Indonesia’s economy improved in the third quarter and is projected to continue growing through the fourth quarter, but it is unlikely to hit the target for the full year, according to the country’s finance chief.
Finance Minister Bambang Brodjonegoro has forecast that Indonesia’s economic growth at the end of the year would only reach 4.8%, much lower than the 5.7% target declared in its 2015 state budget.
Bambang said this goal would be hard to achieve unless growth in the fourth quarter reaches “close to 5.0 percent,” according to a report by Antara News.
The Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) has recorded Indonesia’s economic growth in the third quarter at 4.73% year-on-year, or higher than the second quarter’s 4.67%.
“This growth is better than in the first quarter when the economy grew at 4.72 percent or the second quarter when it grew at 4.67 percent,” Suhariyanto, deputy for balance and statistics analysis of the BPS, said.
Thus, accumulative growth through the third quarter of 2015 reached 4.71%, or better than the accumulative growth in the first semester, which stood at 4.69%.
Bank Indonesia (BI) said earlier the national economy will grow at a higher rate in the fourth quarter than in the previous quarters, thanks to rising investment by the government.
“We hope that during the fourth quarter, investment in development projects as also private investment, will increase, thereby contributing to the national economy,” BI Governor Agus Martowardojo had said.
He added that economic growth has begun showing a positive trend and predicts it will be higher in the fourth quarter than in the previous two quarters.
BI predicts that the economic growth will reach 4.85% in the fourth quarter.
“As I have observed, government investment and spending had begun improving in the third quarter. I hope the private sector will play a role during the fourth quarter as a great deal of government spending has not been realized as yet,” he said.
He further said he hopes that an improvement in the economy in the second semester of this year will add to the country’s momentum and result in growth in the future.
He also welcomed the House of Representatives’ approval of the 2016 state budget and urged the government to carry out the tendering process, particularly in the infrastructure sector, soon.
Photo: Jonny-mt
