Indonesia’s central bank snapped a long-running pause to deliver its first rate hike in over two years, making a pre-emptive strike against the inflation threat posed by the conflict in the Middle East, the Wall Street Journal reported. Wednesday’s move marks Bank Indonesia’s first rate hike since April 2024, and the first time since November 2022 that it has tightened by 50 basis points. The size of the move surprised markets, and underscores how seriously policymakers are responding to the fallout from the war, which has pushed the rupiah to a series of record lows.

The supreme courts of Singapore and Indonesia have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that, for the first time, gives judges in both countries a formal channel for coordinating on the same insolvency or restructuring case, SingaporeLawWatch.sg reported. This reduces the risk of inconsistent outcomes, fragmentation of the insolvency process, poor recoveries, inefficiency and wastage of costs, said Kannan Ramesh, insolvency judge and judge of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of Singapore.

Indonesia’s central bank held interest rates steady again, as the war in the Middle East casts a shadow over the Southeast Asian country’s economic outlook, the Wall Street Journal reported. Like its peers, Bank Indonesia is grappling with the economic fallout from the war, which has roiled energy markets, raised inflation risks and pressured the oil-sensitive rupiah. On Wednesday, the Indonesian central bank opted to leave its benchmark seven-day reverse repo rate at 4.75%, extending a pause stretching back to its last cut September.

The Supreme Court of Singapore and the Supreme Court of Indonesia on March 30 signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to enhance cross-border communication and cooperation in cross-border insolvency proceedings, according to a press release. The signing ceremony was held on the sidelines of the inaugural Judicial Well-Being Workshop for ASEAN Judges in Bali, Indonesia, with The Honourable the Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon of Singapore and Chief Justice Prof. Dr. H. Sunarto, S.H., M.H. of Indonesia as the MOU signatories.

The United States and Indonesia announced they have signed a trade deal, with Indonesia agreeing to open its borders wider to American goods, the New York Times reported. The deal, announced on Thursday, includes zero tariffs on virtually all U.S. exports to Indonesia and a 19 percent tariff on Indonesian goods. It formalizes an agreement the two countries made last July, making Indonesia the third country in Southeast Asia to lock in lower tariffs after Malaysia and Cambodia. Mr. Trump had threatened Indonesia with a 32 percent tariff at one point last year.

Indonesian and U.S. companies on Wednesday signed deals worth $38.4 billion ahead of Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto's meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump to sign a final trade pact, the Indonesian government said in a statement, Reuters reported. The 11 deals, signed at a dinner for Prabowo hosted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, were for partnerships in mining, energy, agribusiness, textiles, furniture and technology sectors, according to the statement.

Indonesia's stocks and currency skidded on Friday after Moody's lowered the country's credit rating outlook, the latest jolt for Southeast Asia's largest economy, wiping about $120 billion off its equity market in a turbulent start to the year, Reuters reported. International investors have reacted nervously to President Prabowo Subianto's attempt to ramp up growth to 8%, as concerns over fiscal health and central bank independence cool sentiment on Indonesia.

The heads of Indonesia's financial regulator and stock exchange resigned suddenly on Friday in a shake up that followed this week's $80 billion stock market rout and mounting concerns over transparency and governance, Reuters reported. The departures followed a warning from MSCI that it may downgrade Indonesian equities to "frontier" status, a move that helped trigger the steepest two‑day fall in Jakarta stocks since April and intensified pressure on authorities to restore investor confidence.

A U.S. trade agreement reached with Indonesia in July is at risk of collapsing because Jakarta has backtracked on several commitments it made as part of the deal, a U.S. official said on Tuesday, Reuters reported. "They're reneging on what we agreed to in July," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, giving no details about which specific commitments Indonesia was now questioning. Asked about the comments, Indonesian officials said on Wednesday that the talks between two sides are still ongoing, with no specific issues arising during negotiations.

Indonesia plans to issue rules next year to set up trustee institutions and special-purpose vehicles aimed at spurring investment — a move that will also allow state fund Danantara to create a trust fund for onshore capital, Bloomberg News reported.