Indonesia Could See Its First Recession since the 1998 Asian Financial Crisis: Finance Minister

Indonesia’s Finance Minister, Sri Mulyani Indrawati, stated that the country could enter into a recession in the third quarter of 2020, with the Government of Indonesia taking steps to stimulate spending to support the economic impact imposed by COVID-19. The Government has received criticism from the President of Indonesia, Jokowi Widodo, as well as from businesses and health communities, regarding the slow distribution of stimulus funds, with Indrawati citing several administrative issues as the reason behind the slow disbursement.

Data from the Ministry of Finance indicates that public spending in the first half of 2020 amounted to IDR 1.06 quadrillion, up 3.3% YoY, and accounting for just 39% of the target spending for...