Economic Growth This Year Expected to Reach 5.2 Percent: BI

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Central bank Bank Indonesia has forecast that Indonesia’s economic growth this year will be at the level of 5.2 percent (year on year/yoy) although in the first half of the year, the economic growth is sill facing the issue of consolidation to improve the performance of corporates and banking sector.

"In the first and second quarters, the economic growths were not too high but in the third and fourth quarters, economic growths are expected to be higher," said BI Governor Agus Martowardojo in Jakarta on Friday.

According to Agus, economic growth in the first quarter this year was not optimal yet because the consolidation, which was aimed at improving the performance of corporates and banking sector, was still under way.

In addition, the economic slowdown in 2016 also still affected the low growth, Agus said.

Agus said that due to the contributions of the private sector and the banking sector that were not optimal yet, the rate of domestic consumption in the first quarter this year was not like what BI expected.

Previously, Agus said BI projected that economic growth in the first quarter this year was at 5.05 percent.  Nevertheless, BI estimated that in the third and fourth quarter this year, economic growth would be above 5.2 percent; this economic growth this year is expected to reach 5.2 percent.

In the meantime, Coordinating Minister for the Economy Darmin Nasution predicted that Indonesia’s economy growth would reach 5.1 percent in the first quarter this year 2017 and was expected to reach 5.2-5.4 percent (yoy) for the whole year.

INDRA ARIEF PRIBADI | ANTARA