A Silver Lining

The House of Representatives's early approval of the 2016 state budget bodes well for the economy in the coming year, despite global uncertainty and pending key projects domestically. This means government spending can start early in the year, which could accelerate infrastructure and other capacity-building projects.

After a very slow start and somewhat lacking in direction, the Jokowi government managed to come up with a few convincing measures, following the reshuffle of his cabinet. Notably, he was brave enough to start out with cutting back on fuel subsidies, something that should have been done under previous governments. But given the conditional reliance on external factors, the outlook for a full-fledged recovery is unlikely to happen in the coming year.

November 3, 2015