APPBI optimistic shopping centres will remain busy despite weak rupiah

The Chairman of the Indonesian Shopping Centre Management Association (APPBI) DKI Jakarta Regional Leadership Council, Mualim Wijoyo, believes that shopping centres or malls will remain crowded with visitors despite the weakening of the rupiah exchange rate against the US dollar. According to Mualim, support from the provincial government, which has been organising a series of discount and prize-laden shopping festivals and providing incentives to businesses, can keep public consumption or spending stable. “So far, the government has been supportive. The DKI Jakarta Provincial Government is holding Jakarta Festive Wonders, which is an event that encourages people to shop. So, when we think about the dollar rising and so on, that is a different matter,” Mualim said at the opening of the Festival Jakarta Great Sale in Jakarta on Wednesday. Furthermore, Mualim noted that shopping centres have now evolved beyond mere transactional spaces. “In fact, shopping centres have transformed from just being places for shopping transactions into experience venues,” he said. He is optimistic that the Festival Jakarta Great Sale (FJGS), starting on Wednesday and running until 22 July 2026, can reach a sales target of up to Rp16 trillion. “This coincides with the school holidays. So, we remain optimistic that the Rp16 trillion target can be achieved,” Mualim stated. Meanwhile, the annual shopping event held in celebration of Jakarta’s 499th anniversary involves around 104 shopping centres spread across the capital. Uus said FJGS is a strategic activity because it involves entrepreneurs and mall managers in driving economic turnover amidst various current challenges. He hopes the event will serve as a momentum to improve and boost Jakarta’s economic activity. “Hopefully, this will also attract consumers to shop at malls in Jakarta,” he remarked. Not only large shopping centres, the 2026 FJGS also involves micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs). Uus explained that a number of malls have partnered with MSMEs to participate in various activities during the festival. He hopes this collaboration will strengthen the role of malls as economic drivers in their surrounding areas. “With the collaboration between malls and economic players, hopefully, malls can become ‘mentors’ that help drive economic activity in their surrounding environment,” Uus said. Regarding the FJGS 2026 transaction target of Rp16 trillion, Uus admitted he is optimistic the target can be achieved even though public purchasing power is facing pressure. He said this optimism is supported by Jakarta’s economic conditions, which still show positive growth and a relatively controlled inflation rate. “We must not be pessimistic; we must be optimistic. Even in this situation, thank God, Jakarta’s economic growth is quite high and inflation is also under control,” he concluded.