JAKARTA: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has estimated that the Indonesian economy will expand by 5.3 percent year-on-year (yoy) in 2018 and 2019 on the back of rising investment and an improvement in household consumption.
“Increasing investment has been witnessed mainly in the construction sector in line with the completion of various infrastructure projects and the primary sector, with growing external demand,” Executive Director of the BI Communication Department Agusman had earlier noted.
He remarked that stable private consumption is backed by maintained public purchasing power and increasing spending in connection with the upcoming local elections. Furthermore, increasing social assistance and village fund disbursements have buoyed government consumption.
On the external front, the ongoing global economic recovery will maintain exports in the positive territory.
Congruent with rising exports, imports are also predicted to increase for investment and export purposes, with a high import content. Consequently, Indonesia`s economy is projected to grow in the 5.1-5.5 percent yoy range in 2018.
As of February 2018, Indonesia`s trade balance had recorded a deficit, as the national economy had accelerated.
