Alex Rankine Markets editor
After two failed attempts, Prabowo Subianto has “finally clawed his way” to the top of the world’s third-biggest democracy, says Frances Mao for the BBC. The former general and current defence minister is on course to become president of Indonesia as counting continues following elections last week. Once a political opponent of sitting president Joko Widodo (known as Jokowi), Prabowo’s campaign was boosted by the implicit support of his former rival, whose son is Prabowo’s running mate. Still enormously popular, Jokowi was barred from running again by term limits.
Once known as a “temperamental military man” with a penchant for “fiery nationalist speeches”, Prabowo has undergone an “image makeover” that portrays him as an “affable grandfatherly figure”, says Bloomberg. He pitched himself as the candidate most likely to advance Jokowi’s “business-friendly economic platform”, promising to continue flagship policies such as building infrastructure and moving the capital away from Jakarta.
A stockmarket champion
The local IDX Composite stock benchmark has risen 44% since Jokowi took office in October 2014. The outgoing president has pulled off the delicate geopolitical balancing act of maintaining cordial relations with both the US and China, allowing his country to attract investment from both, says John Authers on Bloomberg. Indonesia was hit hard by the 1997 Asian financial crisis, but that shock prompted reforms to “strengthen institutions” and “cut red tape”. Today it is East Asia’s fourth-biggest economy and is more diversified than in the past, when it relied on volatile oil exports. Economic dynamism has also powered the country’s overlooked stockmarket. Over the past 20 years its shares have returned 380%, second only to India among emerging markets.
Jokowi’s “proudest achievement” is his ��
