GUARDED CONFIDENCE

AMID THE UNCERTAINTY, INDONESIA SEEKS TO CHANGE GEARS AND DRIVE ITS ECONOMIC GROWTH BACK TO THE LEVELS OF BEFORE THE PANDEMIC.

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Enrico Tanuwidjaja

Economist at UOB

AS LAST YEAR, our round-table on the economic outlook for 2022 was held against a backdrop of uncertainty. Green shoots of an economic recovery were seen in the strong growth rebound of the second quarter of 2021, but these gave way to concerns for a sustained recovery during 2021 as mutations in the COVID-19 virus spread rapidly and caused the government to have to introduce more severe public activity restrictions (PPKM) in July. Whilst recent weeks have seen positive progress in controlling further spread within the population, PPKM remain in place at the time of writing, some three months after they were first introduced, impacting the third quarter as the manufacturing sector particularly was badly hit, and leading to a downgrading of the growth outlook for the year.