Thailand
Indonesia economic growth slips to 5 percent in 2019
AFP – Indonesia’s economy grew more slowly than expected last year, official data showed yesterday, and officials warned the country’s lucrative tourism sector faced a negative impact from a drop in Chinese tourists owing to the deadly coronavirus.
Southeast Asia’s biggest economy expanded 5.02 percent, down from the 5.17 percent the previous year, owing to weakness in exports and softer manufacturing output.
The figures also missed forecasts for a 5.3 percent expansion.
In December, the World Bank warned that forest fires which raged across Indonesia last year hit the economy to the tune of some $5.2 billion. The country was also grappling with slumping prices for key commodities such as coal and palm oil, as well as the effects of a China-US trade war which has roiled economiesglobally.
“Sustaining growth in a 5.0 percent range in the current environment isn’t easy,” statistics agency head Suhariyanto, who goes by one name, said in Jakarta. “So I think achieving 5.02 percent during a global economic slowdown is quite good.”
Tourism officials have warned of a drop-off this year as Indonesia throws up barriers to Chinese visitors over fears of a coronavirus outbreak in the country.
Some 2 million Chinese tourists visit Indonesian annually. “The number of Chinese visitors has dropped significantly since the imposition of travel restrictions,” Ngurah Wijaya, an adviser to Bali Tourism Board and Bali Promotion Board, earlier told Bloomberg News.
Source: https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50687717/indonesia-economic-growth-slips-to-5-percent-in-2019