TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said in Jakarta on Thursday, November 10, 2016 that the economic growth to stand at the range of between 5.0 and 5.1 percent, "due to expansive fiscal [policy]."

According to Sri Mulyani, ministries and institutions will realize their budget expenses at the end of 2016, which is estimated to reach 96 percent of the target.

Sri Mulyani added that the state expenditure in the period of October-December 2016 would stand at Rp 600.6 trillion (US$46.2 billion), comprising of central government expenditure and budget transfers to regional governments. Meanwhile, the domestic revenue is estimated to stand at Rp 486.1 trillion (US$37.4 billion) in the fourth quarter.

"Therefore, there is a net deficit of Rp 114.5 trillion (US$8.8 billion)," Sri Mulyani explained.

Sri Mulyani said that the deficit would be covered by issuances of government debt papers which have progressed to 98.7 percent.

"The rest will be covered by issuances of debt papers in the domestic market," Sri Mulyani stated.

Sri Mulyani confirmed that the Revised 2016 State Budget deficit would be maintained at 2.7 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GNP).

In the third quarter, the economic growth stood at 5.02 percent year-on-year (yoy), which was higher than those in ASEAN countries. The growth was supported by household consumption, which was maintained at 5.0 percent. The figure represented Indonesia’s stable economy.

Despite the favorable figure, the investment sector had not shown an improvement in the third quarter. Government spending continued to show negative trends following and budget postponement and cuts.

VINDRY FLORENTIN