DIGIVESTASI - Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani Indrawati is optimistic that Indonesia's economic growth in 2024 can still be maintained at 5%. The Minister explained several factors that support this optimism at the National Workshop on Indonesian Economic Outlook 2024 held at St. Louis. Regis, Jakarta on Friday (December 22, 2023). 

The Minister said that international organizations predict that 2023 will be a rather gloomy year for the economies of several major countries because the increase in interest rates has not fully materialized. 

The Minister of Finance stated: "For the US, there still seems to be hope because of the resilience of its economy until the end of this year. So, at least, the world's largest economy can withstand an extraordinary interest rate hike". The Minister of Finance reminded Indonesia to always be aware of various movements that occur globally.

The government is also trying to maintain domestic demand due to the large consumption of the lower middle class. To that end, the government continues to control inflation and rising food prices.

That's why Mr. President mentioned food, it's so important. Yesterday, our various policies, be it house purchases, car purchases, aim to ensure that from the supply side, real estate and construction have a significant multiplier. The Minister of Finance stated: "For the intermediary groups that we see still have purchasing power, we are starting to encourage them to expand." 

On the other hand, a large tax increase could also boost economic growth in the future. However, the Minister of Finance sees this as an important point for Indonesia as the country must maintain its growth engine, namely the tax base. 

"This year our tax revenue growth is still 7%, so this is quite remarkable even though the base increase is very high. This will lead to an improvement in tax rates and then we will focus on better spending, even though it's the President." Jokowi last year. "Maybe what matters is the quality and speed of the spending," he explained. 

The Minister said that high and sustainable economic growth must also be driven by productivity through improving infrastructure and the quality of Indonesia's human resources (HR). In addition, the Minister said that the State Budget must also be maintained so that it can withstand various shocks that arise in the coming year.

“APBN selama periode ini, sejak awal pandemi atau bahkan sebelum pandemi, kita selalu bersifat counter-cyclical dan menjadi shock absorber yang sangat efektif. Hal ini tentu bisa dilakukan jika APBN dapat diandalkan, sehat, dan kuat. Oleh karena itu, selain persoalan sumber daya manusia dan infrastruktur untuk meningkatkan produktivitas, perlu juga menjaga APBN yang sehat, kuat, dan andal, kata Menkeu.