It’s Time For RI To Shine: Sri Mulyani

Aditya Suharmoko, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta|Fri, 05/29/2009 11:50 AM|Headlines

The economy will expand 4.3 percent this year, higher than what multilateral agencies estimated, giving the country a chance to gain world recognition for its cushioning of the crisis impact, a minister says.

“It is highly likely the country will record an economic growth of above 4 percent this year,” Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said in an interview Thursday.

“This beats many parties’ predictions that have been pessimistic about Indonesia.”

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecast Indonesia’s economy would grow 2.5 percent this year, while the Asian Development Bank (ADB) predicted a 3.6 percent growth. The government, meanwhile, insists the economy can expand between 4 percent and 4.5 percent in 2009.

“This momentum puts Indonesia in a respectable position as China may score a 6.5 percent growth, followed by a 5 percent growth in India and a 4.3 percent growth in Indonesia. So it is very close, and *the growth* looks very high compared to that in many other countries.”

Indonesia’s economic resilience has made global investment firm Morgan Stanley revise its forecast of Indonesia’s economic growth upward, from 1.9 percent to 3.7 percent, the firm’s economist Deyi Tan said in a report Wednesday, as reported by Bloomberg.

The economy grew 4.4 percent in the first quarter of 2009 from a year earlier, according to the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), as private consumption remained buoyant, offsetting weak exports and investment performance.

Government spending also helped as officials procured goods for the preparation of the legislative elections, which took place in April, said Mulyani.

She is optimistic Indonesia can maintain this momentum throughout the remaining three quarters due to the recent global economic situation – and certain indicators, particularly exports – suggesting the worst of the crisis may have passed.

Mulyani is certain exports, which plunged by around 30 percent in the first three-month period this year from a year earlier, would improve in line with a gradual recovery of the world’s economy.

“Private consumption accounts for 60 percent of our gross domestic product *GDP*; if it goes down even a little bit, it will be reflected in the *economic* growth. What will compensate this is exports,” she said.

“Japan, where exports have dropped by 60 percent, and other countries, where economies have also experienced dramatic drops, have seen signs of bottoming out. This creates hope that the idea of boosting private consumption helps improve the economy,” she added.

Government spending will also continue as some ministries – particularly those with big budget allocations like the Public Works Ministry, the Education Ministry, the Transportations Ministry, the Religious Affairs Ministry and the Agriculture Ministry – have started their procurement process for development projects.

Australian Tourists To Bali Up 14 Pct

Denpasar, May 17, 2009 – The number of Australian tourists visiting Bali in the first quarter of 2009 rose 24.85 percent to 71,970 from 57,647 in the same period last year. ANTARA News reported.

“The Australian tourists accounted for 14.67 percent of the total tourists coming to the Island of Paradise in the first quarter which reached 490.454,” Head of the Bali Office of the Central Statistics Board (BPS) Ida Komang Wisnu said here on Sunday.

The figure placed Australia in the second place after Japan with 83,470 tourists, he said.

China came in third with 56,030 tourists, followed by Malaysia with 29,971 tourists, he said.

He said 71,199 of the Australian tourists came to Bali via Ngurah Rai International Airport in Denpasar and the remaining 771 through the city`s seaport.

Last year, a total of 313,313 Australian tourists visited Bali, jumping 52.68 percent from the year before when the figure was 205,205, he said.

He said Bali which was geographically not too far from Australia was the “second home” for many Australian tourists.

Only recently, Bali received an award as The Best Island in Asia Pacific 2009 from the Hong Kong-based DestinAsia Magazine.