Country Overview
Foreign Exchange
The Bank Indonesia (BI) serves as the central bank for Indonesia, and is responsible for the exchange and economic stability of the IDR. Although many Asian and Pacific Rim currencies performed weak against the USD, the IDR appreciated against the dollar in February after the BI announced an interest rate drop to 7.0%. The adjustment was intended to further ameliorate the loss of trade confidence resulting from recent violence in the capital city of Jakarta. This most recent attack is the most violent occurring in the city in over seven years.
Debt
According to reports from the Ministry of Finance, Republic of Indonesia, the country recorded a Government Debt to GDP of 25.02% of the country's GDP in 2014.
Credit Rating
According to ratings released current through February 2016, Standard & Poor's credit rating for Indonesia stands at BB+. Moody's currently rates Indonesia at Baa3. Fitch's credit rating for Indonesia is BBB-.
Inflation Rate
Indonesia's inflation rate increased by 4.14% in January of 2016. Core inflation rose 3.62 percent year-over-year, decreasing from 3.95% in the previous month, below the market-anticipated increase of 0.64.
Growth Outlook
Many Asian markets have experienced downward pressure as a result of larger global market volatility, risk aversion, and a downtrend in crude oil pricing. Indonesia has been no different in this respect, underperforming in 2015. The Purchasing Manager’s Index (PMI) remained in a state of contraction for the year.
Government and Trade
Anticipated government investment for improved infrastructure will hopefully lead to improved business environment and investor confidence in Indonesian trade. Despite contraction of nearly 2% in the final quarter of 2015, the Indonesian GDP has seen modest improvement, owing to domestic consumption and increasing interest in exports in manufacturing and commodities. For the entire year 2015, the annual growth rate of GDP grew by 4.79%, above analyst expectations.
http://www.bi.go.id/en/moneter/bi-rate/data/Default.aspx
http://www.focus-economics.com/countries/indonesia
http://www.tradingeconomics.com/indonesia/gdp-growth
- Country
- Indonesia
- Currency
- Indonesian Rupiah (IDR)
- Phonetic Spelling
- {ru: ‘pi: ah}
- Abbreviation
- IDR
Etymology
The origin of the word rupiah can be traced back to the Hindi word rūpiya, which itself is derived from the Sanskrit word rūpya, meaning, "wrought silver, a coin of silver". Indonesians also use the colloquial word "perak" (which means ‘silver' in Indonesian) when referring to rupiah.
Currency History
The rupiah has a long history that stretches back to colonial period. During the period where Indonesia was a Dutch colony, the country used the Netherlands Indies Guilden as the national currency up until the Japanese invasion in 1942. The Japanese printed their own version of the Guilden, which continued to act as the currency even after the war, although its supply dwindled due to the destruction of printing plates.
Choosing to ignore the advice of the Allied forces, Dutch nationalists on the island of Java introduced the Indonesian Rupiah on October 3, 1946. However, the Japanese guilden continued to be the dominant currency. Then in 1950-1951, reforms were made to reduce the amount and array of money in circulation—all of which was converted at a devalued rate to the De Javasche Bank Rupiah (DJB). In 1953, the Dutch controlled De Javasche Bank was nationalized and become Bank Indonesia. The first Bank Indonesia printed money appeared the same year, replacing the DJB.
Between 1959 and 1998, inflation ravaged the country due to a variety of factors, ranging from government mismanagement to the Asian financial crisis of 1998, however the IDR has experienced periods of stability, though remains volatile.
Indonesia's Central Bank has announced that the rupiah would be redenominated by removing three zeros starting 2014, with existing rupiah set to be phased out by the end of 2018.
Frequently used coins include: Rp 100, Rp 200, Rp 500, Rp 1000
Frequently used banknotes include: Rp 1000, Rp 2000, Rp 5000, Rp 10 000, Rp 20 000, Rp 50 000, Rp 100 000