Fathan Qorib, Andin Aditya Rahman
Welcoming in the New Year, Agus Martowardojo, the Governor of Bank Indonesia (BI), has said that overcoming the current account deficit will be BI’s main focus in 2014. This is partly in response to the upcoming general elections to be held in 2014. There are also other concerns about the general negative impact of imports on Indonesia’s economy.
To overcome this problem, Agus says that BI will continue to implement its monetary policies including improving the energy and food balance, establishing new infrastructure, increasing the competitiveness of the national economy, and strengthening the financing system.
“This can be summarized as structural reform and must be implemented carefully because the results will show over the long-term,” explained Agus in Jakarta last Friday.
He also reminded the private sector that there will be a general increase in interest rates following the recovery in the global economy.
“We have already seen that the yields in rupiah are quite high. Later on, if there is an increase in interest rates overseas, this will greatly affect Indonesia,” said Agus.
Agus also called upon private businesses to improve their credit management. Good credit management, as Agus stated, will give positive impacts on company performance, while poor management will lead to negative results in company income statements.
In regard to the inflation rate for the fourth quarter of 2013, BI believes it was in accordance with expectations.
“Last year’s inflation was according to expectations. It was quite low and for the past two months it has been steady,” concluded Agus.
In addition, Perry Warjiyo, Deputy Governor of BI, stated that the increased price of non-subsidized liquefied natural gas (LPG) has slightly impacted the inflation rate.
According to Perry, the increased LPG price will only contribute 0.13 percent to Indonesia’s inflation rate in 2014.
“We have calculated the impact of increased LPG prices on the inflation rate. It is not too great. The increased price of LPG will increase the inflation rate by 0.13 percent,” Perry concluded.
(hot/kc)
Fathan Qorib, Andin Aditya Rahman
Welcoming in the New Year, Agus Martowardojo, the Governor of Bank Indonesia (BI), has said that overcoming the current account deficit will be BI’s main focus in 2014. This is partly in response to the upcoming general elections to be held in 2014. There are also other concerns about the general negative impact of imports on Indonesia’s economy.
To overcome this problem, Agus says that BI will continue to implement its monetary policies including improving the energy and food balance, establishing new infrastructure, increasing the competitiveness of the national economy, and strengthening the financing system.
“This can be summarized as structural reform and must be implemented carefully because the results will show over the long-term,” explained Agus in Jakarta last Friday.
He also reminded the private sector that there will be a general increase in interest rates following the recovery in the global economy.
“We have already seen that the yields in rupiah are quite high. Later on, if there is an increase in interest rates overseas, this will greatly affect Indonesia,” said Agus.
Agus also called upon private businesses to improve their credit management. Good credit management, as Agus stated, will give positive impacts on company performance, while poor management will lead to negative results in company income statements.
In regard to the inflation rate for the fourth quarter of 2013, BI believes it was in accordance with expectations.
“Last year’s inflation was according to expectations. It was quite low and for the past two months it has been steady,” concluded Agus.
In addition, Perry Warjiyo, Deputy Governor of BI, stated that the increased price of non-subsidized liquefied natural gas (LPG) has slightly impacted the inflation rate.
According to Perry, the increased LPG price will only contribute 0.13 percent to Indonesia’s inflation rate in 2014.
“We have calculated the impact of increased LPG prices on the inflation rate. It is not too great. The increased price of LPG will increase the inflation rate by 0.13 percent,” Perry concluded.
(hot/kc)