Indonesia: Resilience and Going Beyond the New Normal

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Indonesia: Resilience and Going Beyond the New Normal

Professor Mari Pangestu

5 February 2015

SMU Mochtar Riady Auditorium

Singapore

As it emerged relatively unscathed from the 2008 global financial crisis relatively unscathed, Indonesia showed the world their economic resilience and posted steady annual growth despite fluctuations and volatility. The government hoped that domestic consumption growth fuelled by the growing middle class, investment, strong ties with regional trade partners as well as tremendous growth in regional trade flow will be some of the key drivers behind Indonesia’s growth.

As the world’s economic centre of gravity moves towards Asia, how will this impact Indonesia's growth? Professor Mari Pangestu, one of Indonesia’s leading economists, regional thought leader and experienced policy maker, discussed these issues and more.

The 2008 financial crisis led to a multipolar world whereby emerging economies play a greater role economically and on the global stage
Infrastructure de-bottlenecking, improved logistics, distribution and investment are key strategies for growth.
In the face of external challenges, Indonesia's response and domestic changes will shape its competitiveness.

Speaker

Professor Mari Pangestu

Minister of Trade (2004 - 2011), Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy (2011 - 2014)
Republic of Indonesia

On the challenge of implementing reforms

There's no magic bullet. You need political will and commitment on a sustained basis. You need ownership within the relevant government bodies and the business sector. Timing is very important when you do reforms. You can't do it all at once, so you've got to pick the quick wins to get buy-in.

There's no magic bullet. You need political will and commitment on a sustained basis. You need ownership within the relevant government bodies and the business sector. Timing is very important when you do reforms. You can't do it all at once, so you've got to pick the quick wins to get buy-in.

Mari Pangestu
Minister of Trade (2004 - 2011), Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy (2011 - 2014)
Republic of Indonesia

This is conventional wisdom - the locomotive of growth will continue to be trade and investment flows. After all, trade is a costless stimulus. There will be a lot of opportunities in trade and investment for countries like Indonesia.