Indonesia Brief Economic Outlook
Indonesia’s economy picked up speed in the second quarter, expanding at the fastest pace since Q4 2013.
The result was driven by robust government spending, as President Joko Widodo’s efforts to kick the economy into a higher gear bore fruit.
However, data for the start of Q3 suggest that the economy has lost some momentum: the manufacturing PMI fell into contractionary territory and the trade surplus declined in July.
In the political arena, Widodo revamped his cabinet at the end of July and brought in Sri Mulyani Indrawati as finance minister.
Following the reshuffle, the government presented a draft budget for 2017 to Parliament on 16 August 2016.
The budget envisions a fiscal deficit of 2.41% of GDP after an expected deficit of 2.50% of GDP this year and higher spending on infrastructure projects as the government continues to support growth.