Indonesian economy posts 5.17 per cent expansion last year

INDONESIA posted slightly stronger economic growth in 2018, data showed on Wednesday, but it still fell well short of President Joko Widodo’s seven per cent target as elections draw closer.

Sout hea s t A si a’s big ge s t economy expanded 5.17 per cent on-year, tick ing up from 5.10 per cent in 2017 and beating most analyst forecasts.

Domestic spending was a key driver, the statistics agency said, as the commoditiesdr iven economy weat hered rock y globa l demand.

“This growth is quite an accomplishment . . . given uncertainty in the global economy and fluctuating commodity prices,” said statistics agency head Suhariyanto, who goes by one name.

However, Indonesia has reported a widening trade deficit in recent months while its manufacturing sector shrank in January, the first contraction in a year which underlined a slowdown in production.

“This k ind of grow th is not sustainable because it is driven by consumption instead of product ion,” sa id Enny Sr i Hartati, executive director of Ja k a r t a-ba sed I nst it ute for Development of Economics and Finance.

The latest data come a few months before Widodo seeks re-election with his economic record topping the agenda.

When he first took office in 2014, Widodo pledged to boost growth to seven per cent annually. But his administration has fallen short of that with the figure hovering around five per cent a year, despite a huge infrastructure building push and stimulus packages.

The country has also been wrestling with a weak rupiah, dented by a selloff in emerging-market currencies that saw the unit slump to levels last seen during the Asian financial crisis 20 years ago.

However, it has recovered some ground in recent months, supported by the central bank hiking interest rates repeatedly through last year.