Indonesia budget surplus narrowed as of end-September

Trucks drive past stacks of containers at the Tanjung Priok port in Jakarta, Indonesia, Feb 3, 2023. REUTERS/Ajeng Dinar Ulfiana/File photo

JAKARTA – Indonesia’s budget surplus narrowed in the year to September to 67.7 trillion rupiah ($4.27 billion), or 0.32 percent of gross domestic product, its finance minister said on Wednesday, compared with a surplus of 147.2 trillion rupiah at the end of August.

Indonesia recorded total revenues at 2,035.6 trillion rupiah in January to September, up 3.1 percent on a yearly basis, while total spending reached 1,967.9 trillion rupiah, up 2.8 percent, Sri Mulyani Indrawati told a press conference.

The data suggests the government’s revenues have held up, despite shrinking exports amid falling global commodity prices and weakening global trade. Total revenues until the third quarter represented nearly 83 percent of this year’s target.

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It also showed that as of last month, President Joko Widodo’s administration had only spent 64 percent of its total spending plan for the year.

READ: Indonesian president tables $216-B budget for 2024

Jokowi, as the president is popularly known, on Tuesday launched measures to support growth in Southeast Asia’s largest economy, including a tax incentive for home buyers and extending a rice handout program.

($1 = 15,860.0000 rupiah)