IDNAround – The Indonesian economy is projected to record a strong growth of at least 5.2 percent by the end of the year amid improving key economic indicators despite geopolitical tension and energy crises exacerbated by the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, the chief economic minister said on Tuesday.
According to government data, domestic and foreign investment in the country rose by 35 percent to Rp 302 trillion in the second quarter of the year compared to the same period of last year as the country is recovering from the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Indonesia’s handling of the pandemic is one of the best in the world,” Coordinating Minister for the Economy Airlangga Hartarto told participants of the 2022 Investor Daily Summit in Central Jakarta.
“Among G20 countries, we have the highest economic growth after Saudi Arabia, which managed to post a growth of 8 percent due to their oil.”
“Moreover, major rating firms like Fitch, S&P, JCR, and Moody’s regard the Indonesian economy as relatively stable while many other countries see their rating plummeting. This proves that our economic fundamentals are strong and we maintain prudent management of our finance and debts,” the minister said.
The share price index of the Indonesia Stock Exchange grew by more than 6 percent year to date at a time when many foreign stock markets suffered a setback, Airlangga added.
“The rupiah is depreciated by 6.5 percent [against the dollar] but many other currencies are performing worse. Even the British pound has declined by 20 percent,” the Golkar Party chairman said.
The government is upbeat that the local currency will gain ground soon because the international reserves continued to climb to reach $130.8 billion in September and the international trade also enjoyed a surplus of $5.76 billion in August, Airlangga said.
Hosted by leading business newspaper Investor Daily, the two-day seminar draws more than 50 speakers from home and abroad. The annual investment conference addresses the theme of “Optimism in Uncertainty”.
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