Govt to focus on maintaining economic stability after polls, says Sri Mulyani

MACROECONOMICS - JAKARTA. Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati has said the government will focus on maintaining economic stability following the relatively peaceful presidential and legislative elections on Wednesday.

Multiple quick counts have shown that incumbent President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, who ran with senior Muslim cleric Ma’ruf Amin, leads Prabowo Subianto-Sandiaga Uno. Prabowo, however, claimed victory on Wednesday, saying his camp’s internal quick count showed he was leading.

“We are still waiting for the official counts from the General Commissions Election [KPU], although the market has already reacted to the quick-count results,” said Sri Mulyani in Jakarta on Thursday. “We will continue to [work to] maintain Indonesia’s economic stability.”

The stock market appeared to have positively responded to the smooth election as the Jakarta Composite Index (JCI) – the main gauge of the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) – was up  0.61 percent to 6,521 during Thursday morning trade.

Sri Mulyani said the market might respond positively to the latest developments as the wait-and-see sentiment by investors was expected to gradually diminish after the conclusion of the election.

She added that the Finance Ministry would remain committed to communicating policy directions going forward as the government prepared for next year’s state budget.