BI Map Bali's Economic Pursuit Strategy Reaches 5.8 Percent Next Year

DENPASAR - Bali Province Bank Indonesia (BI) Representative Office mapped four strategies to pursue economic growth on the Island of the Gods, which is estimated to reach the range of 5.0-5.8 percent by 2025.

"The strategy is to strengthen labor-intensive sectors, control inflation, expand development financing and digitization," said Deputy Head of BI Bali Representative Gusti Agung Diah Utari as reported by ANTARA, Saturday< 30 November.

He explained that there are three labor-intensive sectors in Bali that play a role in boosting the economy, namely tourism, agriculture, including fisheries and the industrial sector.

Tourism based on culture and local wisdom is still an important foundation for the development of Bali as a world tourist destination through equitable tourism and improving the quality tourism index.

Then through the promotion of tourism villages and MSMEs to support tourism and digitize the tourism sector.

In the agricultural sector, he continued, it is carried out through increasing agricultural productivity, capacity of MSMEs and strengthening agricultural MSME institutions.

Meanwhile, in the industrial sector, small and medium industrial centers are agro-based and creative economy, including by fostering MSMEs to expand the downstreaming of food and the typical creative industry of Bali.

The second strategy is to control inflation through the collaboration of the Regional Inflation Control Team (TPID) to create a food security ecosystem for upstream-downstream local products by involving Perumda Pangan, food distribution efficiency, acceleration of parent market development and strengthening food balance data.

Diah explained the third strategy is to expand development financing, including through the Macroprudential Liquidity (KLM) incentive policy to banks to finance priority sectors including MSMEs.

KLM is a reduction in the obligation to fulfill the minimum mandatory demand (GWM) at Bank Indonesia for banks who are diligent in distributing priority sector loans, one of which is labor-intensive.

The amount of GWM currently reaches nine percent of third party funds (DPK) that must be placed by banks in Bank Indonesia.

Incentives in the form of GWM reductions are given up to a maximum of four percent if credit is distributed to certain sectors, including labor-intensive and MSMEs.

Apart from KLM, investment financing outside the APBN and APBD needs to be increased through the role of regional investment relations units (RIRU).

The last strategy is cross-sectoral collaboration to accelerate the expansion of digitalization of payment systems and consumer protection.

In addition, supported by trade promotions, investments and tourism promotions.

Meanwhile, in the 2024 Bank Indonesia Annual Meeting, the representative of the central bank in Bali projects that Bali's economy this year will remain strong with an outlook estimated at 5.1-5.9 percent.