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IMF: Indonesian economy to grow 3-4 per cent this year
Jun 5, 2009, 11:39 GMT
Jakarta - Indonesia's economy is likely to grow 3 to 4 per cent this year, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said Friday, praising the way the country has dealt with the global financial crisis.
'We are revising upward our projection for Indonesia GDP [gross domestic product] growth this year, and now we see it in the range of 3 to 4 per cent,' said Thomas Rumbaugh, IMF division chief for Asia and the Pacific.
In April, the IMF had projected Indonesia's economy would grow 2.5 per cent, Rumbaugh told reporters in Jakarta.
Inflation was likely to continue to moderate and should be around 5 per cent by the end of this year, he said.
Indonesia is 'a success story' in macroeconomic management during the current global economic shock, Rambaugh said.
'We think the government have managed the shock quite well,' he said. 'This applies to monetary policy, fiscal policy and exchange rate policy.'
The rupiah is the best performing currency in Asia this year, gaining 8 per cent against the dollar.
Bank Indonesia, the country's central bank, has lowered its benchmark interest rate by 250 basis points since December .
Stimulus measures in the first quarter are helping boost the economy as are the campaigns for April parliamentary elections and the July 8 presidential election, he said.
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