Thailand
Thailand: Gojek, Grab prices now included in inflation calculation as they ‘grow significantly’
Statistics Indonesia (BPS) has started to include prices of services provided by ride-hailing startups Gojek and Grab, among other new components, in the country’s inflation calculation.
BPS head Suhariyanto said on Monday that the agency incorporated the new price components into the country’s consumer price index (CPI) because of their significant economic sizes.
“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 to the new components, the BPS also changed the CPI base year to 2018 from 2012.
Therefore, January’s inflation figure cannot be compared with December’s inflation rate of 2.72 percent since it was not “an apple-to-apple comparison”, Suhariyanto added.
“But it did not significantly affect this year’s inflation rate compared to the previous years,” he stated.
Indonesia recorded annual inflation of 2.68 percent in January as chili, fish and tobacco prices increased. In January 2019, inflation was 0.32 percent.
Bank Indonesia has aimed for inflation to be between 2 and 4 percent this year while the government targets a CPI of 3.1 percent in its 2020 state budget.
Source: https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2020/02/03/gojek-grab-prices-now-included-in-inflation-calculation-as-they-grow-significantly.html