Showing 1 - 4 of 4
Capital idea, Indonesia. Now for some reality
News, Daniel Moss, Published on 21/08/2024
» Capital cities don't just happen. They develop slowly over decades, perhaps centuries, before resembling their creator's dream -- if they ever do. Indonesia is discovering such massive endeavours are hard work and prone to delays. Economics has an annoying habit of intruding.
Strongman Prabowo learns who really calls shots
News, Daniel Moss, Published on 27/06/2024
» There really is no such thing as a free lunch, even for an emerging market as successful as Indonesia. The incoming president, a former general, has talked boldly about turbo-charging growth and sounded dismissive about long-standing spending rules. If only he could just order investors around like a regiment.
It'll take more than patriotism to save the ringgit
News, Daniel Moss, Published on 28/03/2024
» Malaysia wants to be great again, at least in foreign exchange. The nation's currency recently approached a level seen as near-catastrophic during the Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s. Authorities insist the ringgit is way too cheap and blame forces outside the country, chiefly high interest rates in the US. The remedies are modest, compared with the shock therapy meted out a couple of decades ago.
The silver lining of Widodo's big economic miss
News, Daniel Moss, Published on 15/02/2024
» By his own standards, Joko Widodo has fallen well short of a major economic goal during his decade leading Indonesia. Growth has been laudable in a neighbourhood where the pace of expansion is undergoing a long-term slowdown, but nowhere close to the outgoing president's lofty ambitions. That's a pity, because part of Mr Widodo's attraction as a candidate in 2014 was his image as a self-made businessman, an outsider who could nudge the country towards achieving its much-promoted potential.