Indonesia posts budget surplus of 10.3t rupiah in Q1

• Apr 20, 2022

INDONESIA recorded a 10.3 trillion rupiah (S$981.2 million) budget surplus in the first quarter of 2022, equivalent to 0.06 per cent of GDP, as high commodity prices and an improving domestic economy boost revenue, its finance minister said.

The surplus was in stark contrast to 2021’s 143.7 trillion rupiah budget deficit, when the country’s fiscal position was under greater strain due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. Sri Mulyani Indrawati also told an online news conference on Wednesday the surplus had helped Indonesia to reduce its bond issuance, but said the government would keep monitoring the bond market amid global monetary tightening.

Total revenue in the January-March quarter surged 32.1 per cent from the same period last year to 501 trillion rupiah, while spending fell 6.2 per cent to 490.6 trillion rupiah, the minister said. Tax revenue is set to increase further in April, after the government raised value added tax rate for most goods and services by 1 percentage point to 11 per cent. Despite the budget’s stronger position, Sri Mulyani noted that rising commodity prices had also raised Indonesia’s spending on subsidies.

The subsidy bill in the first quarter, including for energy, fertilizer, interest payments on microloans and carry over payables from last year, jumped to 38.51 trillion rupiah, from 21.38 trillion rupiah in the same quarter in 2021. Deputy finance minister Suahasil Nazara said the government was still weighing up whether to adjust energy prices to contain spending on subsidies, but said the main focus remained supporting Indonesia’s economic recovery from the pandemic. REUTERS