Indonesia

5 June 2025
Steam billows out of cooling towers at a coal-fired power plant in Huai'an in east China's Jiangsu province in September 2024.
A worker assembles an electric vehicle at Handal Indonesia Motor's Bekasi plant near Jakarta. The facility currently assembles some 14,000 cars a year for brands including Chery, Neta, Jetour and Maung. (Photo by Handal Motor Indonesia)
Automobiles

Auto assembler Handal rides China's EV expansion into Indonesia

Company boss bets big as he expects major disruption to the local market

5 June 2025
French President Emmanuel Macron, left, and Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto hold hands after a joint press conference following their bilateral meeting in Jakarta on May 28.
Defense

Indonesia and France set up defense agreement for fighter jets, submarines

Prabowo and Macron back plan for Middle East peace summit

28 May 2025
Container ships at Jakarta International Container Terminal. Southeast Asian countries are offering to buy more U.S. products in tariff negotiations with Washington. (Photo by Yuki Kohara)
Trump tariffs

ASEAN countries struggle to resolve Trump's 'divide and conquer' tariffs

Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia on U.S. priority talks list but no firm deals yet

28 May 2025
President Prabowo Subianto's sweeping and poorly communicated budget reallocations shook Indonesian markets in the first quarter, and foreign investors exited. (Nikkei montage/Source photos by Reuters and Yuki Kohara)
Trading Asia

Global bond market turmoil shakes Indonesia, risking Prabowo's spending plans

High proportion of domestic bond holdings, healthy FX reserves provide some protection

26 May 2025
Chinese Premier Li Qiang, right, with Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, inspects an honor guard during the welcoming ceremony ahead of their meeting in Jakarta, Indonesia, Sunday, May 25, 2025.
International relations

Indonesian president and Chinese PM meet to discuss expanding trade

Li Qiang says 'unilateralism on the rise, bullying behavior is increasing'

25 May 2025
Chinese Premier Li Qiang is on a two-day trip to Southeast Asia's largest economy.
International relations

China, Indonesia will promote 'true multilateralism': Chinese premier

Li Qiang visits Jakarta as Beijing seeks to engage ASEAN countries

24 May 2025
Ocean Eyes' platform uses AI to map areas where fish will most likely congregate. (Ocean Eyes)
Artificial intelligence

Indonesian fishing ships tap AI tool from Japanese startup

Ocean Eyes maps ideal spots by crunching data from weather satellites

24 May 2025
Djaka Budhi Utama, left, Indonesia's new director general of customs and excise, with his predecessor, Askolani, at a handover ceremony at the Finance Ministry in Jakarta. (Photo by Indonesian Finance Ministry)
Politics

Indonesia appoints controversial ex-general to run customs authority

Finance Ministry reshuffle comes amid decline in tax revenue

23 May 2025
Villagers in Indonesia's remote South Papua province cast their ballots during the presidential election in February 2024. Tensions have been escalating in the resource-rich Papua region in recent months, with civilians caught in deadly clashes between armed separatists and the Indonesian military.
Politics

Rising unrest in Indonesia's Papua region kills more than 40

70,000 displaced as rebel group and military trade barbs and bullets

23 May 2025
Some 45,000 people flocked to the Borobudur temple complex in Magelang, Indonesia, in early May for the annual Vesak Day celebration of the Buddha's birth, enlightenment and death.
Life

Vesak Day underlines recovery of historic Indonesian Buddhist temple

Borobudur complex rises above decades of tourism damage

23 May 2025
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim briefs journalists in Kuala Lumpur on May 21 ahead of an ASEAN summit. (Photo by Norman Goh)
22 May 2025
Bundles of rupiah notes: The Indonesian central bank's rate-cut decision comes as the country's currency rebounds from an all-time low in the forex market.
Markets

Indonesian central bank cuts policy rate to 5.5% as rupiah stabilizes

Benchmark rate loses 25 basis points in the second cut this year

21 May 2025
Indonesian gig workers have shown a particular interest in Worldcoin and in cryptocurrencies more broadly. (Source photos by Reuters and Ken Kobayashi)
Technology

Indonesia grapples with the popularity and risks of Sam Altman's Worldcoin

Global scrutiny grows over coin-for-data model, handling of user biometrics

17 May 2025
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto inspect guards of honor during a welcoming ceremony before their meeting at the Merdeka Palace in Jakarta.
International relations

Indonesia upbeat on CPTPP and OECD bids with Australia backing

Albanese announces support for new wealth fund Danantara after Prabowo meeting

15 May 2025
Rebels in the Papua region have been fighting a low-level campaign for independence in this resource-rich area, which borders Papua New Guinea.
Politics

Indonesia military says 18 separatists killed in Papua region

Rebels fighting low-level insurgency stretching back decades

15 May 2025
Freshly harvested Indonesian oil palm fruits on the move in North Sumatra. 
Commodities

Indonesian palm oil exports set to fall with biofuel mandate

Sector players say US tariffs and geopolitical factors will also support prices

15 May 2025
No authoritarian regime has achieved enduring success, former Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono told Nikkei in a recent interview. (Photo by Satoko Kawasaki)
Interview

ASEAN can be mediator in US-China rivalry: Indonesia's Yudhoyono

Multilateralism is the key to preventing World War III, ex-president says

14 May 2025
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will meet this week with Indonesia President Prabowo Subianto. (Source photos by Reuters) 
International relations

Albanese to visit Indonesia in second term's first overseas trip

Bilateral relations seem gaining importance amid US-China regional competition

13 May 2025
Workers, overwhelmingly women, labor at a Pan Brothers factory in Boyolali, Central Java, sewing garments for international fashion brands like Lululemon, Adidas and The North Face. At peak season, some 10,000 people work at the Indonesian plant. (Photo by Pan Brothers)
ASEAN Money

Indonesia seeks to stitch competing interests to boost textile sector

Prospect of Trump tariffs adds to industry's deep-rooted challenges

13 May 2025
Astra Digital Mobil is a used-car dealer with facilities in 10 major cities across Indonesia. (Astra Digital Mobil)
Business deals

Toyota buys 40% stake in Indonesia used-car seller Astra Digital Mobil

Automaker eyes second-hand sector in Southeast Asia's largest market

7 May 2025
Polytron launches its electric cars in Jakarta. The Djarum unit is the first domestic company to launch EVs in Indonesia. (Photo by Tomoyoshi Oshikiri)
Electric vehicles

Indonesia's Djarum Group launches first locally developed EVs

After 2022 e-scooter rollout, Polytron partners with Skyworth to offer two cars

6 May 2025
From left: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto and U.S. President Donald Trump. Washington's tariff policy is overshadowing the world's economies. (Source photos by Reuters)
Comment

Trump-driven disorder rattles emerging economies

Countries reel from misjudging risks of new US president

6 May 2025
A market in Jakarta, Indonesia, during Ramadan in March. Ramadan typically brings increased spending to the world's most populous Muslim-majority nation, though this year it failed to provide much of a boost to the first-quarter economy.
Economy

Indonesia's GDP grew 4.87% in Q1, slowest in more than three years

Analysts cut 2025 growth forecasts on tariff and job loss concerns

5 May 2025
Stream article image
Life

Indonesia's troubled shark trade is running out of prey

Export demand is rising, especially for fins, but overfishing is killing supply

3 May 2025
A free lunch at an elementary school in Tangerang, Indonesia. President Prabowo Subianto is pushing through with his ambitious free meal plan despite public outcries over budget cuts to other government programs.
Politics

Indonesia's free meals marred by missed payments and poisoning

Prabowo shoots for 83 million recipients with $10bn budget by end of 2025

1 May 2025
Workers sort beans at the Kawisari coffee plantation in the East Java town of Blitar, Indonesia. An aging agricultural workforce is a factor behind the declining productivity of coffee plantations. (Photo by Belinda Yohana)
Commodities

Indonesia risks becoming a net coffee importer as harvests fall

Rising popularity of local coffee shops boosts consumption at home

29 April 2025
Retailer Aeon is among the most prominent Japanese companies from nonmanufacturing sectors to invest more in Southeast Asian in recent years. (Nikkei montage/Source photo by Shinya Sawai)
ASEAN Money

Japan's banks, retailers eclipse manufacturers as ASEAN investors

MUFG, Aeon, Uniqlo among firms targeting middle class as home market shrinks

29 April 2025
Indonesia's President Prabowo Subianto waves as he arrives for an economic gathering in Jakarta on April 8, 2025.
Opinion

Indonesia needs a more disciplined government

Prabowo struggles to deliver a clear strategy amid strained US-China ties

28 April 2025
Sky watchers are increasingly building their travel plans around spectacular viewing opportunities, such as trips to see the northern lights. (Courtesy of Booking.com)  
Destinations

Pastimes drive new passion for travel

Activity-based 'hobbidays' are Asia's latest vacation trend

27 April 2025