"Bank Indonesia sees that economic growth in the first quarter of 2021 will be better than that in the fourth quarter of 2020," BI Governor Perry Warjiyo stated during a virtual press conference here on Thursday.
Warjiyo pointed to an economic improvement in several indicators in February 2021 based on limited increase in community mobility in line with the public activity restriction in several areas.
Furthermore, export performance has continued to increase, particularly for manufactured commodities, including steel, metal ores, organic chemicals, and electric machines, in line with a rise in demand from key trading partner countries and improvement in the global economy.
"Export performance has grown stronger than that of the fourth quarter of 2020, especially in several areas, such as Sulawesi-Maluku-Papua, Java, and Sumatra," Warjiyo pointed out.
Moreover, improvements in consumer expectations, retail sales, and the manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) will further boost national economic activities in early 2021.
Warjiyo expressed belief that such improvements will continue in line with the global economic recovery, implementation of vaccination programs, and policy synergies to bolster economic activities.
Policy synergy encompasses opening of productive sectors, fast-tracking fiscal stimulus, facilitating bank lending, offering continued monetary and macroprudential stimulus, as well as accelerating economic digitization for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
Through such efforts, BI estimates the economy in 2021 to grow in the range of 4.3 to 5.3 percent, or better than the contraction clocked in 2020.
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Translator: Satyagraha, Katriana
Editor: Sri Haryati
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