Purbaya Rebukes Economists Predicting Economic Slowdown: They Don't Know My Strategies
JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa is optimistic that Indonesia’s economic growth in the third and fourth quarters of 2026 will remain above 5.5 per cent, despite several economists predicting a slowdown in economic pace as the effects of government spending diminish.
Purbaya assesses that such predictions do not take into account the government’s strategies in maintaining the momentum of national economic growth, particularly through strengthening the real sector and business financing.
“They don’t know what my economic strategies are like. Even though only government spending grew yesterday, the economy couldn’t possibly grow by 5.61 per cent relying solely on that. Why?” Purbaya stated at the Ministry of Finance on Tuesday (12/5/2026).
One of them is through providing incentives for the electric vehicle sector and expanding access to financing for export-oriented industries.
He mentioned that the government will soon summon textile, furniture, and footwear industry players to discuss cheaper and more accessible financing schemes.
“Specifically for export-oriented companies like textiles, furniture, and shoes, I will call another meeting in the near future so they have better and cheaper access to financing,” he said.
Purbaya also opened the possibility of using financing support through the Indonesian Export Financing Agency to strengthen liquidity in the national export sector.
“I can enter through the Indonesian Export Financing Agency. There is a lot of money there, it turns out some of it has been idle all this time,” he said.
Nevertheless, Purbaya emphasised that the government’s strategies do not solely rely on additional fiscal stimulus.
The government will also ensure that the banking sector is more active in channelling credit to productive sectors.
“We will ensure that the private sector works well. Not just stimulus, there are various other ways,” he said.
He stated that the government also wants to ensure that market mechanisms or the invisible hand in the financial sector operate more effectively to drive economic growth.
“What I’m doing is not forcing banks to lend, but ensuring the invisible hand works in the financial sector,” Purbaya remarked.
Previously, the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) recorded Indonesia’s economic growth in the first quarter of 2026 at 5.61 per cent year-on-year.
This figure is higher than the economic growth in the first quarter of 2025, which was 4.87 per cent.