Indonesian Economy Shows Fastest Growth in Southeast Asia

Thursday, 11 August 2009

The Jakarta Globe

Official statistics showed on Monday that Indonesia still had the fastest-growing  economy in Southeast Asia, with improving prices for the country’s key export commodities and a robust domestic market credited for the good result.

The country’s gross domestic product growth of 4 percent in the second quarter placed Indonesia among the top three fastest growing economies in Asia, the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) said. China posted more than 7 percent growth in the same period.

Most of the growth in Indonesia came from the resilient domestic economy, which accounted for about 60 percent of the figure. However, the 4 percent gain from April to June was lower than the 4.4 percent growth posted in the first quarter of the year, a sign that the global economic slump is taking its toll here, primarily on the nation’s export sector.

But the worst of the recession may now be over. Prices of the country’s main exports — such as oil and gas, and commodities like mined metals, coal and crude palm oil  — have improved in the past few months. The nation’s exports, while still in decline, did not perform as badly as in the previous quarter.