Insights
All Insights
A collection of articles, reflections, and strategic thinking from the GATICORP ecosystem.
Business
Liquidity Is Growing, Access Still Differs
Indonesia’s M2 reached Rp10,448.1 trillion in August while bank credit continued to expand rapidly. Yet aggregate liquidity does not mean every company can access financing at the same price, tenor or amount.
Business
Rupiah–SGD Creates a New Option
Indonesia and Singapore now have an operational framework for settling eligible bilateral transactions in Rupiah and Singapore Dollars. The real opportunity is not simply avoiding the US dollar, but giving treasury teams another way to align invoices, cash flows, liabilities and hedging.
Business
AI Is Changing How Travellers Choose
AI is moving from search assistance into travel planning. For hotels, restaurants, tour operators and tourism SMEs, the new challenge is not simply being online, but making business information accurate, structured, trustworthy and distinctive enough to be discovered inside AI-assisted travel journeys.
Business
A New Financing Route for Supply Chains
From October 1, Indonesia’s strengthened RPIM framework expands eligible financing to suppliers, distributors and corporate partners. The bigger opportunity is to turn verifiable commercial transactions into working capital while preserving underwriting discipline.
Business
High Utilisation Is Not Enough to Justify Expansion
Indonesia’s business-capacity utilisation increased to 73.80% in Q2 2026 while investment remained strong. But high utilisation is not an automatic signal to add factories, machines or headcount. Companies need to identify real bottlenecks and test whether demand is durable.
Business
Spending Recovers, Consumers Stay Selective
Consumer confidence improved in August, but retail-sales growth remains modest. For retailers and brands, the challenge is shifting from generating traffic to winning a larger share of increasingly selective household spending.
Business
Credit Is Rising. Is Liquidity Tightening?
Bank credit grew 13.58% year on year in July, faster than deposits at 11.21%, pushing the system LDR to 88.38%. Liquidity buffers remain strong, but the widening funding gap could increasingly matter for loan pricing, tenor and refinancing.
Business
Can New Credit Scoring Be Fairer?
Alternative credit scoring can help lenders assess SMEs with limited conventional credit histories. But more data does not automatically create fairer lending. Data quality, bias, explainability, consent and human oversight remain critical.
Business
Ahead of Bank Indonesia’s September Meeting: What Should Businesses Watch Beyond the BI-Rate?
Bank Indonesia meets on September 22–23. The policy rate matters, but companies experience monetary policy through a wider transmission chain: the rupiah, liquidity, bank credit, capital flows, hedging costs and actual borrowing rates.
Business
Retirement Is Not Just an Employee Issue: Why Companies Should Care About Workforce Readiness
Indonesia has entered the ageing-population phase while pension-fund inclusion remains low. For employers, retirement readiness is not merely an employee’s personal-finance issue—it also affects workforce planning, succession, wellbeing and career transitions.
Business
Indonesia’s Imports Jumped 27.02% in July: Investment Signal, Cost Pressure, or Dependency Risk?
Indonesia’s imports rose 27.02% year on year in July 2026, far faster than exports. Yet more than 91% of imports in January–July consisted of raw and auxiliary materials plus capital goods, making the story as much about production and investment as consumption.
Business
Indonesian Banks Remain Optimistic in Q3 2026: What Does It Mean for Business and SME Credit?
OJK’s latest banking survey shows optimism remains intact, with strong performance expectations and manageable perceived risks. But ample liquidity and lending appetite do not automatically translate into easier approval for every business.
Business
Ahead of Indonesia’s Q2 International Investment Position: Read Capital Confidence Beyond the Headline
Indonesia’s Q2 2026 International Investment Position is due on September 11. Balance-of-payments data already show stronger capital inflows, but the IIP is a stock of external assets and liabilities—not simply a measure of foreign money coming in.
Business
Indonesia’s July Retail Sales: Which Categories Are Moving and What Does It Mean for SMEs?
Bank Indonesia expects July 2026 retail sales to grow 0.9% year on year. For SMEs, the bigger question is not the headline number, but which categories are moving, how quickly inventory converts back into cash, and whether growth is profitable.
Business
Ahead of Indonesia’s August Consumer Survey: Confidence Does Not Automatically Mean Spending
Bank Indonesia is scheduled to release its August 2026 Consumer Survey on September 9. July confidence remained optimistic, but both current-condition and expectation indicators softened, reminding businesses that confidence and actual spending are not the same thing.
Business
Indonesia’s August Reserves Are Due: What Importers and FX-Exposed Businesses Should Watch
Bank Indonesia is scheduled to release August 2026 foreign-exchange reserves on September 8. Before focusing on whether the headline number rises or falls, businesses should understand what reserve data can—and cannot—tell them about the rupiah and FX risk.
Business
Consumer Inflation Is 3.19%, Wholesale Prices 6.18%: Why Business Cost Pressure Can Feel Different
Indonesia’s consumer inflation remains within the central bank’s target range, but producer and wholesale-price indicators are moving faster in several areas. For businesses, the real question is how that pressure flows into margins, pricing, and cash flow.
Business
Export-Ready MSMEs: A Good Product Is Not Enough
The first shipment is only one milestone. Export-ready businesses must consistently meet buyer specifications, economics, capacity, documentation and repeat-order expectations.