Indonesia adds Gojek, Grab prices to inflation calculation

Prices of services provided by ride-hailing giants Gojek and Grab are now included in Indonesia’s inflation calculation.

Statistics Indonesia, known in the country as BPS, has added new components into Indonesia’s consumer price index (CPI) because of their significant economic sizes, BPS head Suhariyanto told local media on Monday.

Photo credit: The Low Down

“There are 98 new commodities, such as cellphone accessories and Grab and Gojek prices [that are incorporated in the CPI],” said Suhariyanto. “These components are growing significantly and have substantial economic activities.”

In addition, BPS also said it added eight new cities in its calculation starting this year to include 34 provincial capitals and a total of 56 districts and cities.

Indonesia recorded annual inflation of 2.68% this January using the new formula, which uses 2018 as the base year of the CPI instead of 2012. “We included prices in the ride-hailing sector, for instance, but excluded items that were no longer [relevant],” said Suhariyanto.

The inflation figure, however, cannot be compared with December’s 2.72% rate, as it uses a different formula. “But it did not significantly affect this year’s inflation rate compared to the previous years,” the BPS head assured.

Both Grab and Gojek, which are currently leading Southeast Asia’s ride-hailing market, are showing no signs of slowing their growth.

Recently, Grab launched a six-month pilot of its on-demand motorcycle service in the Klang Valley in Malaysia. And last week, South Korean automaker Hyundai and Grab officially introduced GrabCar Elektrik, Grab’s electric vehicle service in Jakarta, after a pilot late last year.

Indonesian tech unicorn Gojek is also looking to further scale its services. It was reported late last year that it was closing in on a deal to acquire 5% of Blue Bird, one of Indonesia’s largest taxi firms. The company also announced it was expanding its transport offering in Singapore through a partnership with local taxi company Trans-Cab.