Indonesia’s COVID-19 Stimulus Spending Crucial to Support the Economy: Deputy Finance Minister

Speaking at an online discussion, Indonesia’s Deputy Finance Minister, Suahasil Nazara, explained how stimulus spending by the Government of Indonesia in its state budgets (APBN) and regional budgets (APBD), had become the supporting pillar for the Indonesian economy, amidst COVID-19.

Nazara highlighted that due to this dependency, the Government was not in a position to lower spending in order to maintain sound budget conditions, despite a decline in revenues to the state due to the impact of COVID-19.

Since 2013, Indonesia has maintained a state deficit of less than 3% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP). However, according to Nazara, the Government has beco...