The Indonesian stock market is again back to one of its lowest states since 2011, which has been caused by an unexpected drop of the Indonesia Stock Exchange index drop, nearing 4000 rupiahs at the time this article is written. In this particular case, however, the major depreciation of our economy has struck my nerves like never before; I've been observing stocks rapidly declining from 5600 rupiah index from the last 4 to 5 months to a tangibly lethal 4100 rupiah, showing that investors has literally been selling and selling stocks of Indonesian companies, which indicates that the businesses in Indonesia are either giving out too many shares, or there's simply no interest in the offerings of the companies with promises of multibillion dollar wealth to its founders and rigid competition to its shareholders. My observation may practically stand at a viewpoint of a currency trader - I have US dollars in my hand, and looking at my country's currency rate simply making a piteous gorge filled with concerned traders and Veblen-good consumers simply makes me happy (for all the rupiah that I can get from it) and worried (for all of the US dollar transactions that I have made - and how they're going to get billed along with the incline of the dollar.) This case has genuinely attracted my attention as I see a lot of business seeming to be overfilling their possible shares of ownership, or perhaps another decline due to undesired business conditions in Indonesia - or perhaps in Asia, as the developed countries are starting to in-source - or its probably just because we're investing too much of our currency with everyone else out there.
As a consumer of goods priced in dollars and shipped internationally, like all other importers and investors on our country, it provides me with second guessing while purchasing digital goods priced in dollars, along with actual goods which I usually import or forward to the country. It took me to the head, knowing that the value of dollars that I literally hold in my hands may mean a lot more than just importing random shenanigan I bought of the virtual sales from Amazon two years ago. But to me, it is seen that there is now a smaller ratio of investors and firms which would cooperate with the Indonesian economy as compared to the number of Indonesians that are investing and consuming from the outside.
But then again, as it has been warned fairly early since 2012, the projected currency degradation is already foreseen due to the levels of inflation that may be tangible to some keen consumers of the domestic market. I might not be one of them, but I realized that the crappy lunch boxes from school has either retained its price but sacrificed taste - or did the other way around, which indicates to me that small businesses are now looking for alternative suppliers - which suggests that the entire flow of income started to raise prices and you won't get the same quality for the same price. This was already foreseen and are quite visible at the consumer market, but these traits did not do anything much to convince everyone that something is wrong and that people wanted to get more money for commodities which are not worth it. This seems to continue thriving until now, and its because of the steep dollar decline that we're looking for another inflation.
Among the factors that made me write this first blog post and practically one of the most illogically structured articles I've ever written is because I was about to make one of the greatest investments of my life on one of the most trivial good that I am about to purchase - An Applejack plush at the price of 475 with USPS Priority shipping included. Yes. It is a commission. Typical in the brony fandom. Just because I'm in possession of a good deal of allowance I still possess after my trip to Dubai.
However, I commissioned that thing a month ago, when the naive part of me did not even detect the slightest oddity from the Indonesian index I thoroughly watch everyday since I decided to throw myself into the stock exchange.
Yes, I was fully committed to spend that mere 475 dollars back then because Rupiah was still at around 9000-highs or 10000-lows, which are familiar exchange rates to me. At the same month as well, I might have spent around 150 USD for digital content, and most of that money would go to Gabe Newell's pockets, along with a reserved physical gift that may not even arrive for the time of intended recipient's birthday. It was probably one of the days that I showed my utmost consumerism - but yet again the exchange rates weren't really appalling.
But now, because the godforsaken stock market couldn't handle its own plight by wanking left and right, along with the turmoil the everyday economy has been helping to inflate the Rupiah, I think of 475 dollars as a very, very big capital, which is around 5.2 million rupiahs at the time time this rant is written.
But the thing is, it seems like a lot of Indonesians have been attracted to really not care about their country's economy and yet wants to satisfy their own needs, wants and importantly wallets. Political embargos of commodities and several inefficient resource management that the country has been well known of has particularly scared a lot of investors to do their business here, and that all of the offerings outside the nation has been to tangible for local investors (which, I'm pretty sure, are showering with hundreds of bills featuring Benjamin Franklin), such as me, who is willing and perhaps able to purchase something - with such a high price - from outside the country to depreciate our own currency. Is it due to the fact that our country's management and ruse in resource allocation has proven our high demands for imports, or did the economy suddenly falter off just because we weren't watching that we've been building too many property and splitting so many shares that few actually can buy - or even demand to do so - anymore?
This rant is written by an 11th grader in Economics SL at night and is mostly based on an internal rant. Not to be taken as seriously as newspaper public opinion sections.
