Indonesia’s 2017 budget deficit at 2.57% of GDP: Sri Mulyani

  • Indonesia’s unaudited 2017 budget deficit is at 2.57% of GDP, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said on 2 Jan 17, broadly in line with expectations.
  • The government had estimated a deficit of around 2.6%, compared with the official target of 2.92% announced in 2017 budget plans in Jul 17. In 2016, Indonesia’s budget deficit was 2.49% of GDP, based on audited fiscal results.
  • Indrawati said the country’s revenue had improved in 2017, compared with 2016, which helped to keep the deficit under control.
  • “On the revenue side, tax collection was at 91% of the target, compared to the previous two years which were both at around 83%,” she told a news conference in Jakarta.
  • The government was targeting a total revenue of IDR1,736tr in 2017, including a tax collection of IDR1,473tr. Indrawati said the government reached 95.4% of its total revenue target.
  • Meanwhile, it recorded IDR2,002tr in spending in 2017, or 93.8% of its target.
  • The minister assured that the government remained supportive of infrastructure development, a key programme in Joko Widodo’s presidency, despite expenditure not being fully absorbed. The government’s capital spending grew 23% in 2017, Indrawati said.
  • “This (growth) stressed the support of government spending to economic growth and our commitment to infrastructure development,” she said. The government estimated 5.05% economic growth in 2017, lower than its target of 5.2%.
  • The economy grew 5.02% in 2016. The government will released audited 2017 results later in 2018.

External Link : http://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/indonesias-2017-budget-deficit-257-gdp-%E2%80%94-finmin

2-Jan-2018