Backgrounder

Tale of two Islam-based parties in Team Anies

Two Islam-based parties could not be more different than the National Mandate Party (PKB) and the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), yet they have joined hands in nominating former Jakarta governor Anies Baswedan as their presidential candidate for next year’s election. Should Anies goes on to win, the PKB and PKS will be fighting it out in determining the extent to which Islam is going to be a factor in influencing the policies of the new government.

Kresna Group founder investigation reveals problems in subsidiaries

Business conglomerate Kresna Group is facing turmoil after its founder and CEO Michael Steven was recently named a suspect in a money-laundering case involving the group’s subsidiary PT Kresna Sekuritas. Following Michael’s being named a suspect, a closer examination of Kresna Group reveals that the performance of many of the group’s subsidiaries has, in fact, long been problematic.

Edition

September 15, 2023

Meet the real Democratic Party of struggle

The Democratic Party under the leadership of former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, its chief patron, is clearly struggling, in contrast to the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP), which going by opinion surveys, looks like it will retain its top position in the 2024 general election.

IKN to receive investment boost from domestic conglomerates

Domestic investment in the Nusantara Capital City (IKN) is brewing as a handful of prominent national conglomerates are committed to investing in the country’s new capital. The conglomerates, through the domestic direct investment (PMDN) consortium, are expected to break ground this month, giving a sense of relief to the government, which has been injecting a substantial amount of state money into the megaproject.

Edition

September 8, 2023

ASEAN making little progress. But then, that’s ASEAN

For the uninitiated, watching ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) can be frustrating. Even when the 10-nation bloc is led by its largest member Indonesia this year, progress on issues that the international community considers most pressing and important has been painfully slow.

Merah Putih Fund targets “soonicorns” with $300 million initial funding

Five state-owned corporate venture capitals (CVCs) have formally launched the Merah Putih Fund, raising US$300 million in its first fundraiser targeting “soonicorns”, or start-ups expected to soon become unicorns.

Edition

September 1, 2023

Indonesia joining BRICS? Thanks, but no thanks

Indonesia made the point of attending the summit of the club of emerging economies known as BRICS in South Africa last week, but it politely turned down an invitation to join the group, which is expanding its membership to strengthen its hand in managing global economic affairs.

Govt to merge Garuda-Citilink with Pelita Air to boost target fleet

After completing a major restructuring of Garuda’s finance, the Indonesian government has rolled out its plans to merge it and its subsidiary Citilink with Pelita Air, a subsidiary of state-owned oil and gas giant Pertamina. Proposed as part of the State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) Ministry’s efforts to make SOEs more efficient, this merger would become the latest consolidation of SOEs.