Hanoi (VNA) – Indonesia’s economic growth is already on the right track and is headed towards positive growth, according to Deputy Chairman of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) for National Entrepreneur Development Arsjad Rasjid.

In a statement on May 12, Arsjad said the growth in gross domestic product (GDP) in the first quarter of 2021, which was minus 0.74 percent as compared to the same period in the previous year, is still a reason to be grateful in the context that the COVID-19 pandemic is still encumbering Indonesia.

According to data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) of Indonesia, the country’s GDP in the first quarter of 2021 still contracted 0.74 percent, lower than the GDP of 2.9 percent during the corresponding period in 2020, but improving from the figure of minus 2.19 percent clocked in the fourth quarter of 2020.

Other positive factors were reported in several business sectors that experienced positive growth, including information and communications, at 8.72 percent; water supply, waste management, waste and recycling, at 5.49 percent; health services and social activities, at 3.64 percent.

Based on the data, Arsjad is optimistic that economic growth in the second quarter of 2021 would be higher with an initial estimate of around 5-7 percent as compared to the same period in the previous year./.