REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- An economic growth of five to six percent will not suffice for Indonesia, so it must aim for a higher growth rate without overlooking stability, Financial Services Authority (OJK) Head Muliaman Hadad stated here, Thursday.
"It (the growth) must be higher through the realization of structural reforms," he remarked at the launch of the Indonesia Economic Report 2015.
In 2015, the Indonesian economy grew 4.8 percent annually. Muliaman emphasized that economic growth must be boosted, taking into account the employment needs and the increase in population.
On the other hand, however, economic stability must be maintained, so that domestic economic resilience will not become vulnerable in the face of global economic pressures, such as a drop in exports and divergence of monetary policies in developed countries.
Muliaman highlighted the importance of continuing the current economic structural reform efforts.
"The two are not simple and easy to achieve, and therefore, coordination and collaboration among stakeholders is necessary," he pointed out.
Muliaman stated that the 11 economic policy packages unveiled by the government already reflected its structural reform efforts, such as improvement in the investment climate and ease of doing business, which will boost the competitiveness of businesses.
Analyzing the experiences in the past few years, especially during the global crisis, Muliaman noted that Indonesia was still vulnerable to capital outflows, and therefore, structural reforms must also be implemented in the financial market through the deepening and diversification of financial instruments.
"Market deepening is also needed to boost long-term funding as we cannot rely on the national budget," he explained.
The OJK has forecast that Indonesia's economy would grow better in 2016 than in 2015, and in line with the improving economy, it has targeted a credit growth of 12 to 14 percent.
The Indonesia Economic Report 2015 launched by Bank Indonesia contains detailed studies on the country's domestic economic condition, which was overshadowed throughout the year due to the negative impact of the global economic slowdown and uncertainty in the monetary policies of advanced countries that have triggered foreign capital outflows.
The launch was attended by Bank Indonesia Governor Agus Martowardojo and General Chairman of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Rosan Roeslani as well as economic observers, such as Raden Pardede, Anggito Abimanyu, and Joshua Pardede.