Sri Mulyani Is Glad That Economic Growth Reaches 7.07 Percent: The Economic Engine Is Recovering

JAKARTA - The Minister of Finance, Sri Mulyani said that the realization of economic growth in the second quarter of 2021, which was 7.07 percent year-on-year (yoy), was close to the government's initial prediction of 7.1 percent.

"We can see from the economic recovery, where the growth rate of 7.07 percent is very close to the prediction made by the Ministry of Finance, which is 7.1 percent. So if you round it up exactly the same, maybe it's just a difference in the calculation of the components", she said at an online press conference, Thursday, August 5.

According to the Minister of Finance, this condition is also a positive signal from economic activity that shows a real recovery.

"This means the economic engine has returned to work and is recovering", she said.

According to her, during the pandemic that began to spread last year, one of the instruments that plays an important role as a driver of productive activity is fiscal expansion or optimization of the State Revenue and Expenditure Budget (APBN).

“During the past year, all sources of growth experienced a decline in the engine, such as negative household consumption, negative investment, and negative exports. Only government spending grows and tries to attract growth itself", she said.

In detail, the Minister of Finance explained that household consumption in the second trimester of this year had increased to 5.9 percent yoy.

Followed later, investment grew 7.5 percent, government consumption 8.1 percent, exports 31.8 percent, and imports, which are mostly capital goods and industrial raw materials, rose 31.2 percent.

"This means, from the demand side, all are active to support national economic growth", she said.

For information, today the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) announced that Indonesia's economic growth in the second quarter of 2021 was 7.07 percent on an annual basis. When compared to the previous quarter, namely the first quarter of 2021 (quartal-to-quartal/qtq), the economy is known to have increased by 3.31 percent.

Meanwhile, economic growth throughout this year or in the first semester of 2021 (January-June) is 3.10 percent compared to the first semester of 2020.