Indonesia`s 1st quarter growth to exceed BI`s prediction

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) chief Rusman Heriawan estimates that Indonesia`s economic growth in the first quarter of 2007 will surpass the central bank`s expectation of 5.4 percent but doubts it will exceed the Finance Ministry`s projection of 5.7-5.9 percent.

There were many reasons to believe that the economy would perform better in the first three months of 2007, he said here Tuesday.

In the three months ended on March 31, 2007 exports grew by more than 10 percent while investment rose by 27.16 percent, he said.

Private consumption which was expected to contribute 60 percent of the economic growth was also on the increase, he said.

"Based on our preliminary calculation, economic growth has already exceeded 5.4 percent. But I don`t know whether it will go beyond 5.7-5.9 percent," he said.

If economic growth in the January-March 2007 period reached 6 percent it would not be positive for the attainment of the government-set economic growth of 6.3 percent for 2007, he said.

"Ideally, the economic growth in the first quarter should be more than 6.3 percent so we will find it easier to achieve the economic growth targets for the following quarters. But if economic growth falls short of expectation we will find it harder to achieve the economic growth target of 6.3 percent," he said.