The Indonesian economy may grow 6-7 percent in 2010

JAKARTA LIFE'S STYLE. The Indonesian economy may grow 6-7 percent in 2010, driven by the global economic recovery expected to happen in the middle of next year, an economist said.

The global economic recovery might be a momentum for Indonesia to boost its economic growth, Dr. Rizal Ramli said here on Tuesday.

He was responding to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono`s state-of-the-nation address to introduce the government`s financial note and the draft 2010 state budget to the parliament on Monday.

In the draft 2010 state budget, the government has set the economic growth rate target for 2010 at more than 5 percent.

The president said he was optimistic the economy would perform better in the coming years.

"I was surprised by the president`s address. The Indonesian economy may grow by 6-7 percent in 2010 because if we look at the current trends, the world economy will begin to recover in middle of next year," Rizal said.

To achieve the economic growth rate of 6-7 percent next year, bold breakthroughs and hard work on the part of the government were necessary, he said.

Without bold breakthroughs, the Indonesian economy would not grow significantly and Indonesia would lag behind other Asian countries, he said.

He said the government-set economic growth target of 5 percent implied that it did not prepare new breakthroughs to boost economic growth next year.

"It is too easy to achieve the economic growth target of 5 percent and the government needs not to work hard," he said.

Economist Sri Adiningsih of Yogyakarta-based Gadjah Mada University (UGM) said on Monday the country`s economic growth might exceed 5 percent thanks to the expected global economic recovery next year.

"The global economy, particularly the US economy, is expected to recover next year. This will have a positive impact on the national economy," she said.

She said the global economy had yet to fully recover from the crisis as reflected by negative growth in a number of countries.

But this was not the case with the Indonesian economy which was projected to grow 4.5 percent in 2009, she said.

She said the global economic recovery would have the potential of increasing the prices of primary products, particularly natural resources-based commodities, such as palm oil, minerals, oil and gas.(*ANTARA News)