Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The preparation for the International Monetary Fund-World Bank Group (IMF-WBG) Annual Meeting, due to be held in Bali on October 8-14, 2018, has almost been completed, Coordinating Maritime Affairs Minister Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan said.

"The preparation is 94 percent completed," Pandjaitan, who serves as chairman of the IMF-WBG 2018 national organizing committee, said after having a dinner with editor-in-chiefs of a number of media in Jakarta on Monday.

During the dinner, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati, Bank Indonesia Governor Perry Warjiyo as well as Communication and Information Minister Rudiantara were present.

Hosting the IMF-WBG Annual Meeting would put Indonesia into global spotlight and also provide the nation with massive benefits in various fields including economy politics, banking, investment and tourism.

"The world will see us. They will know more about Indonesia and look at Indonesia`s leadership in the region," Pandjaitan remarked during the ministerial-level coordination meeting of the IMF-WBG national organizing committee earlier on Monday.

Under the chosen theme of "Voyage to Indonesia", this year IMF-WBG will bring together 18,000 participants and delegates including finance ministers and central bank governors of 189 countries in "a journey to a new place of discovery".

The tagline is chosen because Indonesia is the largest maritime country in the world and the center of the event where many countries in the world will anchor their ships to this country, he said.

The IMF-WBG Annual Meeting is estimated to have an impact of 0.64 percent on economic growth in Bali Province.

National Development Planning Minister Bambang Brodjonegoro said that Bali`s economic growth could reach 6.54 percent upon hosting the event.

This additional growth of 0.64 percent comes from the growth of construction sector,which is expected to reach 0.26 percent, other sector`s growth of 0.21 percent, hotel sector`s growth of 0.12 percent, as well as food and beverage sector`s growth of 0.05 percent.

The other indirect impact of organizing the IMF-WB Annual Meeting for Bali is the increase in the real GRDP value of Rp894 billion in 2018, to add to the overall Bali real GRDP of Rp1.2 trillion in the 2017-2019 period.

These economic benefits came from the stages of infrastructure preparation, with investments reaching Rp3 trillion as well as expenditure of foreign and domestic tourists, which was estimated to reach Rp1.1 trillion, and the holding of meeting events.

The annual meeting also created employment opportunities for as many as 32,700 people and increased real wages by 1.13 percent and employment opportunities on average 1.26 percent.

The meeting will also affect the economy with total value of Rp7.8 trillion throughout 2017-2018. It comes from the infrastructure construction activities and the preparation of tourist areas of Rp3 trillion, hotels and accommodations of Rp9 trillion, and trading of Rp8 trillion.

To further maximize the economic impact, Brodjonegoro hopes that there will be an effort to stimulate expenses of participants by providing them with attractive offers to shop, souvenirs, accommodations, and travel guides to introduce tourist destinations.

The calculation of the IMF-WBG 2018 economic impact was carried out by estimating that there would be 19,800 participants consisting of 5,050 delegates and 14,750 non-delegates attending the event.

This calculation also includes the average stay of the participants for nine days with the possibility of delegation spending of US$ 150 per day excluding accommodation and other travel costs.

Previously, when Bali hosted the 25th annual gathering of APEC leaders in 2013, the level of the economy in the province recorded an average growth of above 6.5 percent, with the most growing sectors including construction, accommodation as well as food and beverages.

Reporting by Citro Atmoko
Editing by Yashinta Difa Pramudyani, Rahmad Nasution

Reporter: antara
Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2018