FILE PHOTO: Indonesian Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati during an interview with Reuters ahead of the G20 top in Hamburg, Germany, July 6,2017 REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay
JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesia’s federal government will propose to parliament expanding its 2021 fiscal deficit presumption in Southeast Asia’s greatest economy to 5.2%of gdp (GDP), Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said on Tuesday.
Speaking after a cabinet conference, she said President Joko Widodo desired more financial room next year to weather uncertainty over the end of coronavirus pandemic and the accessibility of a vaccine.
” With a 5.2%of GDP deficit we will have 179 trillion rupiah ($1236 billion) additional costs room that will be prioritised for economic healing next year,” Indrawati stated.
The federal government is yet to specify total costs allocated for its 2021 state budget.
Indrawati has formerly stated the 2021 financial deficit was expected to be between 4.17%-4.7%of GDP.
The budget assumes the economy will grow 4.5%-5.5%next year, however Indrawati said the government will press to reach the higher end of the growth target range.
Reporting by Maikel Jefriando; Writing by Fransiska Nangoy; Modifying by Ed Davies
Reuters.