Airlangga Claims Indonesian Economy Grows 5.61 Percent, Capital Outflow Becomes the Highlight of the Palace

Coordinating Minister for the Economy Airlangga Hartarto said the issue of outflow was one of the discussions. (Photo: Presidential Secretariat Press, Media, and Information Bureau)

JAKARTA - The government claims that Indonesia's economy has started to grow faster in the first quarter of 2026. However, behind the 5.61 percent growth, which is said to be the highest in the G20, the Palace still highlights the outflow of capital.

Coordinating Minister for the Economy Airlangga Hartarto said the issue of outflow was one of the discussions in a meeting with the President at the Presidential Palace Complex in Jakarta, Tuesday, May 5.

According to Airlangga, the outflow of capital comes from the capital market and government securities or SBN. He said the pressure was neutralized by the Indonesian Bank Rupiah Securities or SRBI.

"It was investigated that it was caused by one, by the capital market, the second SBN, and the third was neutralized by SRBI," said Airlangga.

The government and Bank Indonesia, he continued, agreed to cooperate to maintain this condition in the future.

On the other hand, Airlangga said that the domestic economic foundation was still strong. Indonesia's economic growth of 5.61 percent was above the expectations of many institutions, which on average estimated growth of around 5.2 percent.

"This growth is the highest among G20 countries. We are above China, Singapore, South Korea, Arabia, even America," he said.

Airlangga explained that household consumption grew by 5.52 percent, while government consumption rose by 21.31 percent. Exports and imports were also said to be positive.

In terms of business fields, the industrial sector, trade, government administration, other services, transportation and warehousing, agriculture, and construction are said to be running well.

A number of macro indicators were also presented. Inflation fell to 2.42 percent from 3.48 percent. The consumer confidence index was at 122.9. The trade balance was a surplus of 71 months with a value of 3.32 billion US dollars. The balance of payments surplus was 6.1 billion US dollars. Investment realization increased by 7 percent to IDR 408.8 trillion.

Credit grew 9.49 percent. Third-party funds rose 13.55 percent, which according to Airlangga showed that public confidence was still high.