Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Investment in Indonesia grew significantly by 7.95 percent in the first quarter of 2018 from 4.77 percent in the same quarter last year, the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) said.

"Investment grew significantly because there were many development projects," BPS Chief Suhariyanto said here on Monday.

The increase in investment could be seen from the rising number of infrastructure development projects in several parts of Indonesia and the growth of capital goods particularly machines, he said.

He said demand for building components increased to 6.16 percent from 5.87 percent, while demand for machine components and accessories grew 23.72 percent from 1.21 percent.

"The investment growth was encouraged by almost all types of capital goods, except cultivated biological resources which contracted by 0.43 percent in the first quarter of 2018," he said.

The investment hike was also supported by the realization of capital expenditures in the state budget at Rp9.7 trillion in the first quarter of 2018 and private investment recorded by the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) at Rp185.3 trillion, up 11.8 percent compared to the previous quarter.

He expressed the hope that the positive trend of investment will continue in the next quarters as the government has encouraged the ease of doing business and improved competitive edge.

The BPS also recorded household consumption grew by 4.95 percent, LNPRT consumption by 8.09 percent, government consumption 2.73 percent, exports 6.17 percent and imports 12.75 percent in the first quarter of 2018.

All the components of spending contributed to the economic growth which reached 5.06 percent in the first quarter of 2018 compared to 5.01 percent in the same period last year.

Reported by Satyagraha
(T.S012/B/KR-BSR/H-YH)

Reporter: antara
Editor: Heru Purwanto
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