Boosting the Economy at the End of the Year Through Shopping Incentives

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The following is important information related to the development of the business universe that needs attention today based on the curation of the SUAR Team.

Realization of the 2025 State Budget: Lessons to Spur Growth Next Year

The realization of state revenue and expenditure by the end of November 2025 reached 82.1% and 82.5% of the 2025 State Budget outlook, respectively. This less-than-optimal achievement serves as a lesson for the government to spur economic growth next year, which is targeted at 5.4% annually. A number of fiscal strategies and policies have been prepared so as not to waste the valuable momentum in the first quarter of 2026. With state revenue reaching IDR 2,351.5 trillion and state expenditure reaching IDR 2,911.8 trillion as of November 30, 2025, the state budget deficit was recorded at IDR 560.3 trillion or 2.35% of Indonesia's GDP.
Of the total tax revenue of IDR 1,634.4 trillion, gross Value Added Tax (VAT) and Sales Tax on Luxury Goods (PPnBM) recorded positive growth of 1.7%, although tax refunds still caused both to contract by -6.6%. In addition to taxes, customs and excise revenue grew 4.5% year-on-year ( YoY) to Rp 269.4 trillion or 89.3% of the state budget outlook, with export duties continuing to experience the highest growth due to increases in CPO prices and palm oil export volumes as well as copper concentration. In terms of expenditure, in addition to spending by ministries/agencies and spending on government priority programs, Suahasil highlighted that local government spending had only reached Rp 922.5 trillion, or 65.3% of the ceiling, even though the nominal transfer to regions (TKD) had reached Rp 795.6 trillion, or 91.5% of the state budget ceiling.

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Government Directs Gen Z to Become Drivers of the Digital Economy

The government is directing Generation Z youth (born between 1997 and 2012) to become drivers of the digital economy ecosystem, maximizing the momentum and potential of Indonesia's digital economy, which is estimated to reach USD 360 billion by 2030. Gig economy training for Generation Z and digital talent incubation to create innovative solutions through the AI hackathon competition are two key strategies that will be implemented simultaneously. Through gig economy training and AI hackathons , the government provides training, co-working spaces, and market access in 15 cities across Indonesia. The hope is that these growth points in the digital economy ecosystem will provide a solution to the low proportion of professional workers in the information and communication technology (ICT) sector, which is currently only around 0.8% of Indonesia's total workforce.

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Indonesia Great Sale 2025 Officially Opens, Targeting Rp 30 Trillion in Transactions

The Indonesia Great Sale 2025, part of the Shop in Indonesia Only (BINA) campaign, was officially opened by Minister of Trade Budi Santoso and Minister of Tourism Widiyanti Putri Wardhana at Kota Kasablanka Mall. The event runs from December 18, 2025 to January 4, 2026. Throughout the first to third quarters of 2025, other national shopping programs, such as Bina Diskon Lebaran, Merdeka Madness Holiday Sale, Indonesia Shopping Festival, and Bina HBD Indonesia, recorded a total transaction value of Rp 272.39 trillion. The Indonesia Great Sale 2025 was participated in by around 380 retailers from 412 shopping centers across Indonesia, offering discounts of up to 80 percent and an additional 11 percent discount for foreign tourists who take advantage of the tax refund facility.

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Government Urges Civil Servants and Private Employees to Work From Home, Here's What Employers Say

On Thursday (12/18/2025), the government urged companies to give their employees the opportunity to work from anywhere, also known as work from anywhere (WFA), from December 29 to 31, 2025. This was done to optimize public mobility during Christmas 2025 and New Year 2026 (Nataru). In response, the Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo) assessed that this policy would not be applicable to all business and industrial sectors. This is because certain sectors that require physical presence, such as the manufacturing industry, which requires the presence of workers, cannot be done remotely.

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Featured Video: Roundtable Decision, Promoting Local Revenue Growth

Promoting Local Products to Succeed on the Harbolnas Stage

The transaction value during National Online Shopping Day (Harbolnas) continues to increase. In addition to targeting a higher transaction value this year, Harbolnas is also an opportunity to expand the dominance of local products. Since its inception in 2012, National Online Shopping Day (Harbolnas) has become a momentum to drive the growth of online shopping transactions. The transaction value of Harbolnas has continued to increase from year to year.
If in 2019 the transaction value was at Rp 9.1 trillion, in 2024 the value will skyrocket to Rp 31.2 trillion. With this trend, the government is targeting transaction values to reach Rp 35 trillion during this year's Harbolnas. Although theyear-on-year growth rate of Harbolnas transaction values slowed to 21.4% in 2024 (compared to 56% in 2021), the continued increase in transaction values indicates that online shopping has become a way of life for the public.

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Release of Provincial Government Financial Statistics for 2024–2025 and Official Statistics Bulletin (BRS) on the Farmer Welfare Index. The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) is scheduled to release these statistics on Friday, December 19, 2025. This release provides a comprehensive overview of regional fiscal capacity and spending patterns in supporting development, while also capturing the economic welfare of producers in the agricultural sector through a comparison of the price indices received and paid by farmers. Several important publications can be accessed directly through the official BPS website.

ESG Day 2025. The Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo) will hold ESG Day 2025 with the theme of Investment for Sustainable Growth. This strategic forum, which will be held on Friday, December 19, 2025, at the Permata Kuningan Building, South Jakarta, aims to encourage business actors to integrate Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) principles as a long-term business strategy to increase competitiveness, business resilience, and market confidence in the green economy era. The event will be opened by Apindo Chairwoman Shinta W. Kamdani and will feature a series of inspiring talk shows discussing the application of ESG to attract investors, corporate reputation communication strategies, and best practices for stakeholder engagement with expert speakers from various industry and government sectors. Further details about the event can be found on Apindo's official Instagram account.