Gov't Push for More Investments in 2017
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Kamis, 1 Januari 1970 07:00 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The government has been using investments as part of economic fundamentals to drive growth. During a plenary session, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo instructed all of his ministries to accelerate the realization of investments in 2017 in an attempt to increase capital flow into the country.
"If investments flow can be [achieved], I believed we can surpass the 5.1 percent growth target," Jokowi said on Wednesday, December 7, 2016.
For 2017, Jokowi has set an investment target of Rp 670 trillion, while for 2018, the number increases to Rp 840 trillion. In order to achieve the targets, Jokowi urged all ministries to support one another.
Chairman of the Indonesian Investment Coordination Agency (BKPM) Thomas Lembong, said that investments is one of the supporting instruments of economic growth, can still be improved. Meanwhile, Thomas said that other growth instrument such as household consumption, is hard to increase. "Consumptions are already high. Export continues to slow down. We are running out of options," Lembong said.
Lembong said that to achieve maximum amount of investments, the government should focus on strategic sectors, such as tourism. "Tourism is [part of the services sector]. It does a great job of absorbing the available workforce," Lembong said.
ADITYA BUDIMAN
