Indonesian Finance Minister Chatib Basri has said the country’s budget deficit in 2014 is estimated to reach 209.5 trillion Rp (18.44 billion USD) or 2.02 percent of gross domestic product (GDP).

Chatib told the House of Representatives’ Budgetary Body on January 6 that the deficit is larger than that projected in the draft 2014 state budget, which stood at 154.2 trillion Rp or 1.49 percent of GDP.

He said, however, the deficit would be kept at between 1.7 percent and 1.8 percent if there is an increase in tax revenue by raising the number of tax officers by 3,000 and by increasing incomings from tax resource bases which have not yet been tapped.

Furthermore, the Indonesian Government has set targets for economic growth at six percent, inflation, 5.5 percent, three-month SPN interest rate, 5.5 percent, and rupiah exchange rate at 10,500 Rp per one USD.

Indonesia’s crude oil price was set at 100-115 USD per barrel, oil pumping at 870,000 barrels per day and subsidised oil volume at 50.5 million kilolitres./.