RI's per capita income will be $1,000 by 1999<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia's per capita income will reach
\nUS$1,000 a year by the end of the current Sixth Five Year Plan
\n(Repelita VI) in 1998\/99, according to the country's leading
\nstatistician.<\/p>\n
Chief of the Central Bureau of Statistics Soegito said that he
\nis confident that if the present rate continues, Indonesia will
\nbe able to break the $1,000 mark within the next four years.<\/p>\n
\"The increase will happen barring extraordinary circumstances
\nsuch as a major economic recession or a devaluation of the
\ncurrency,\" Soegito said.<\/p>\n
Speaking to reporters after a meeting with President Soeharto,
\nhe said the statistics agency has juggled the way it computes the
\nper capita income figure, now using 1993 as the base year instead
\nof 1983 as in the past.<\/p>\n
This means that the annual per capita income in Indonesia in
\n1993 is $767, well above the $650-680 previously estimated using
\n1983 as the base year.<\/p>\n
Soegito said the change was necessary to better reflect the
\ncurrent state of the economy which has changed dramatically over
\nthe last 10 years. He cited in particular the economy's lessening
\ndependence on the oil sector and the increasing role of tourism.<\/p>\n
His prediction confirms a World Bank forecast of a few years
\nago which suggested that Indonesia's per capita income should
\nreach the $1,000 mark by the turn of the century.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian economy has been growing at an average rate of
\n6.8 percent over the last 25 years.<\/p>\n
The annual per capita incomes in neighboring countries are
\n$18,000 in Singapore, $3,230 in Malaysia and $850 in the
\nPhilippines.<\/p>\n
Soegito yesterday was reporting to President Soeharto
\nfollowing his appointment last month to head the statistic
\nagency. He was accompanied by his deputy Hartini Hasan.<\/p>\n
He also disclosed that the President will strive to maintain
\nthe inflation rate, which is computed by the agency, to less than
\n10 percent this year.<\/p>\n
Soegito said that the key to this lies in controlling the
\nprice of rice for the next three months given that the price of
\nthe commodity carries strong weight in the way the consumer price
\nindex is calculated.<\/p>\n
Inflation in the first eight months of 1994 has already
\nreached 6.85 percent largely because of the hikes in rice prices
\nwhich followed crop failures in some areas because of the
\nprolonged dry season.<\/p>\n
Soegito said the government is prepared to import rice to beef
\nup its stocks and control the market prices. (emb)<\/p>",
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