"When we heard of Statistics Indonesia's data in the fourth quarter, thank god, our economic growth was at 5.31 percent, and this is one of the best economic growth rates among G20 countries," the minister said at a press conference on “Investment Pushing Economic Growth” here on Thursday.
Of the G20 countries, Saudi Arabia scored the highest economic growth of 8.7 percent, followed by Spain with 5.5 percent and Indonesia with 5.31 percent growth, he pointed out.
Investment also contributed positively to national economic growth, the minister said.
"Contribution (from investment) to economic growth was nearly 30 percent. To me, this is incredible," Lahadalia added.
According to the ministry's data, investment of Rp1,207.2 trillion (US$80 billion) was received in 2022, with an additional investment of Rp318 trillion (US$21 billion) recorded in the micro, small, and medium enterprise (MSME) sector, which generated employment for at least 1.3 million people.
Investment improves consumption because people's purchasing power can only be maintained if there is regular income, and investment addresses issues pertaining to that, he added.
Yet, despite the positive economic growth and inflation rate still being under control, the minister reminded everyone to remain cautious in 2023.
He said that 2023 is expected to be full of suspense with nothing certain in the year; one can only wait and see what unfolds. Such uncertainty can be gauged from export performance, which has been lower compared to 2022. So is foreign direct investment performance, which has been riddled with many issues.
"Some countries which have expressed interest in investing in our country, or in other countries, there is still a need for good mental (strategies), something like that," the minister said.
Lahadalia highlighted the need for efforts to gain more investment from countries that have expressed a commitment to invest in Indonesia. Hence, he urged everyone to create and maintain a good image of Indonesia so as to spark foreign investors' interest.
"I think 2023 is a year where we cannot mess around," he added.
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Translator: Ade Irma Juanda, Mecca Yumna
Editor: Tia Mutiasari
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