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REUTERS/Indonesia president eyes 7.7 pct GDP growth by 2014
Bambang Yudhoyono said in an annual state of the nation speech
on Monday he is optimistic of reaching a target of as much as
7.7 percent GDP growth by 2014.
Southeast Asia's largest economy is expected to expand over
6 percent this year, and the solid growth combined with
increased political stability is attracting strong foreign
capital inflows to its bonds and stock market .JKSE.
"In 2014, the government is targeting economic growth of 7 to
7.7 percent. Through good planning and correct implementation,
we are optimistic we can reach that target," Yudhoyono said in
his speech to parliament ahead of Independence Day on August
17.
"The time has come for us to no longer be a caged tiger but
a nation that is competitive on the international stage."
Yudhoyono said in the speech he will amend laws to improve
infrastructure development, and reiterated he was committed to
tackling graft, bureaucratic reform and good governance.
Yudhoyono was re-elected last year to a second five-year
term on promises to boost economic growth by cleaning up
corruption, speeding up infrastructure development and
reforming the sluggish civil service.
But he has been slow to deliver results and has failed to
wholeheartedly support his top reformers against the corrupt
political and business elite, proving a disappointment to many
ordinary Indonesians.
Yudhoyono failed to defend his top reformers -- the former
finance minister, Sri Mulyani Indrawati, and the vice
president, Boediono -- vigorously enough over their decision to
bail out a small lender, Bank Century.
The prolonged politicking by members of his own coalition
exposed rifts within his government and his inability to exert
control over key coalition members, and distracted the
government from pushing ahead with reforms and passing
legislation.
Since its inauguration, Yudhoyono's second term government
has passed only a handful of bills, none of which address the
issues investors see as most urgent: labour law reform, clean
governance and bureaucratic reform.
He said that in the next four years, the government is
targeting the creation of 10.7 million new jobs, as well as
reducing the poverty level to around 8-10 percent.
Yudhoyono is due to deliver a second speech on the 2011
budget priorities later on Monday.
Yudhoyono's speech was full of the challenges he faces, from
attracting enough investment to ensuring regional governments
spend their budgets to stimulate growth.
"We must push bureacratic reform, until all our state
employees become agents of change and create good governance,"
he said.
"We must encourage infrastructure development, which
honestly, is still lacking."
