House sets RI growth at 5.5-6 percent for 2015

JAKARTA. The Budgetary Body (Banggar) at the House of Representatives has projected Indonesia’s economic growth at between 5.5 and 6.0 percent in the country’s state budget plan (RAPBN) for the 2015 fiscal year.

The House announced the economic growth target and other macroeconomic assumptions, including the inflation rate, the rate of three-month government debt papers (SPN), the exchange rate of the rupiah against the US dollar and crude oil prices, during a plenary meeting in Jakarta on Tuesday.

“In this meeting, we are conveying main topics of the 2015 government working plan discussion and preliminary discussions on the drafting of the RAPBN 2015,” Banggar deputy chairperson Yasonna H. Laoly said as quoted by Antara news agency in Jakarta on Tuesday.

Yasonna said inflation was expected to stand at between 3.5 and 5 percent and the rupiah would be 11,500 to 12,100 per US dollar.

The body expected the SPN average interest rate would stay at 6 to 6.5 percent, the Indonesian Crude Price’s (ICP) production target would hover between 830,000 and 900,000 barrels per day (bpd) of oil and natural gas extraction of 1.2 to 1.26 million barrel per day in 2015. Meanwhile, the deficit assumption is expected to stand at between 1.7 and 2.5 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), or unchanged from the government’s initial estimate.

“The direction of Indonesia’s budget deficit in 2015 is to strengthen fiscal stimulus in order to accelerate the country’s sustainable and just economic growth, while at the same time controlling risks and maintaining a sustainable fiscal outlook,” said Yasonna.

Yasonna said the government’s working plan and the 2015 budget priorities were part of the first year drafting process of the National Mid Term Development Plan (RPJMN) 2015-2019, which awaited the vision and mission of the next president.

The 2015 government working plan’s theme is to continue development reforms for the acceleration of equitable economic development that covers a number of development fields.

“Meanwhile, the fiscal policy strategy is directed at strengthening fiscal stimulus to push accelerations of sustainable economic development,” said Yasonna. (nfo/ebf)