Sri Mulyani: Economic Recovery Depends On Three Factors, Health Is One Of Them

Minister of Finance, Sri Mulyani. (Photo: Setkab)

JAKARTA - The government is still optimistic that next year's economic growth will be positive. Although until the end of this year, the government itself believes that economic growth will still contract or minus in the range of 1.1 percent to 0.2 percent.

"This means that it has shifted to a negative direction or closer to 0 because we see that the pressure in the second quarter is very deep and the factors for the third quarter must really be worked out," said Minister of Finance, Sri Mulyani, at a press conference on the Financial Note and the 2021 State Budget Bill. , Friday, August 14th.

Sri Mulyani said that economic recovery does not only depend on the government. Even though the government has played a large role in economic recovery.

Furthermore, Sri explained, economic recovery next year will depend on several things. The first is in terms of health. This is because economic recovery is highly dependent on the success of handling COVID-19.

According to Sri, the discipline of health protocols, discovery and availability of vaccines in 2021 also determine economic recovery.

Second, support for fiscal expansion that is still being carried out by the government by continuing the National Economic Recovery Program (PEN) both in terms of demand and supply, accelerating reforms, encouraging competitiveness and a climate of investment.

"This is manifested in the omnibus law which is currently under discussion, budget reform and from management institutions," he said.

Finally, the influence of the world economy. Sri Mulyani said, in the third quarter of 2020 there will be many revisions to growth in 2021 by international institutions.

"Where it still depends on the handling of COVID-19 and whether a second wave occurs," he said.

Claimed to Start Improving

Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto said Indonesia's economy was still better than neighboring countries affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. In fact, the economic trend in various indicators is also heading positive.

Even though Indonesia's economy in the second quarter was minus 5.32 percent, said Airlangga, it was still better than other countries. Among them were Malaysia announced minus 17.1 percent, the Philippines minus 16.5 percent, Singapore minus 12 percent, Germany minus 11 percent, and France minus 19 percent.

"Indonesia is not as deep as the others. Various economic indicators are also heading in a positive direction," he said.

Meanwhile, Airlangga said that oil prices were also relatively high. Copper and aluminum also show the same trend. Likewise, CPO has also reached 2,800 ringgit per tonne.

"So, it is already above the price. From the economy, both in Sumatra and Kalimantan are not as deep as in Java," he explained.

Furthermore, Airlangga said, there were several sectors that were leveraging the national economy. Among them are the mining, finance, education, real estate and property sectors.

"Then industry, utilities, and health. From the domestic side, motorized vehicles have increased. Retail sales have also risen, the consumer confidence index has increased, and the business world survey has improved from minus 13. The trend has improved in line with global activities. Looking at the banking sector, the corporate restructuring is 17 percent. MSMEs are already 50-55 percent, "he said.