Indonesia's 2022 Fiscal Deficit Seen at 2.49% of GDP-President

MACROECONOMICS - JAKARTA. Indonesia's fiscal deficit for the whole of 2022 will likely be 2.49% of gross domestic product, much smaller than deficits in 2021 and 2020, President Joko Widodo said on Wednesday.

The deficit forecast was also below authorities' latest projection of a gap of around 3% of GDP and compared with a 4.5% deficit target in the revised 2022 budget.

Last year's fiscal deficit was 4.6%, while 2020's was 6.1%.

Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati on Tuesday said in the year to Dec. 14, the government ran a fiscal deficit equal to 1.22% of GDP, but spending is still expected to rise in the last few days of 2022 for some fuel subsidies and infrastructure projects.

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Indonesia has been enjoying an export boom amid high global commodity prices this year and this has also bolstered tax collection.

Economic recovery from the pandemic and a hike in value added tax (VAT) rate have also supported government revenues, Sri Mulyani said.

The president also said with COVID-19 cases declining, Indonesia may lift all of its remaining pandemic-related mobility restrictions by year-end.