Jakarta, Aug 14 (Antara) - The slow economic growth in the second
quarter of 2014 was seen by the government as "not too bad" and still
relevant to the 5.1-5.5 percent target set in the revised 2014 state
budget.
"I see that the slow economic growth in the second quarter of this year
is not too bad," Firmanzah, Presidential Special Staff for Economic and
Development Affairs, said referring to the 5.12 percent growth, which
was lower than the 5.21 percent in the first quarter.
The Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) has stated that Indonesia's
economic growth in the first quarter of this year stood at 5.21 percent
while the second quarter growth was only 5.12 percent. The economic
growth in the second quarter of the previous year was much higher at
5.81 percent.
The government has set an economic growth assumption of 5.5 percent in
the revised 2014 State Budget, down from the one set in the previous
state budget at 6.0 percent.
Indonesia's realistic economic growth this year is between 5.2 and 5.5
percent, Chief Economic Minister, Chairul Tanjung, said.
"We hope to achieve 5.5 percent economic growth. Our conservative
figures of 5.2-5.5 percent will be more realistic if the global trend is
observed," Chairul Tanjung said.
Bank Indonesia (BI/the central bank) is of the view that the country's
economic growth will tend to veer towards the lower limit of its range
set at 5.1-5.5 percent.
"BI saw that the economic growth in 2014 is still in line with its
prediction but tends to move towards the lower limit at 5.1 percent,"
the central bank's governor, Agus Martowardojo, stated at a press
conference on Thursday.
Indonesia's economic growth in the second quarter was slow due to
reduction in exports, especially of natural resource commodities, he
remarked.
The slow economic growth in the second quarter was still relevant to
the target set at 5.1-5.5 percent in 2014, BI's Head of Communications
Department Group, Peter Jacobs said earlier,
"BI is of the view
that the 5.1-5.5 percent assumptions are still relevant. We are still
maintaining the growth target," Peter Jacobs, noted in a discussion with
journalists last Wednesday.
BI hoped that there will be strengthening of economic growth components
in the third and fourth quarters, and thus, the overall economy will
grow, he said.
The global economy has been undergoing a
consolidation, where the economies of the advanced countries have been
improving, while those of the developing countries such as Indonesia
show the risk of slowing down, Chairul Tanjung said.
Tanjung was supported by Firmansyah, who said that Indonesia is still
able to grow over five percent amid the United States policy in reducing
its monetary stimulus which has affected many developing countries.
The economic growth in developing countries is forecast to be
relatively limited, which will continue to pull commodity prices down.
Indonesia's strong domestic market is the reason why it is able
to withstand its economic growth from falling deeper. "We are still in
over-demand instead of being in over-supply mode," he said.
In terms of domestic demand, the economic slowdown came especially from
reduction in government spending due to suspension of social assistance
and slow non-development investment activities, BI Governor Agus
Martowardojo explained.
Besides that, the decline was caused by the weak export performance of
natural resources such as coal, CPO, and minerals.
"This was visible in the development of economies in the regions like
Sumatra and Kalimantan where mining and plantation commodities were
mostly produced," he affirmed.
However, in the second quarter, the economy still received a positive
push from the performance of household consumption, which remained
strong due to election activities and people's purchasing power, among
others, which had been maintained in line with the decreasing inflation
rate.
"In the future, economic growth will still be moderate, especially
because of the decreasing domestic demand despite predictions of an
improvement in the export performance," he stated.
In terms of the global economy, based on BI's assessment, the world's
economic recovery is still continuing, bolstered by economies in
advanced countries in line with the accommodating monetary policies and
dwindling fiscal pressures.
"The recovery of the US economy, which is now growing stronger, is
reflected by the upward revision of its GDP in the first quarter of 2014
in line with increasing investment, consumption, and the external
sector," he added.***2***
(T.A014/INE/B003)
EDITED BY INE
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