Credit card for foreigner

[pantaiema]

Price of gold is sky high now

Gold is a well known asset to hedge against inflation. Alternatively T-Bonds, Gilts or saving guaranteed by the govenrment scheme. So IMO nothing wrong to hold a small percentage of gold in your portfolio as a mean of asset diversification.

https://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/092514/better-inflation-hedge-gold-or-treasuries.asp#:~:text=Gold is often hailed as,provide built-in inflation protection.

But did you notice that the gold price hardly moved, in fact even fallen between 2011-2020 ??

From 2020 reaching approppriate price, it has fallen again until recenlty rise in 2023. It might be due to fear that the Inflation might be coming back.

Compare the return during that period that you would have got by keep investing a large proportion in equity, such as S&P500

 

[Brian86]

Compare the return during that period that you would have got by keep investing a large proportion in equity, such as S&P500

This is a helpful site to compare gold versus US stock market: https://www.longtermtrends.net/stocks-vs-gold-comparison/

You can drag the starting date and see that over the past few decades there are only a few years that you could have bought gold and had it outperform the S&P to the present, and is often far behind the S&P return.

 

[Samoerai]

until recenlty rise in 2023. It might be due to fear that the Inflation might be coming back.

Also, recently, fear that interest rates in USA will drop, so fear that US dollar weakens. A weaker dollar makes gold cheaper for buyers with other currencies, leading to more demand and higher gold prices.

 

[Samoerai]

1 euro = 17006 rupiah

 

[snpark]

15-Des-2023 / 14:57 WIB

USD 15.490,00 15.510,00
SGD 11.664,66 11.678,71
EUR 17.032,65 17.048,75
AUD 10.394,60 10.406,41

 

[Samoerai]

15-Des-2023 / 14:57 WIB

USD 15.490,00 15.510,00
SGD 11.664,66 11.678,71
EUR 17.032,65 17.048,75
AUD 10.394,60 10.406,41

Today 1 Euro = Rp. 17.089 .. app Wise

 

[Samoerai]

Merry X-mas indeed 1 Euro = Rp. 17.116

 

[Samoerai]

The Rupiah is weakening further .. 1 Euro = Rp. 17.163

 

[Balifrog]

The Rupiah is weakening further .. 1 Euro = Rp. 17.163

Not gonna complain.....

Except that all imported food will go up !

 

[Samoerai]

Not gonna complain.....

Except that all imported food will go up !

True .. On an annual basis 2023, inflation in Indonesia was recorded at +2.61%.

The increase in inflation is caused by price increases in the transport sector, planes, ships and the millions of cars and motorcycles that need gasoline and diesel, and to a much lesser extent the inflation is caused by using fuel (oil) as power source for electricity generation.

Double impact, though. Indonesia being a net oil importer means that Indonesia currently has to face two challenges: (1) global crude oil prices remain quite high and (2) due to the weakening rupiah, it takes more rupiah to buy one barrel of crude oil (which are bought in US dollars.

The new president could/should do 2 things, imo, improve Indonesia’s energy self-sufficiency: 1. increase the domestic production of oil (by encouraging private(!) investment in oil exploration) but also 2. increase the development of other energy sources.

 

[Helpful Herbert]

IDR just broken through 20,000/£. And heading back to 16,000/$. Pre-election periods are definitely a good time to do currency transactions into Indonesia.

 

[pantaiema]

IDR just broken through 20,000/£. And heading back to 16,000/$. Pre-election periods are definitely a good time to do currency transactions into Indonesia.

20k+ for the exchange rate of GBP/IDR might be the psychological barrier ?
The IDR exchange rate with major currencies continues to be influenced by an unresolved issue: the IDR Re-denomination.
https://www.expatindo.org/community/threads/prepare-for-this-re-denomination-of-idr1-000-to-idr1.7151

The impact will not be the same as the historical "sanering"; as with this redenomination, it simply involves removing three zeros (.000). But in the history of Re-denominationin in other countries, it will put pressure of the currency in question at least for a short duration of time.

The Talk about the redenomination have been ongoing since 2010, with socialization efforts in 2011, but it is awaiting the right moment to execute it. But recently, the Re-denomination Draft Law (RUU) has been incorporated into the Ministry of Finance's Strategic Plan. The conditions to conduct IDR's redenomination, such as its classification as one of the top ten weakest currencies globally, will persist until the redenomination process is executed. So it will come at some point ins the future.

Nobody knows when it will come. However, it is possible that the current government is hesitant to initiate the process, fearing potential blame for any hyperinflationary consequences that may arise. Thus, they might opt to delay until after the completion of the general election (?)

 

[Shadrach]

This sounds familiar of this happening in other countries. Didn't people have to bring a whole cart of currency just to buy a loaf of bread? America had the crash in 1930's and all the banks closed and everyone lost all their money leading to thousands of people losing their land to big corporations and the great depression. There is a good book about this subject from John Steinbeck called The Grapes of Wrath. It tells of false promises to come to California as the land of work and being the land of plenty, except when people arrived by the thousands they were not welcomed and became in debt to the company store and never got ahead. If they tried to unionize they were beaten and sometimes killed. Those were not the good old days!

As far as Indonesia goes, if the RP. Devalues to a point like that it will become total anarchy and revolution. I think the government would not want that to happen here, as the rich people would become targets!

 

[Balifrog]

As far as Indonesia goes, if the RP. Devalues to a point like that it will become total anarchy and revolution. I think the government would not want that to happen here, as the rich people would become targets!

The IDR crashed horribly in 97 and there was no anarchy or revolution.....

Asian Financial Crisis - Cause & Effect | Indonesia Investments

The financial crisis in Asia in the late 1990s had a huge impact on Indonesia, evolving from a financial crisis into a social and political crisis.

www.indonesia-investments.com

"When pressures on the Indonesian rupiah became too strong, the currency was set to float freely starting from August 1997. Soon it began depreciating significantly. By 1 January 1998, the rupiah's nominal value was only 30 percent of what it had been in June 1997. In the years prior to 1997 many private Indonesian companies had obtained unhedged, short-term offshore loans in US dollars, and this enormous private-sector debt turned out to be a time bomb waiting to explode."

Impacts of the Indonesian Economic Crisis: Price Changes and the Poor

www.nber.org

"In January 1998, Indonesia was rocked by a major financial crisis. Between December 1996 and January 1998, the Rupiah plummeted from 2400 to the dollar to 16,000 to the dollar. The price index for food rose as much in January 1998 as it had for the six prior months combined."

 

[Samoerai]

The IDR crashed horribly in 97 and there was no anarchy or revolution.....

No anarchy or revolution? ... Huh, there was ... in May 1998.

May 1998 Indonesia riots - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Balifrog]

No anarchy or revolution? ... Huh, there was ... in May 1998.

May 1998 Indonesia riots - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Oops, my wrong...

But not the only reason !

 

[Helpful Herbert]

Revolution? Well overthrowing Suharto was a revolution I guess. Within a couple of years everything was fine again.
Total anarchy? That's how it normally is.

 

[pantaiema]

In the preceding discussions, financial disasters could have arisen from distinct events, which may not precisely the same with the upcoming IDR Re-denomination.

There are several terms here: Devaluation, Re-denomination, and "Sanering" (from the Dutch word).

"Devaluation: It is the deliberate downward adjustment of the value of a country's money relative to another currency or standard"

Understanding Currency Devaluation: Effects on Trade and Economy

Discover how currency devaluation impacts global trade, domestic economies, and government strategies to balance trade and enhance export competitiveness.

www.investopedia.com

In Indonesia, IDR devaluation against USD had happened many times during the Suharto era

"Redenomination: It is a recalibration against its own currency. It is typically due to hyperinflation and currency devaluation, whereby an old currency is exchanged for a new one at a fixed rate."

Redenomination: Examples of Currency Rebalancing

Redenomination is the process of changing the value of a currency, typically due to hyperinflation or when a new currency is adopted.

www.investopedia.com

Sanering: It is cutting people's purchasing power through cutting the value of money. This is the most brutal way of revaluation, devaluation and recalibration of a fiat currency. But AFAIK this tool is not much used nowadays. That is probably one of the reason why the word "sanering" is not much used in English word. I remember reading in the history Sanering happened during Sukarno regime.

Sanering (ekonomi) - Wikipedia bahasa Indonesia, ensiklopedia bebas

id.wikipedia.org

While the terms might be interchangeably used, they are not the same. In this coming Re-Denomination in Indonesia, it is simply removing three zeros (.000). The Indonesian central bank (not me ) calls this coming Re-denomination event as "simplification." Certainly, this action does not mean that it will not trigger another action, such as hyperinflation, needing to be followed by devaluation, etc. AFAIK in economics and monetary term, these two terms Re-denomination and SImplifaciton can be related concepts depending on the context but they are not the same because Re-denomination specifically refers to the adjustment of a currency's nominal value, simplification can have a broader meaning and is not limited to currency-related matters

Before the re-denomination is excecuted, the IDR will remain one of the weakest currencies in the world. Someone will need to pull the trigger at some point in the future. But certainly, no one would want to be written in history IF this implementation fails and causes hyperinflation.

In the original thread on IDR Re-denomination, there are examples of successful and failed implementations of Re-denomination across the globe:

Prepare for this : re-denomination of IDR1,000 to IDR1.

https://www.cnbcindonesia.com/news/20230623163047-4-448756/kapan-ubah-rp-1000-jadi-rp-1-dimulai-ini-jawaban-bos-bi https://www.cnbcindonesia.com/news/20230623134548-4-448669/wah-bi-sudah-siapkan-desain-redenominasi-rp-1000-jadi-rp-1 In other countries such as in Zimbabwe, Mozambique...

www.expatindo.org

 

[Balifrog]

back to the original topic maybe ?

 

[STH1984]

I just got my BCA SQ Visa Infinite card... Well, I say 'got'... I had to deposit 120% of the credit limit as a refundable deposit which is Rp. 36mio. Not really a 'credit' card in that sense, but it earns me miles which is the main reason I agreed to pay the deposit. There also is nothing 'Infinite' worthy about this card, benefits are minimal and an average "Infinite" card from another bank would have significantly more card benefits, but are also much harder to obtain. With an average spend of Rp. 50mio, including the spend-bonus, you would be earning miles at a ratio of Rp7.542/mile which is not too bad, and better than paying with any debit card which doesn't earn you any miles...

Process to get the card was actually quite straight forward, but despite the deposit it took BCA over a month to issue the card.

You just need to go to your local BCA branch office, already have a BCA bank account or open one. Have a copy of your: passport + ITAS/ITAP and if applicable your NPWP. Fill out some forms with the help of the bank employee, pick a card and sign a form to allow them to block the deposit amount.

Wait... and wait... and wait... and wait a bit longer, and that's it!