TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Finance Ministry projects the state budget deficit at the end of 2017 to reach 2.67 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP). The projection is below the target set in the 2017 State Budget Amendment of 2.92 percent to GDP.
The ministry's Fiscal Policy Agency (BKF) chief Suahasil Nazara told Antara yesterday that the forecast took into account the optimized tax revenue as well as the absorption of state expenditures, which until the end of the year reached 95 percent.
Suahasil said the projection is still below the permissible limit by law, which is 3.0 percent of GDP.
At the end of September, the Finance Ministry recorded a budget deficit of Rp275.6 trillion or about 2.02 percent of the GDP. This is below the target set in the 2017 state budget amendment of Rp397.2 trillion or 2.92 percent of GDP.
Finance Minister Sri Mulyani pegged the bottom limit of 2017's economic growth forecast at 5.1 percent. She said that economic growth in the fourth quarter will reach 5.3 percent, meaning that the annual compound growth should be between 5.1 and 5.17 percent.
Meanwhile, University of Indonesia economist Lana Soelistianingsih projected next year's economy will be better, encouraged by the simultaneous regional heads election and the Asian Games implementation.
Lana said Indonesia's economic growth could reach 5.15 to 5.18 percent next year.
"The government's target of 5.3 to 5.4 percent seems difficult to reach. Indonesia's economy will not improve that drastically next year," she said.
IMAM HAMDI | RIANI SANUSI PUTRI | ALI NUR YASIN
