Unilever Indonesia's rally fades

Jakarta

BUYING shares in Unilever's Indonesia unit used to be an almost guaranteed way to profit from consumer spending growth in South-east Asia's most populous nation.

The stock rose every year bar one since the start of 2000, returning an annual average of 27 per cent - four times the gain by global peers. A stabilising political climate, surging commodity prices and economic growth of more than 5 per cent a year fuelled rising wealth among the country's 250 million people and a 10-fold increase in profit for the company selling staples from ice cream to detergent.