In a supermarket in Indonesia. (Photo: VNA) Krishna Srinivasan, Director of the Asia and Pacific Department, said at the April 30 event that “we are waiting to see details of the new government when it comes into office. But from what we've seen, there is more emphasis on continuity of policies.”
“We'll have to see the details of how the fiscal plans pan out. But overall, we see this as a way of continuity in reforms, continuity in the way Indonesia made good progress over the years. And that's reflected in pretty much strong fundamentals.”
Thomas Helbling, Deputy Director of the Asia and Pacific Department, said “if Indonesia closes the infrastructure gap, if it closes education gaps, if it improves on governance structure, we could see higher potential growth.”
The fund keeps its forecast for Indonesia’s economic growth at 5% in 2004 and 5.1% in 2025.
Helbling said Indonesia has a tax ratio of about 10%, which is very low relative to the structural spending needs for education, infrastructure, social safety net.
“So, we see determined action on revenue reform where the IMF has laid out options for revenue reform as of utmost importance for the new administration,” he noted.
The 5% is a very robust growth rate, and Indonesia has performed very well, growing very close to potential over the past decade, he said./.
VNA
