Joseph Rachman

Covering Indonesia with @CNBC, @thetimes, @NikkeiAsia, @ForeignPolicy, @SCMPNews, @Diplomat_APAC, @FinancialReview, @asiatimesonline Bluesky @rachmanjoseh

Articles

A Balinese Initiative Reimagines Rice Farming

1 month ago | roadsandkingdoms.com | Joseph Rachman

By integrating traditional Balinese farming wisdom with modern agroecological practices, Astungkara Way works to promote food security, restore degraded farmland, and deepen connections between farmers and the land. BALI, Indonesia — For decades, conventional wisdom has held that organic farming cannot produce enough food to sustain the world’s growing population.
Global bond market turmoil shakes Indonesia, risking Prabowo's spending plans

1 month ago | asia.nikkei.com | Joseph Rachman

JAKARTA -- U.S. tariffs and global market turmoil could derail Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto's expansive spending plans. While experts see Indonesia's fiscal position as stable, global pressures could find the government forced to trim spending or issue debt. The U.S.-China trade truce last week also offers a breather and the Indonesian government has talked up the chances of reaching its own deal.
Indonesia seeks to stitch competing interests to boost textile sector

1 month ago | asia.nikkei.com | Joseph Rachman

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Indonesia bracing for flood of rerouted Chinese exports

2 months ago | asiatimes.com | Joseph Rachman

JAKARTA – At Indo Intertex, a vast textiles and garments trade exhibition staged this month in Jakarta, the complexity and controversy of Indonesia-China trade were on full display. “The market is not good, everyone knows that,” said Hery, who sells textile manufacturing machinery to local factories and, like many Indonesians, goes by one name.
Indonesia's Prabowo asleep at the wheel on Trump tariffs

2 months ago | asiatimes.com | Joseph Rachman

JAKARTA – One week since President Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs threw the global economy into turmoil and Indonesia’s government seems to have been caught flat-footed. Adopting the same conciliatory position as most of ASEAN, the country is looking for a tariff-easing deal. But, with domestic economic policymaking chaotic and the foreign ministry adrift, forming a coherent response may be difficult for Southeast Asia’s biggest economy.
Trump’s Tariffs Crush the ASEAN Economic Model

2 months ago | flipboard.com | Joseph Rachman

1 hour agoTrump’s “Liberation” Hastens China’s DominationTrump’s tariffs are setting up China to play the hero for many small economies. President Donald Trump’s Liberation Day tariffs are falling hardest on …NowIsraeli PM Netanyahu promises to “eliminate the trade deficit with the United States” as he meets with President Trump. We will eliminate the trade deficit with the United States We intend to do it very quickly.
Trump’s Tariffs Crush the ASEAN Economic Model

2 months ago | foreignpolicy.com | Joseph Rachman

Economics Southeast Asia “The era of rules-based globalization and free trade is over. We are entering a new phase—one that is more arbitrary, protectionist, and dangerous.” Looking somberly at the camera, Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong had a grim warning to deliver to the island-nation last week.
Indonesians Take to Streets Against New Military Laws

2 months ago | foreignpolicy.com | Joseph Rachman

Politics Military Human Rights Students are protesting across Indonesia—chanting slogans; skirmishing with police; and in one city, even throwing Molotov cocktails.
Blood on the trading floor in Indonesia

Mar 18, 2025 | asiatimes.com | Joseph Rachman

JAKARTA – The Jakarta Stock Exchange forced an emergency trading stop at 11:19 local time today after the Jakarta Composite Index (IDX Composite), an index of all stocks listed on the exchange, dropped by as much as 7.1%, the market’s biggest intraday slump since September 2011. While stocks rebounded somewhat, closing down -3.8% at the end of the trading day, the market fall underlines growing fear among investors about the direction of economic policy under President Prabowo Subianto.
Exclusive: Indonesia opposition leader cries out hours before arrest

Feb 22, 2025 | asiatimes.com | Joseph Rachman

JAKARTA – “Sukarno [Indonesia’s first president and anti-colonial revolutionary] struggled for 30 years. I can spend one or two years in jail,” said Hasto Kristiyanto, secretary general of the Indonesia Democratic Party-Struggle (PDI-P), the country’s largest political party, in an exclusive interview with Asia Times.