Economy to recover quickly from blast, says Dorodjatun<\/p>\n
Dadan Wijaksana, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The government is optimistic the economy will recover quickly
\nfrom the shock of Thursday's bombing at the Australian Embassy in
\nJakarta, with the impact expected to be limited and short-lived.<\/p>\n
"Economic growth will quickly recover. The disturbance to the
\neconomy will only be temporary," Coordinating Minister for the
\nEconomy Dorodjatun Kuntjoro-Jakti said.<\/p>\n
Dorodjatun said that during the current administration, the
\ncountry had been hit by a series of bomb attacks -- with the Bali
\nbombing being the most serious -- yet, the economy had always
\nbeen able to bounce back.<\/p>\n
"I am not saying that it will be business as usual, but we
\nhave the record and procedures to handle this. Let us hope we can
\nuse that momentum to recover again," he said.<\/p>\n
In 2002, when huge bomb blasts rocked Bali, killing over 200
\npeople, the economy still grew at 3.7 percent, better than many
\nexpected.<\/p>\n
The economy also expanded at a respectable 4.1 percent last
\nyear, driven by strong domestic consumption, despite the bombing
\nat a Jakarta hotel.<\/p>\n
Dorodjatun expected that Thursday's attack would not slow the
\npace of economic growth, projected this year at 4.8 percent.<\/p>\n
Still, in a country where investment, especially from abroad,
\nhas long been in the doldrums, the blast can only hurt already
\nlow investor confidence.<\/p>\n
Analysts have long said that one crucial factor for bringing
\nback that confidence, which could in turn facilitate the influx
\nof offshore investors, is maintaining security and political
\nstability.<\/p>\n
"The explosion shows that the threat to security and stability
\nis still there, which is disturbing as it further increases the
\nrisk of investing here.<\/p>\n
"It's the risk that every investors setting their sights on
\nIndonesia has to take into account," a banker at a state bank
\nsaid on Thursday.<\/p>\n
Unless there is a swift and quick response to find those
\nresponsible for the attack, and a strong commitment from the
\ngovernment to prevent similar attacks in the future, authorities
\ncannot expect a revival of investment, he said.<\/p>\n
The central bank also acknowledged the threat the bombing
\nposed to the economy as security uncertainty could undermine the
\nrupiah, which in turn would push inflation higher.<\/p>\n
"We know that any form of political instability has an impact
\non economic stability. But how big the impact will be, we still
\nhave to look at it properly," Bank Indonesia Governor Burhanuddin
\nAbdullah said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/economy-to-recover-quickly-from-blast-says-dorodjatun-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}