Kadin Stresses BI Rate Hike Necessary to Maintain Economic Stability

The Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) considers Bank Indonesia’s (BI) move to raise its benchmark interest rate, or BI Rate, a necessary policy to maintain national economic stability. “We are optimistic we can get through this situation. Signs of improvement are already beginning to appear. The interest rate hike carried out by BI is indeed aimed at maintaining stability, and we appreciate this step,” said Kadin Indonesia Chairman Anindya Bakrie in a statement in Jakarta on Friday. Anin, as Anindya is familiarly known, said Kadin is ready to strengthen synergy with BI down to the regional level to support various economic development agendas. With Kadin’s network spread across 514 regencies and cities as well as various business associations, the business world is ready to contribute to increasing investment, exports, downstreaming, and strengthening MSMEs. He added that business players continue to strive to boost exports to enlarge the trade surplus and increase the supply of foreign exchange. In addition, Kadin is also encouraging the entry of foreign direct investment to strengthen national industrial capacity. “We see that optimism remains. The challenges are indeed great, but the opportunities are also wide open. We must continue to strengthen synergy between the government, BI, the banking sector, and the business world. Indonesia has sufficient capital to maintain stability while accelerating economic growth,” said Anin.