Indonesia

Indonesia has opened a six-month window until May 2025 for certain businesses to receive full loan forgiveness from state banks, a policy that aims to boost loan and economic growth, according to details of a new regulation, Reuters reported. Indonesia's President Prabowo Subianto last week signed off on a government regulation that allows state lenders to fully write off bad debts of certain micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), which are major contributors to Indonesia's gross domestic product.

Several lawmakers are considering the formation of a special committee to investigate the recent bankruptcy ruling against Sritex, Indonesia’s largest textile company, which could potentially lead to tens of thousands of job losses, JakartaGlobe.id reported. Members of the House of Representatives' Commission VII on industry and the creative economy revealed the plan during a visit to Sritex’s factory in Sukoharjo Regency, Central Java, on Thursday.

Indonesia plans to cancel as much as $550 million of bad loans owed by small businesses to drive new lending and boost growth in Southeast Asia’s largest economy, Bloomberg News reported. President Prabowo Subianto signed a regulation on Tuesday that paves the way for state-owned lenders such as PT Bank Mandiri and PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia to forgive as much as 8.7 trillion rupiah ($550 million) of troubled loans of small businesses, especially those in agriculture and fishery. Regulators still need to work out what types of loans could be forgiven, he added.

Indonesian textile giant PT Sri Rejeki Isman is contesting a court decision that declared it bankrupt as the company owner pledged to keep its factory open and see through the revival of the business, Bloomberg News reported. Sritex, as the company is more commonly known, filed an appeal on Oct. 25, requesting a review of the local court’s bankruptcy ruling, according to the court’s website.

Indonesia’s central bank kept its key interest rate steady as expected, pausing an easing cycle as external risks drag on the rupiah currency, Bloomberg News reported. Bank Indonesia left the benchmark BI-Rate unchanged at 6% on Wednesday, as predicted by 30 of the 41 economists surveyed by Bloomberg, with the rest expecting a quarter-point cut. Last month, the central bank surprised markets by initiating an easing cycle ahead of the Federal Reserve’s move.

Indonesia's central bank surprised markets by delivering its first rate cut in more than three years on Wednesday, moving to bolster growth in Southeast Asia's largest economy ahead of the start of an expected easing cycle in the United States, Reuters reported. Bank Indonesia (BI) unexpectedly trimmed the benchmark rate, opens new tab by 25 basis points to 6.00%, its first rate cut since February 2021.

Indonesia’s central bank kept interest rates on hold for a fourth straight meeting, declining to join some of its peers in Asia who have kicked off their easing cycles ahead of the Federal Reserve, the Wall Street Journal reported. Bank Indonesia kept its benchmark seven-day reverse repo rate at 6.25% on Wednesday, as widely anticipated. All seven economists polled by The Wall Street Journal had expected the Indonesian bank to maintain policy settings untouched, though some analysts saw a slim chance of a cut as inflation cools and the rupiah steadies.