Consumer confidence improved in March to its highest level since December 2007, a Bank Indonesia (BI) survey showed, thanks to campaign spending by political parties ahead of elections, Reuters reported. Political parties and their legislative candidates typically spend heavily on campaign advertisements, food and t-shirts in election years to woo more than 170 million registered voters.

The Indonesia Stock Exchange’s Composite index may rise 23% by the end of the year after a record decline in 2008 on expectations the elections will promote stability, the nation’s biggest pension fund said, Bloomberg News reported. The index may end the year at 1,800, PT Jamsostek investment director Elvyn G. Masassya said in an interview with Bloomberg, 23% up on present levels.

The Jakarta property market is in a serious slump, with first-quarter demand sharply down across almost all sectors, and the industry is unlikely to see improvement until next year, analysts said on Wednesday.

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) will remain mandatory for companies, after the Constitutional Court upheld a provision obliging such programs, dashing the interests of the business community. The latter, represented by several associations, argued that CSR programs should be voluntary, depending on the size of the firms and in which sectors they operated, instead of mandatory as stipulated under the 2007 Law on Limited Liabilities Companies.

Originally Posted By: chewwyUK Your glass is always half empty kuku! we're doomed, i tell you, we're doomed.

Your glass is always half empty kuku! The outlook in Indonesia a hell of a lot better than Europe / USA / Singapore and we should thank our lucky stars!

don't get too smug! indonesia is insultated to a degree due to the strength of its domestic economy (assisted by huge injections of election campaign money), and to the fact that it does not have a long way to fall. the impact of shrinking export markets will eventually kick in; perhaps we'll start feeling more of this in a few months time.