BI Says Exports Can Help The Economy Grow In Quarter IV-2021

SURABAYA - Bank Indonesia (BI) ensures that improved export performance in line with improving global demand can help the economy grow positively in the fourth quarter of 2021.

"Economic performance is estimated to increase in the fourth quarter of 2021, supported by improved export performance," said Director of the Department of Economic and Monetary Policy IGP Wira Kusuma during training for BI journalists in Surabaya, reported by Antara, Saturday, November 20.

He ensured that the increase in export performance also occurred in line with the improvement in community mobility, retail sales, consumer expectations, and manufacturing PMI in November 2021.

In addition, economic growth in the fourth quarter of 2021 will also be supported by fiscal spending by the government, especially the PEN program, which could have an impact on improving consumption and investment.

On the same occasion, senior economist Sunarsip added that the domestic demand sector such as household consumption and investment could be a new source of growth until 2022.

According to him, strengthening the domestic side can be done through fiscal support to economic sectors that have a multiplier effect, such as housing, manufacturing, tourism, and agriculture.

"The slowest-growing tourism sector could be a game-changer for sources of growth in 2021, including agriculture which has not contracted during the pandemic," he said.

In addition, he continued, the effectiveness of macroprudential and microprudential policies to encourage the transmission of monetary policy to bank credit is also needed to encourage investment.

"The response from the business world to the decline in lending rates is still low, which is reflected in the low growth of bank credit and curbing inflation," said Chief Economist of The Indonesia Economic Intelligence.

Previously, economic performance in the third quarter of 2021 recorded a positive growth of 3.51 percent (yoy), although lower than the previous quarter's achievement of 7.07 percent (yoy), in line with restrictions on mobility to overcome the COVID-19 delta variant.

Economic growth is expected to increase even higher in 2022, also driven by increased mobility in line with accelerated vaccination, the opening of wider economic sectors, and continued policy stimulus.