JAKARTA - Investment Minister/Head of the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) Bahlil Lahadalia assesses that the achievement of economic growth in the second quarter of 2021 at 7.07 percent should not be complacent.
"In my opinion, this growth should be appreciated, but also don't be complacent," he said in the online dialogue on Economic Growth in Quarter II 2021, quoted from Antara, Friday, August 6.
Bahlil said that if it was likened to the Olympics, this achievement was not the final or final achievement. However, the achievement of economic growth in the second quarter of 2021 can be a portrait towards the semifinals and finals later.
The former Chairperson of Hipmi explained that the achievement of economic growth in the second quarter of 2021 at 7.07 percent yoy must be seen from several sides. First, positive economic growth in trading partner countries such as South Korea, the European Union, China, the US and a number of other countries.
"Besides that, we see that our exports and imports are also good, growing by around 45 percent and 50 percent. This means that the enthusiasm of the economy, both in destination countries and domestically, even though it has not been maximized, has already occurred," he said.
On the other hand, Bahlil said that employment growth that gave birth to consumption also grew from labor-intensive industries. Consumption itself is one of the contributors to economic growth.
"In addition to the government's ability to provide social assistance stimulus, what is also growing is a labor-intensive industry that encourages job creation," he said.
Nevertheless, it must be admitted that the achievement of economic growth which skyrocketed to 7.07 percent occurred because the baseline achievement in the same period in 2020 was indeed minus.
"So we also have to be objective in looking at that. And almost all countries in the world whose growth was high in the second quarter were due to the low baseline at the beginning," he said.
Bahlil gave an example of Singapore's high economic growth due to its low achievement in 2020. In the second quarter of 2021, Singapore's economy accelerated 14.3 percent compared to the same period the previous year.
"What I want to say is that even in the pandemic era, the dynamics of national economic growth has improved," Bahlil concluded.
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