Apindo Highlights Impact of 5.61% Economic Growth on Business World
Jakarta (ANTARA) -
Chair of the Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo), Shinta Kamdani, has highlighted the impact of Indonesia’s 5.61% year-on-year economic growth on the business world.
According to her, the first-quarter 2026 economic growth has not yet been fully felt by businesses amid rising cost pressures.
This growth actually shows considerable domestic economic resilience. However, for the business world, the focus is on how that growth is transmitted to real business activities.
“The business world is facing a situation known as the asymmetric impact of growth, where growth continues to occur, but the benefits are not yet distributed evenly, while cost pressures are increasing,” Shinta said in Jakarta on Wednesday.
Shinta explained that the business world is currently facing what is known as the asymmetric impact of growth, a condition where economic growth continues, but the benefits are not distributed evenly, while cost pressures keep rising.
The weakening of the rupiah’s value is one of the main factors pressuring business performance, especially for sectors dependent on imported raw materials.
The rupiah’s depreciation from around Rp16,800 per US dollar at the start of the year to nearly Rp17,400 per US dollar by the end of the first quarter of 2026 has increased production costs and squeezed business margins.
For import-dependent business sectors, this rupiah weakening directly raises production costs, squeezes profits (margins), and in many cases limits business expansion.
Based on the growth structure, the sectors that benefited most from the first-quarter 2026 economic growth achievement are those based on domestic consumption and driven by seasonal momentum.
Sectors with the highest growth include provision of accommodation and food and drink, which grew 13.14%; transportation and warehousing, which grew 8.04%; health services and social activities, which grew 7.62%; and wholesale and retail trade, which grew 6.26%.
“These sectors clearly benefit from demand-driven expansion, particularly due to the surge in public mobility and consumption during the long holiday period,” she said.
However, on the other hand, the manufacturing sector contracted by 1.01%. Yet, the manufacturing sector is one of the mainstays of the national industry that plays an important role in driving economic growth.
Shinta added that this situation shows that although aggregate gross domestic product (GDP) data reflects solid growth, at the micro level many business actors still face pressures, particularly in the form of profit margin shrinkage (margin compression).
Therefore, moving forward, efforts are needed to ensure that economic growth is not only high in numbers but also more equitable and sustainable for all business sectors.
“That is why this 5.61% growth momentum needs to be maintained through strengthening exchange rate stability, inflation control, and policies that can enhance the competitiveness of the national industry, especially the manufacturing and labour-intensive industries that are currently facing significant cost pressures,” Shinta stated.