity prices, at a time when imports are rising due to an improving domestic economy, may reduce its trade surplus in the remainder of 2022. "We saw a correction in CPO (crude palm oil) prices, even though coal prices were stable" last month, said Irman Faiz, an economist with Bank Danamon, who predicted a $4.4 billion September surplus.

☆ Indonesia's China-funded rail project on track despite cost overrun
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( Yuddy Cahya Budiman | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Indonesian President Joko Widodo stands beside an Electric Multiple Unit high-speed train for a rail link project part of China's Belt and Road Initiative at Tegalluar train depot in Bandung, West Java province, Indonesia, October 13, 2022. Antara Foto/Hafidz Mubarak/via REUTERSTEGALLUAR, Indonesia, Oct 13 (Reuters) - A high-speed railway project in Indonesia, part of China's Belt and Road Initiative, is on track for a 2023 launch despite ongoing negotiations between the two countries about the project being over-budget, officials said on Thursday. KCIC has said the project is facing a cost overrun of about $2 billion, raising the estimated total cost to 113 trillion rupiah ($7.36 billion). KCIC's President Director Dwiyana Slamet Riyadi confirmed the discrepancy in cost calculations, saying negotiations are underway to resolve it. Dwiyana said discussions were ongoing as to whether Chinese President Xi Jinping may witness a trial run of the rail project when he visits the Southeast Asian country next month for the G20 leaders' summit.

The rupiah hit its weakest since April 2020 on Wednesday, as currencies globally came under pressure amid a rally in the U.S. dollar. The dominant operation has been in the DNDF market, where transactions are settled in rupiah, which limits BI's use of FX reserves for intervention, he said. "In the current situation, we must be smart in managing our FX reserves," Edi said, noting intervention by other central banks had sometimes failed to reverse currency depreciations. Indonesia's FX reserves at the end of August stood at $132.2 billion, the lowest since June 2020 and about $12.7 billion below reserves at the end of 2021. BI currently holds over 1,300 trillion rupiah ($85.33 billion) of government bonds, much accumulated during pandemic-era quantitative easing.

☆ Garuda Indonesia files for Chapter 15 U.S. bankruptcy procedure - CEO
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterA worker walks on a crane as a Garuda Indonesia's aircraft is parked at the Garuda Maintenance Facility (GMF) AeroAsia, at Soekarno-Hatta International airport near Jakarta, Indonesia, January 21, 2022. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan/File PhotoJAKARTA, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Flag carrier Garuda Indonesia (GIAA.JK) has requested that a court in New York recognise the airline's recent debt restructuring deal in a Jakarta court, under Chapter 15 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, its chief executive said on Monday. Garuda filed the Chapter 15 case late last week at a New York bankruptcy court, CEO Irfan Setiaputra told Reuters. Chapter 15 provides for cooperation between U.S. and foreign courts, if there is a U.S. financial interest in proceedings. ($1 = 15,125.0000 rupiah)Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Stefanno Sulaiman; Writing by Gayatri Suroyo Editing by Kanupriya Kapoor, Martin PettyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Indonesia to tighten rules for crypto exchanges, ensure more local control
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The measure comes following financial issues faced by Southeast Asia-focused cryptocurrency exchange Zipmex, which temporarily prevented users from withdrawing funds. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterThe ministry's Commodity Futures Trading Regulatory Agency (Bappebti) will issue the new rule soon, he said, without giving a timeframe. It will also require an exchange to use a third-party to store client funds and to prohibit exchanges re-investing stored crypto assets, according to a document issued by the ministry. Asked about a plan to launch an Indonesian crypto asset bourse, which has been delayed from last year, Sambuaga said the plan could hopefully be completed this year. ($1 = 14,980.0000 rupiah)Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Stefanno Sulaiman Editing by Ed DaviesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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