A corner of Jakarta (Souce: lastminute.com) Hanoi (VNA) - Indonesia’s economy couldcontract between 4-4.8 percent in the second quarter of 2020, said BankIndonesia (BI)’s senior deputy governor Destry Damayanti.
The official noted the recovery would be slowerthan expected as COVID-19 cases continue to rise around the country.
Indonesia’s recorded number of COVID-19 casessurpassed China’s official tally on July 18 before the country logged itshighest daily death toll on July 19.
Destry said fears of a prolonged global economicdownturn had also put pressure on emerging market assets, hitting the country’srupiah exchange rate as investors steered away from high-risk assets in favourof safe-haven assets.
Indonesia’s central bank cut its benchmarkinterest rate for the fourth time this year to 4 percent last week to bolsterthe economy and reasserted its commitment to a bond-buying programme worth 40billion USD to rescue the economy and reduce the government’s debt burden.
Meanwhile, the Indonesian Government hasallocated 695.2 trillion Rp (47.35 billion USD) to spur the economy. Itexpected the budget deficit to reach 6.34 percent and the economy to shrink 0.4percent this year under a worst-case scenario or grow 1 percent in a best-casescenario./.
VNA
