Strong Indonesia Earnings Revive Recovery Hopes

HUMBAHASTIMES -- A string of better-than-expected earnings announcements by Indonesia's top companies is lifting hopes that the country is pulling out of the protracted growth funk that has disappointed markets.

Four of the top five listed companies by market capitalization posted double-digit year-on-year increases in net profit for the six months ended June. Telekomunikasi Indonesia, the state-owned telecommunications company, saw the biggest increase, with profits surging 33% on stronger mobile data revenue.

"Broadly speaking, this is first [time] in the past five to six quarters that so far, we are seeing a better set of numbers," said Jahanzeb Naseer, head of Indonesia research at Credit Suisse.

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